Public or Private oDesk Profile - Which is Better?
I have been an oDesk provider for more than two years now. I've been around since January 2009 when I was still in college and thank God, I have not experienced dry months due to lack of work. Yes, I can definitely attest that the grass is greener over here. :)
I kept my account public basically because I thought it was the only option. Until I learned that it's possible to privatize your oDesk profile or even set your profile that allows only oDesk users to see it.
Here are the features of the three profile visibility options offered by oDesk:
1. Private oDesk profiles will not be seen on the roster of oDesk providers which show up every time you make a search on the search bar. So if an employer happens to look for a certain skill which you have, he/she will not see you unless you apply for the job. If you're busy with other jobs and you're not interested in applying for any job at this moment, go ahead, privatize your oDesk profile.
2. Making your oDesk profile public means anyone can see it. Even those that do not have an account in oDesk. People can also search you through Google or other search engines. There's really nothing wrong about making your site public unless you put all your personal info. It's just a matter of knowing what to put in.
3. There's another choice. You can also set your profile to "oDesk users only". This means, only oDesk users who are logged in can see your profile. If you're really particular about your security but still want to be visible to oDesk users, then you can set your profile to this one.
In short, if you're not interested in any invitation from oDesk buyers, choose the private option. If you're currently looking for a job and you want to increase your chance of scoring an interview, you can make it public or visible to oDesk users only.
Here are the steps in setting the visibility of your profile:
1. Go to Username dropdown > Account & Profile Settings > My Contractor Profile. You may be asked to input your password or answer your security question for security purposes.
2. Scroll down to the My Public Profile section and press the Edit button.
3. Select from the Profile Access options.
4. Click Save.
I kept my account public basically because I thought it was the only option. Until I learned that it's possible to privatize your oDesk profile or even set your profile that allows only oDesk users to see it.
Here are the features of the three profile visibility options offered by oDesk:
1. Private oDesk profiles will not be seen on the roster of oDesk providers which show up every time you make a search on the search bar. So if an employer happens to look for a certain skill which you have, he/she will not see you unless you apply for the job. If you're busy with other jobs and you're not interested in applying for any job at this moment, go ahead, privatize your oDesk profile.
2. Making your oDesk profile public means anyone can see it. Even those that do not have an account in oDesk. People can also search you through Google or other search engines. There's really nothing wrong about making your site public unless you put all your personal info. It's just a matter of knowing what to put in.
3. There's another choice. You can also set your profile to "oDesk users only". This means, only oDesk users who are logged in can see your profile. If you're really particular about your security but still want to be visible to oDesk users, then you can set your profile to this one.
In short, if you're not interested in any invitation from oDesk buyers, choose the private option. If you're currently looking for a job and you want to increase your chance of scoring an interview, you can make it public or visible to oDesk users only.
Here are the steps in setting the visibility of your profile:
1. Go to Username dropdown > Account & Profile Settings > My Contractor Profile. You may be asked to input your password or answer your security question for security purposes.
2. Scroll down to the My Public Profile section and press the Edit button.
3. Select from the Profile Access options.
4. Click Save.
Categories:
freelancing
Copy cat profiles are a big issue on odesk, so if you write an excellent profile, it will be get stolen quickly and soon there will be bunch of profiles looking similar to yours. dudes that cant write even proper English sentence will have excellent profiles, so unless you want your profile to be stolen, of if you don't mind to have a dozen of similar looking profile as yours, keep the profile private
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