Hello
There are several sites that exist to connect people with projects.
They list or make available to members, RFPs (Request for Proposals)
or bid requests for freelance and full time design work.
For large-scale, corporate clients, the following are the most well
known
Note that most operate a submission fee or subscription fee system.
I've found it's generally worth it given the amount of work that they
get you. (I'm a freelance IT contractor when I'm not on Google.)
eWork Exchange
( http://www.ework.com )
A huge project exchange site - people looking for designers/designers
looking for projects , with many Fortune 100 companies using the
services. Independent professionals can list one Skills Profile for
free; additional profiles can be listed for a small monthly fee.
Register and eWork delivers a list of projects matching your profile.
They list both onsite and offsite jobs. Also offers services for
contractors, such as contract, time tracking, invoicing, and billing
services. And incidentally, their site has a lot of articles and info
on contracting and web design.
Guru.com
( http://www.guru.com )
Online marketplace connecting freelancers and consultants with
contract projects. Mix of onsite and offsite projects. Can view some
projects without registering. Registration process is lengthy but
worth it. They are currently looking for candidates to add to their
"job seeker" database, and have over 50,000 jobs currently in their
job database. They cover a wide range, from corporate Fortune 100
companies down to small businesses.
WebProsNow
( http://www.webprosnow.com/ )
Highly recommended for experienced designers and is run exclusively
for Web projects. ( Site is run by coolhomepages.com ) Buyers and
vendors are both screened for acceptance. Buyer submits information
about Web project (an RFP or Request For Proposal). Matching system
finds best matches from database of accepted developers. So you don't
actually see a full list of RFPs, but they contact you if your skills
match any requests coming in. This actually help in cutting down the
time trawling for approprite proposals to quote for. They go through
phases when they don't take on any new designers, and I think they are
in one of those at the moment, but I'd keep an eye on the site.
smarterwork
( http://www.smarterwork.com/ )
International and multi-lingual project listing with a lot of European
jobs. Can view available projects without registering. Bids are also
visible. To aid both client and seller, smarterwork provides a Global
Online Payment and Mutual Feedback system. They have a long list of
big corporate clients, and you can see testimonials at (
http://www.smarterwork.com/dynamic/community/default.asp?DP=clisucstory_home
)
It currently costs about $35 a month to register
Onvia
( http://www.onvia.com/ )
This service helps businesses secure government contracts and
government agencies find suppliers. There is a monthly subscription
rate for receiving a customized listing of government Request for
Proposals (RFP). A free sample report is available. It advertises
national coverage across the U.S., The Onvia Guide includes
RFPs/RFIs/RFQs and Bid Requests from local, municipal, state and
federal sources. A basic subscription is $75.00/month for daily
alerts in up to 15 categories and locations.
At the next level down, for small and medium size businesses and small
projects from corporate clients, elance are probably the best known,
but there are others
Designer Index
( http://designerindex.com/wanted.shtml )
This is a board where people post RFPs, mainly small to medium size
(although occassionally a biggie pops up)
eLance
( http://www.elance.com )
Buyers post their projects and service providers bid to do the work.
Buyers are given a level of authentication or Billing and Payment
status. (Good information to have before bidding on a project) Buyers
choose a service provider based on bids, profile information, work
samples, and feedback ratings from previous buyers. This is a very
busy site, and bidding tends to be competitive. It's all very cut and
thrust, and you have to be prepared to stand up and be counted. But
it's a great place to look if you need some work to tide you over for
a few days or weeks during a slack period.
Freelancing.net
( http://www.freelancers.net )
In the UK I am subscribed to Freelancing.Net, which lists both UK and
worldwide projects for small to medium sized businesses. You can see
their current project list at (
http://www.freelancers.net/projects.html ) And unlike the others
mentioned here, they are totally free. (And at the moment they're
giving away free advertising on their site)
You should also keep an eye on http://www.webjobsusa.com , as many
contracts get listed here rather than get posted via any of the
agencies mentioned above
If I were you I'd also post my resume to IT job agencies - you'll find
links to them at ( http://webdesign.about.com ) Many corporates deal
directly with agencies and don't go through the RFP boards.
Hope this is of help. I'm signed up to some of them myself, as a tech
writer, and the good news is I'm rarely out of work.
This site has a lot of great info, including hints on finding work as
a designer, how to identify possible clients etc etc
Articles and Information for the freelance web designer
http://webdesign.about.com/cs/freelancecorner/
Google search terms
RFP job boards "web design"
proposal employment contract "web design" |
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