Chapter 1- How to Maximize Your Chances of Getting Freelance Testing Work?
Here are few tips before you start working for any of the freelancing websites offering work from home job opportunity:
Note: These tips are applicable for only first 4 freelancing sites mentioned in chapter 2.
1) Initially apply for small projects with lowest possible bid. This is necessary for you to get started with at least one positive feedback. You can increase your hourly rate at any time later.
2) There are limitations on number of free bids you can place on projects. To utilize this quote effectively make sure to apply for relevant jobs where you are the best fit. Also apply for at least one relevant job per day. This will keep your profile active which will help you get steady work flow. Even considering a 10% success ratio you will have to apply for at least 10 jobs to get your first contract.
3) Look for profiles of other testers/QAs working on software testing projects. Study their profiles and see how they present their skills and apply for new projects. Prepare your detailed profile with your expertise, experience and other soft skills.
4) Application cover letter should convince how you are the best fit for their requirements and how you can complete this job efficiently. Also do not use same cover letter while applying for multiple jobs.
5) Avoid looking desperate for getting a job. Looking desperate shows that you don’t have professional experience.
6) Take all tests related to software testing skills. Be well prepared for these tests and score in top 10%.
7) Communicate constantly with clients. Make sure you understand the project requirements clearly. Also contact them whenever you have queries while working on the project.
8) Be willing to provide extra services until the client is 100% satisfied.
9) Stick to deadlines. This is important for getting long term quality contract.
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Chapter 2 - Where to Find Freelance Testing Jobs?
Work from Home opportunities for Software testing professionals
One of the most frequent questions I get is “where to find freelance testing opportunities?” Here are some great resources for you to earn some extra income working from home as a software tester:
Note – I’ve prepared this list from my own experience and partly with the help of our readers who are doing great working from home. This does not mean it will work for everyone. You need to try different opportunities and see what works best for you. To avoid scams, you need to be very careful to make sure that work from home job is legitimate before joining or providing any personal information.
oDesk.com
There are hundreds of opportunities for software testers on this freelancing site. Also chances of getting a full time long term contract are higher on oDesk compared to other freelancing sites. You need to remember the tips we provided in first chapter in order to get a job from oDesk. Getting a freelancing work on oDesk is comparatively easy but you need to be consistent with your work quality.
You can search for “software testing” work on oDesk or here is the category under which you will find almost all software testing QA opportunities.
Freelancer.com
You need to create freelancer account in order to bid on any of the projects.
Tips - Bidders with positive reviews get more projects. If you are good at writing you can find technical writing opportunities as well.
Search for testing jobs on this site at:
1. Testing QA
2. Software Testing
3. Testing
Elance.com
How it works?
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Create your freelancer profile here on Elance. Search for the jobs and submit your proposal. Once you are awarded the project you can work in a shared workroom on Elance. Elance will automatically track your time for hourly based projects. Your payments are sent after the work completion.
Tips: Make sure you add all your key skills, job history and a nice photo to get noticed when clients search for freelance testers for the work.
Find testing QA opportunities on Elance here.
PeoplePerHour.com
This is one of the most popular freelance services with hundreds of new job postings each day.
How it works?
As a tester you need to build up your profile on PPH. The profiles are ranked based on the economic activity per month so that newbie get chance to rise up.
Once you have created your profile and provided all the required information you can start searching for jobs. You can even get daily notifications for your search term so that you won't miss any good testing opportunity. You can send your proposal when you find a relevant testing job.
Tips: You need to submit a competitive proposal in order to increase your chance of winning. Your proposal should mention the information like what you will deliver and by when. When you complete the work make sure to ask for reviews. Freelancers with highest and positive reviews have greater chance of winning the bid.
Once you win the bid, communicate with the client and complete the work. You will get paid on completion of the project. All payments are handled through Escrow so there are no chances of any fraud.
Where to find testing jobs on PPH:
Click here to search all current testing opportunities available with PPH.
QAonRequest.com
How does it work?
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You need to register to use this service. While creating account mention all your testing skills. Once your application is accepted you will be notified when there is a new testing project with skills relevant to your profile. Tester who accepts the job and the work deadline first is selected for that project.
Services provided by QAonRequest – Functional testing, beta testing, test plan design, exploratory testing.
Apply to become a tester at QAonRequest.
uTest.com
uTest is the world's largest marketplace for software testing services.
This is by far the most popular site for finding software testing opportunities for almost all manual and automation testing skills. Using uTest you will get opportunity to work on top quality products before they are released to the market. Also there is a huge learning opportunity for testers on uTest. You get chance to view and learn from the bug reports submitted by top rated testers. It’s truly amazing experience working with top companies which you won’t get by working with one company on a single project as a full time tester.
How does it work?
Companies list their projects with uTest. uTest notify the testers about this work via email. It’s up to you whether you want to accept the offer or not. uTest pays base fee per project. This base pay is also displayed on your account dashboard before accepting or declining the offer. Apart from the base pay you will also get fixed amount for exceptional and valuable defects found. E.g. $10 for exceptional bug and $5 for very valuable bug. Also the pay structure differs based on the testers ranking on uTest. High ranking testers get more incentives compared to new testers.
Overall, this is a good opportunity for experienced testing professional.
Though uTest pays a handsome amount of money for quality bugs filled, they are very choosy when it comes to selecting good testers. As a selection process you will have to work on an unpaid test cycle on their sandbox environment. During this test cycle you need to log 4 defects for the test application. You are rated based on the quality of these defects. To get selected on their paid team you need to score in top 30% testers for a given test cycle.
Tips – In selection process, be careful while submitting your 4 defects for the test cycle. Make sure you follow all their instructions and log only exceptional or high quality defects.
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Cons – Though this is a huge opportunity for testers, you need to invest a lot of time initially. Working on unpaid or contest projects suck your valuable time without getting any significant pay
