Where to find freelancers?

[ylex1]

Hi

I have a small advertising company in México, I’m always getting web projects, more than I can handle, so now and then I need to work with a web developer, the problem is every time I’ve tried to find someone locally, I always get these idiots who think they’re the only people in the world who can do web and try to charge me a lot, or LOTS of noobs or people who still makes websites with dreamweaver and flash.

So I was thinking hiring someone online, do you guys know any websites or forums were I can find some cool freelancers. If some of you want to leave your emails or contact info that’s alright :)

[mayura]

[__]

I always get these idiots who think they’re the only people in the world who can do web and try to charge me a lot, or LOTS of noobs or people who still makes websites with dreamweaver and flash.

I think you’ll find that pretty much anywhere. You just have to practice weeding people. Forums (like this one, for example) are decent resources if you are active on them – you have an opportunity to observe how well various members:

… communicate and interact with “clients” (members they are helping)

… solve problems

… write code

This is a great way to distinguish between people who are good at coding and pleasant to work with, and those that simply lurk on the forums, waiting for work. Obviously, this is only effective if you are a regular visitor – not if you just show up once.

Another thing to consider is what you offer. I don’t know how much you pay, so I’m not saying it is too little or too much – but in general, a big obstacle to finding good help is unrealistic budgeting. Make sure you’re offering fair compensation.

[Alen]

Calling your potential candidates/employees idiots is not cool, esp. publicly. Maybe it’s possible you’re not communicating correctly to the type of employee you’re after. Like @traq said, compensation plays big roll as well. The old saying still stands: You get what you pay for.

[__]

Why don’t you give a little more information about what sort of work you need a freelancer for?

[ylex1]

Well the last project I had was a hotel who needed a reservation system and another company sold us one, but we didn’t knew how to implement it to work with the website, sometimes we need them to give the website certain dynamic effects, or make a form work, it’s really not that much work, Im a web designer too, Im not just some random guy who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

We worked with a web designer in Poland once, he couldn’t believe we payed him that much for what he did, he told me “that was all you guys needed? really?”, plus, we ask them their conditions and talk to them first.

[__]

So, sounds like mostly javascript plus a little server-side work? and you handle all the design stuff? What languages/frameworks do you prefer? Do you need someone who knows databases? AJAX?

Im not just some random guy who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

I didn’t mean to imply you were. If you give more information about the kind of work you typically offer, you’ll get better-qualified candidates in response. More details are better. The “good ones” won’t jump on a vague advertisement (especially, as @Alen mentioned, one that bad-mouths past contractors – doesn’t matter how bad they really were; it’s unprofessional, and just plain old off-putting). If you want good freelancers, you need to remember that they’re going to be “interviewing” you just as much as you interview them (probably more).

[Author]

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