Setting Appropriate Profile Rate

[harun_naim]

Hello,

After looking at my profile can anyone please suggest me what should be the figure I should put as my profile rate? Here is the link of my profile: https://www.odesk.com/o/profiles/users/_~015a186999ac36c6b1/

Often I feel that my rate is low and it is a reason for not getting expected jobs. How important is setting an appropriate profile rate? How important is it as a part of a profile?

I am not a satisfied freelancer. I feel I do not get the jobs I deserve considering my skills and experience.

Thanks

[prestonhunter]

Harun, there are a dozen reasons you are not getting paid more. I only have time to give you one for free, but it is a powerful tip which you can follow easily.

You are wearing sunglasses, a t-shirt, and a goofy hat. Your posted rate is $4.00 per hour. I want to hire you to wash my car.

In my profile photo, I am wearing a button down dress shirt, a tie, and you can see my eyes. My posted rate is $65.00 per hour and I have more work than I can handle, so I normally block new clients from contacting me.

I have the skill to back up everything I say and promise in my profile. If you can say the same, you should look like it. Your photo makes you look like somebody who is worth your current posted rate of $4.00 per hour. When you are ready to earn more, you should look the part and start asking for more.

[anne_ginger]

Hi Harun,

WOW! You're an Ex-oDesk Marketplace Rep?!!

You shouldn't be asking us this. You should know the answer!

Anyway, with what Preston said, I thought wearing sunglasses is PROHIBITED in the profile pic. I wonder how you are able to get away with it.

Tip for you----> Moving on, your rate should reflect what job you are aiming for and your skills. Example, if a business consultant charges only $4, I won't hire that person, more so if they don't look the part. As for looking the part, I suppose having a laid-back profile pic is fine if you're in customer service or maybe a creative writer but since you call yourself a customer service 'executive', your rate and profile photo should reflect that. Another thing, your star rating of 4.3 is not doing you any favors as well.

All these things are factors why you may not be getting the jobs that you want. Your rating, your compensation rate, past jobs history, and photo all work together to get good projects.

Are you truly an ex-oDesk Marketplace Rep?

Please don't take that negatively. The reason I'm asking this is because around 3,000 hours of your 3,112 hours was earned from jobs for which you only charged $0.90 to $1 an hour. 

no offense but this is what it looks like:

[aseembhalla]

Although the rate is very low, I would still suggest you to increase the profile rate gradually. May be increase 15-20% after every three projects. This comment is totally based on my personal experience and may be same does not apply to you. After I increased my profile rate from 15$ to 20$ I noticed a huge drop in response to my job applications. It took me 2-3 months to start landing clients with my increased rate. 

PS: I did tried increasing the rate again next year which did not worked out. I guess I got too ambitious 😛 

[marciamalory]

Your job title says customer service rep. However, you only seem to have one customer service job in your job history, and your job history and portfolio are mostly  content writing and research jobs.

An unfocused profile, combined with the low rates you've charged,  makes it seem like you are desperate for any job. 

[suznee]

Guess he did not like the comments given as the profile is private although it says to login to view. I can't view it and can't search his name. Comes up empty.

OR

The forum is still messed up viewing profiles.

[anne_ginger]

Suzanne,

It was viewable yesterday. I even snapped a few screenshots of his feedbacks and past jobs as well as his overview.

The client he worked with for more than 2,000 hours for $1 rated him only 3 something stars and his overall rating is 4.3. His title says he worked for oDesk as a Marketplace Rep but I saw no such record in his past jobs (unless oDesk pays 90 cents to 1 dollar per hour).

Maybe he did hide his profile after seeing the comments...or maybe someone from oDesk took it down because of his claims plus the profile pic which violates regulations.

[suznee]

hmm Dianne,

Guess someone didn't like what they saw. Whether it be him or Odesk 

[lanwanman]

Must be an image posting competition going on here. "Now you see me; now you don't" get's my vote.

[garnorm]

We are following up directly with this user as it is against policy to claim working for oDesk or other clients when this is untrue.

[anne_ginger]

thanks for the update Garnor!

People like this person makes all of us here look bad. It's great to know they don't simply get away with doing and claiming questionable things. Just imagine the damage his claims can cause to everyone (the platform, the cliets, and other freelancers).

[lanwanman]

Kudos on that!

[lanwanman]

Well, right, wrong, or indifferent on the part of the member in question, the way some replies to this thread are worded might certainly discourage people from asking questions in this Community...lol.... Actually, that's not funny; not funny at all. I am not defending the actions of the member in question; it's just the way things were addressed. Play nice!

Edited 01/09/2015 RT/lwm