Good Fit available to all freelancers

[Preston H]

Donna, I don't believe that cost of living should be a factor in how you calculate your rates or how clients pay you. You should be charging a higher rate than other contractors because you bring more value to your clients, not because of where you live.

I can assure that my cost of living has absolutely nothing with the rates I charge clients.

I believe you absolutely can compete against contractors from countries where the cost of living is lower. There are many successful oDesk contractors in the United States and Europe and other places where the cost of living is higher. There are many clients who prefer hiring people from these more expensive locales, because of the positive experiences they have had with high quality, higher paid contractors.

Consider these things and market yourself accordingly.

[Garnor M]

Hi Donna,

I've confirmed your rate, and what the client has paid in the past, are not factors in determining a Good Fit. We've accounted for the scenario you describe here.

[Donna M]

Thanks Preston.. That I do I give my best and charge for it as you said all should do

I just hope that the Good Fit algorithm doesn’t take the clients average rate in comparison to a freelancers stated rate into account as that would be unfair to freelancers that do charger higher rates because they do a good job and know their worth.

They shouldn’t be put at a disadvantage and deemed as inappropriate and unsuitable simply because their rates are higher than a client’s average which can be skewed due to lower priced jobs in a entirely different line of work

[Darrin O]

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@Donna M wrote:

I just hope that the Good Fit algorithm doesn’t take the clients average rate in comparison to a freelancers stated rate into account as that would be unfair to freelancers that do charger higher rates because they do a good job and know their worth. 

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 On the flip side, I think it should make a difference if the client has a consistent history of hiring the absolutely cheapest people available regardless of quality.  For example, I don't ever want to work for someone who mainly sees oDesk as a way to skirt their local minimum wage laws.  I don't care how much they might be paying for the one particular job I'm looking at, that client will not ever be a "Good Fit" for me.

[Ian David John E]

Hi Garnor,

Can you check my oDesk profile you can see it speaks for itself! Yet i have no good fit badges showing on any jobs i research that I am a good fit for. This is not good!!!!

Thanks In Advance
 

Ian

[Krisztina U]

I am not a good fit for any job either, not even the ones oDesk "recommended" to me. It makes me laugh. Just tell us which jobs we're allowed to do, and which freelancers a client is allowed to hire, and get it over and done with please. If executed well, I'd love the concept of a Good Fit indicator, but I have seen the freelancers oDesk deemed a Good Fit by recommending them to my job, and sorry to say, I would've had a better shot at getting my project completed by hiring the first random person off the street.

[Garnor M]

Hi Krisztina, Ian and others,

We didn't turn this on for all freelancers until yesterday evening.

[Krisztina U]

Thanks, Garnor - I checked a few hours ago so I guess I am just not fit for any job posted on oDesk despite the fact that I have a pretty diverse skill set!

[Garnor M]

Thanks for reporting back Krisztina. We'll take a look to ensure there aren't any issues preventing you from seeing this.

[Krisztina U]

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@Garnor M wrote:

Thanks for reporting back Krisztina. We'll take a look to ensure there aren't any issues preventing you from seeing this.

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Thanks, I'll stay tuned.

On a separate note, you guys lost over 300 hours off my profile.