So, you’ve taken all the needed classes and attended the right bootcamps to get your IT skills to a highly competitive level. However, rather than commit to one company, you’ve decided to go freelance. Motivated both by a desire to be your own boss and trying to accommodate the remote work-at-home restrictions brought on by the pandemic’s quarantine, you figure this is the most prudent course.
Great. What comes next?
Now you need to find freelance jobs, and considering the vast marketplace, it could be akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, it’s easy to locate that needle if you have a magnet, and this article is that magnet!
We are about to explore a list of the best websites for finding freelance (or contractor) jobs.
Indeed.com
Indeed is arguably the most extensive global job website, boasting a quarter-billion monthly users and adding ten new job listings per second. Indeed’s strengths lie in their frequent updates, the variety of jobs you can search for, the industries it caters so, and the fact you can search for freelance jobs. Indeed also lets you compare salaries, read company reviews, and upload your resume.
LinkedIn.com
Sometimes it’s not what you know; it’s who you know. Freelancers depend on networking to keep them employed, and LinkedIn makes it easy to assemble a network of industry contacts, colleagues, and acquaintances. LinkedIn lets you create a profile, list your job experience and skills, and connect with recruiters.
Monster.com
No job-finding site list would be complete without including Monster.com, the digital recruiting pioneer that made its debut back in the “old” days of 1994. Whatever your experience level, Monster is a useful tool for finding that freelance job. However, just because something was the first doesn’t mean it’s the best. Monster has fewer filters and job opportunities than Indeed, so it can’t be called the best or most popular. Still, it’s worth using.
Angel.co
Startup companies are always in the market for good freelancers and contract workers. Many fledgling businesses can’t afford long-term talent at this stage of the game and are eager to employ temporary help to get things going. Who knows? Sometimes that freelance gig can turn into a permanent position if the company gains traction. Angel.co is a massive community of startup businesses, focusing on entrepreneurs and tech workers/tech founders. The site is not exclusively dedicated to job searches—it's a general resource for startups. But it includes a job board and fertile ground for the enterprising IT freelancer to see what the market will bear.
Dice.com
Dice is a very popular IT-related job board that lets aspiring employees search by title, skill, and category. Although it doesn’t mention the word freelance specifically, you can infer it from some of the search categories like “Work from home” or “Remote jobs.” Dice offers a career toolkit that provides insights, checklists, tips, and more, covering topics like Interviewing, Job Hunting, Networking, and Resumes. Job seekers can upload their resumes and join Dice for free.
FlexJobs.com
FlexJobs promotes itself as “The #1 job site to find remote, work from home, and flexible job opportunities since 2007.” It’s a job search site ideal for finding opportunities to work at home in a freelance capacity. Considering the “new normal” brought about by COVID-19, this job site becomes more important and necessary. Bear in mind, FlexJobs charges a fee (unlike our first three entries) but offers an excellent selection of job-finding resources such as skill testing, profile/portfolio creation, job search tips, and more.
Hired.com
In addition to having a promising-sounding name, Hired focuses on technology opportunities, so by using it, you’ve already narrowed down the scope of your job search. It’s free, like LinkedIn and Indeed, and you can create a profile, conduct job searches, and find a good match. Hired offers resources for comparing salaries, searching for companies looking for your skillset, and browsing through lists of organizations broken down by industry.
StackOverflow.com
We established early on about the importance of networking and making connections. Stack Overflow is the biggest online community for software developers interested in learning new skills and sharing knowledge. They have a job board where you can search for likely positions. Create a free account, upload your resume, and get involved in every aspect of the site, from improving your skills to finding that perfect IT job. Stack Overflow is especially useful for software programmers and engineers.
Upwork.com
Here’s an interesting business model. As a freelancer, you upload your profile/portfolio to Upwork. Then, companies search the site for the perfect professionals to handle their projects and assignments. Depending on their membership subscription level, prospective employers can review portfolios and profiles, assemble a freelance team, conduct project tracking, consult advisors, and use the site’s billing and invoice functions. Freelancers can send in bidding proposals for selected positions and projects.
WeWorkRemotely.com
Here’s a site that leaves no question about what it’s focusing on—not working on-site! The website claims to get approximately 2.5 million users a month, offering many job postings, all of them remote. Though not exclusively dedicated to IT-related jobs, We Work Remotely lists positions in DevOps, programming, and design. With companies like Amazon, Google, and InVision using it, We Work Remotely has gained a solid reputation.
ZipRecruiter.com
Freelance job seekers can create a free account and profile and search for salaries and jobs. Meanwhile, ZipRecruiter lets employers create job descriptions that get sent out to over 100 job sites. Think of ZipRecruiter as a matchmaking service that brings together employers and qualified candidates. Although the site is not dedicated exclusively to freelancers, you can enter the word in the job search field and get many promising results.
How to Make That Online Profile Pop
By now, you see that there are countless job sites out there, with millions of would-be freelancers competing for those positions. But before you upload that resume or profile, you should show a full range of marketable IT skills.
Simplilearn can help you gain those skills and turn you into the ideal candidate for jobs in fields such as Big Data, DevOps, Cyber Security Training, IT Service and Architecture, Digital Marketing, and more. Check out Simplilearn’s courses today and beef up that resume into something that employers can’t resist!
