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Comment by quaffapint | Hacker News Reader

I often wondered how you even get started at places like elance.

Job postings go up and within a day like 20+ proposals are already there with most from 4.9+ ratings. Why would anyone ever pick someone new when they have so many choices of already highly rated people? I don't know what they are charging, but I have to imagine with so many, that they all can't be very high.

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Look for odd project. I.e. not "Need wordpress developer", but rather "Need to virtual assistant" with description like "Need to grab data from site X and enter it into Y". And use your programming skills to automate process :)

There are a lot of projects and certain type of project description indeed attract 100+ bidders who basically just spam. I've been on both sides and know how frustrating it can be. On the other hand I personally reported for spam 100+ applicants trying to find real gems and was able. So my advice will be - keep trying and try different projects.

Some things that can help: 1. Don't compete on price. Demonstrate your expertise, part experience doing similar projects, etc. Links to past wins (app store, stack, github) will go a long long way for clients to pay for premium. Those sites have clients picking large agencies for large projects. 2. Personalize your application: Several of the 20+ applications that you mention come from "copy/pasting/spam". If you feel passionate about a job, include your take on the problem and process you'd follow to solve. 3. Pimp your profile. Profile videos, portfolio, links to past experience help make up for the lack of jobs on oDesk or Elance. You can now add a video introducing yourself. That can go a long way to earn trust and show off your professionalism.

I have the same feeling. Even if I apply with a low rate, there's always 20+ in front of me. Clients don't even have time to answer everyone (my guess).

My experience hiring for jobs on those site is most of those responses or bidders clearly have not read the requiements. You can distinguish yourself by giving clear evidence in your bid you understand the requirements, and importantly, note areas where clarification is needed. Also, a lot of bidders respond with, why not use framework or service X? Don't do that.

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