mobcode

Invest $20 in a RentACoder experiment

If you are a developer you need to experience what it is like to use RentACoder to buy code.

Here is what you do:

• Think of a little piece of code you want written. Think of something you would pay $20 for.

• Write a one page spec for what you want.

• Create an account on RentACoder. This is a bit painful, particularly the part where they validate your financial credentials. But hey, no pain, no gain.

• Post the spec on RentACoder, watch the bids come in, pick a likely looking developer, and have them code it for you.

Here is why:

• Learn what developers around the world will code for $20.

• See what kind of code your competition produces.

• See what it is like working with a developer. What does the developer do to help make the effort a success or a failure?

• Experience buying software development services. Most coders spend their lives coding, but never get a chance to buy coding services. Experiencing the buying side will help you know how to relate to your buyers better.

If you are serious about your craft of programming it is well worth your time, and money to do a RentACoder experiment. Think of it as a bit of market research. It is guaranteed to open your eyes in some ways.

Give it a try and post a comment back here to let me know what you learn!

oDesk is better than RentACoder for small graphics projects

I use both oDesk and RentACoder (and occasionaly guru.com). I am trying to understand what kind of work is best suited to each. I have found a category that works much better on oDesk: small graphics projects.

Small graphics projects do not work well on RentACoder. You have to describe what you need in detail. You have to wait for your project to be approved by RentACoder. Work is hard to estimate so you end up with a wide range in bids. You look at many portfolios trying to determine who has the talents you need. You can only communicate with bidders through the RentACoder messaging system. Often you do not receive speedy responses. You are tempted to go with the low bids because you are a cheap. But even if you accept a low bid you still have your money tied up from the start of the project. If the project doesn’t turn out well then you will have to hassle with a RentACoder mediation process to try and get your money back. You would like to get multiple people working in parallel so you will have a better chance of getting results, but each person requires that you escrow enough money to fund the entire project. This adds up. Once a bidder is awarded the project, then their game is to spend as little time on the project as possible while still delivering enough to guarantee they get the money. So there is tension in the relationship from the beginning.

Small graphics projects work great on oDesk. Post a project describing what you need at a high level. Very quickly pick a promising candidate. Contact them via instant messenger. Determine if it is a fit and then they can start working. Your only exposure is the hourly rate they will charge. You can see their progress online via the oDesk tools. This works great for graphics because you can see what ideas the designer is experimenting with, even before they are comfortable presenting them to you. It is even economical to get multiple designers working in parallel. After a few hours you can pick the leading candidate and continue working with them.

I have recently worked on several small graphics projects on RentACoder and oDesk. There is no comparison, the oDesk results are far superior in every way: speed of hiring, speed of delivery, quality of work delivered, and lack of pain in the process.

What is popular on RentACoder?

Here is a web page that shows what kind of jobs are being posted on RentACoder: http://www.ploud.com/.

So I was dying to know what are “Graphics Art Music” projects? I don’t even know what that means. Turns out there is a category of “Graphics / Art / Music” on RentACoder. Which of course, makes much more sense.

Resume editing service

You need to put your resume or CV or profile on the web. Maybe it is for your own website or maybe you are populating your profile on a site like RentACoder or oDesk.

If you send me the text of your profile then I will review it and provide you with feedback to improve it.

I am a native English speaker who has interviewed and hired many developers for US companies. I will provide feedback from the perspective of a project sponsor trying to hire developers to work on US based projects.

Submit your profile to the Resume Editing Service.

Read bid requests

One of the keys when responding to bid requests on RentACoder, oDesk, or guru.com is to read the request in detail. Read it in-depth to try and understand:

• What are the main deliverables?
• What are the main skills needed?
• What parts are poorly specified or most difficult?

Then when you respond use this information to:

• Reiterate the most important points to show you understand
• Describe how you have the needed skills and reference specific experiences where you gained or demonstrated those skills.
• Ask questions about the poorly specified or difficult parts to understand them better.

Note that when you reiterate the main points do not think that you are redefining what needs to be done. Don’t think of it that way and don’t communicate it that way. The sponsor wants all of the features done. So when you reiterate the main points do not make it sound like that is all you will do.

Bid timing

Pay attention to the timing of your project bids. Projects posted to RentACoder, oDesk, or guru.com have a response curve that looks like a big mass of quick responses and then a long, tapering tail of a few responses.

• First responses. This is a good place to be. You are very likely to have your bid reviewed seriously if you are one of the first responders. The project sponsor is excited about the project and anxious to see who can work on it.
• First part of the mass. The project sponsor is probably still looking for a person. You have a reasonable chance of being looked at if you present yourself well in your bid, price, and profile
• Latter part of the mass. This is not a good place to be. The project sponsor has already started to zero in on a candidate and has so many applicants to look at that it is hard to distinguish them. It is hard to stand out in this area.
• Way out in the tail. This can turn out well. Even if the opening is quite stale there is a chance that the initial applicants did not work out. At least with a reduced flow of bids you have a better chance of being noticed.