Elance Templates

Elance also helps with job postings by providing templates for standard job requests. For unique jobs, like in the previous example, these might not work as well, but for many jobs this is a good starting point. Your own previous job postings will be available to use as templates, too. All you need to do is go in and change the details.

Access Elance’s templates from the job posting site itself. Click on the Post Your Job button and you will be taken to the page where you create your job posting.

Type in the name of your job and template choices will appear on the right, as shown in Figure 11.1. In this case, all I did was type in Logo design for athletic clothing company and up popped three options. Double-click on the template of your choosing and you will be guided through a series of choices.

Figure 11.1: Certain keywords trigger Elance job posting template options.

BEST PRACTICES

Don’t sugarcoat difficult or complex aspects to your job. This will lead to unfair expectations and subpar results. It’s better to find those contractors that are up to the task than it is to work through rats’ nests later on.

In Figure 11.2, you are offered choices for what type of logo you want designed. In place of the project description, you are asked to briefly describe your business. Fill this out so the contractor understands your company’s purpose, and click on which logo style appeals to you.

Figure 11.2: Elance walks you through the process of tailoring your job posting.

After the logo specifics are chosen, you will be directed to choose colors and style before you go to the normal posting parameters like price range, specific skills, etc. For generic jobs, this can greatly streamline the process and provide quality results.

The template may not serve your needs specifically, so you’ll need to go in and rewrite aspects. Elance allows for this. Simply highlight and delete what doesn’t apply, and then write in what does.

In Figure 11.3, maybe the template job posting description doesn’t match your job requirements exactly. However, the template does provide a structure for you to work within. It’s a matter of going in and rewriting the material to suit your job.

Figure 11.3: In this example, Elance provides a structure that will need to be adjusted.