by Doreen Martel

Created on: December 05, 2009   Last Updated: December 07, 2009

If you are one of the thousands of people who are working at home and you are interested in being able to bid on jobs through a marketplace, oDesk might be the right tool for you. Unlike many other sites, oDesk is free to register, free to post a profile and free to bid on jobs. There are limits to how many jobs that you can apply to based on certain criteria. Let us take a look at some of the benefits of oDesk.

1. Guaranteed payment on hourly assignments - Although some people may find it obtrusive, oDesk will guarantee your payment on hourly assignments provided you download and install a tool called "oDesk Team". This time tracker records what you are doing when you are logged in to an hourly assignment. There are settings that can be manipulated/changed to make it work best for you. If you inadvertently capture something in a screen snap it can easily be removed from your work diary by following instructions.

2. Automatic billing on hourly assignments - Billing on hourly assignments works much like it does in the "brick and mortar" world. Your week begins at 12:00 AM (GMT) on Monday and ends at 11:59 on Sunday. Then a series of steps are taken to ensure that your work diary accurately reflects your work - these steps are (a) you have the opportunity until noon (again GMT) on Monday to edit and remove any items from your work diary that you feel are inappropriate (b) you and your buyer are notified of the work diary being "locked"; (c) the dispute period begins at noon on Monday and continues until 11:59 pm on Thursday. Once these three phases have completed the buyer is automatically billed for all hours that have been charged to his (or her) account for the week. Now begins the "security period" which allows oDesk to validate funding. Funds are then available to the provider to withdraw from their account on Wednesday at 12:01 AM GMT.

3. Free Tests - oDesk has partners with Expert Rating to administer skills tests. All tests are free of charge. Each test contains a syllabus (not be confused with a study guide) that allows you to review the topics you will be tested on. Skills tests can be made public (for all to see in your profile) or may be private (if you are not happy with your score). The one mandatory test is the oDesk Readiness Test that must be taken if you wish to apply to more than two (2) job postings.

4. Profile - oDesk offers a comprehensive profile that allows you to highlight who you are and what you can do. The "overview" allows you to

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