There are jobs being posted out on Monster, Yahoo & Careerbuilder for VA employment - Anyone familiar with these? Anyone know if they are legite?

I've seen few of them in the past, and even applied to some of them. Maybe is just my luck, but the ones I applied for were scam offers. I was able to detect them in an early stage and report them to the job website and the hosting provider (when it had a company website).

Some of them asks for a VA for their accountant and financial services, looking for someone who can deal with their invoices, etc. Then, they go further providing you information that they want you to "collect and receive the payments from their clients" and "send it to any given client or person".

That's scam/money laundry.

I personally don't like to either use job websites looking for VA jobs or websites like Elance or oDesk. Sites like Hotjobs or Monster let scammers place their offer. Our services let them to easily find victims for this fraud system. And I don't like sites like Elance or oDesk because they devalue or defame our services and value to the small businesses market. It's ridiculous that people applies for jobs that only pays like $0.50 for hour for any VA service. But, it's just my opinion.

As with all things posted online it's important to do your homework - there are many legit jobs and contracts posted to those sites but there are an equal number of scams. This is why a contract and deposit are so crucial as part of your systems as a virtual service provider.

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There are jobs and/or client contacts that can be made from some of the legit freelance sites. I've used Elance a couple of times and I just made my bid for my going rate with an outline of my experience and how I would complete their project.

It's happened twice now that two of those buyers hired people that bid at a lesser rate and then they ended up coming to me when they didn't get the results they wanted. One of them has become an on-going retainer client. A third client from a site contacted me directly today about another new project that he wants my help with.

So, these kinds of sites can be useful to getting your feet off the ground, but you have to know how to use them and you need to stick to your guns about your fees. It's also important to make your profile look good and to make your proposals stick out so that even if they decline initially, they may consider you later on. And lastly, be judicious about what jobs you apply for. Don't just apply for anything that says Virtual Assistant on it. Look for the ones that have tasks that you specialize in or where you have specific expertise. Or keep an eye out for the ones where not everyone out there will have the skills to bid on it such as data entry or anything that can easily be done for $2/hr overseas. Some buyers really want someone in a specific time zone or they want someone who speaks native English.

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

I just started using Elance today and placed my first bid, so thank you for the information on how you approached setting your profile up. I didn't know if it would be possible to find the type of clients that I am looking for there, but I am glad to hear a success story. Hopefully at the very least, it will result in a testimonial.

I've noticed that they post many positions from Craigslist ...even the non- legitimate ones. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think they research them first.

Lori

There are more and more entries popping up for VAs all over the place, most of them scams. I have been watching a bunch of sites and tried some but they do not amount to anything.

I am happy that Kimberly has gained some contacts from Elance but I personally find it a low blow to VA's, for if they are deseparate enough to fight for a job, they will bid themselves down to a very low rate of pay. I have not had any luck with Elance and I also find it costly to start bidding on a number of jobs. Being new to the industry, I want to find and gain clients for as little as possible and Elance was not one good way.
Don't get me wrong Kimberly, I think your views on sticking to your rate of pay, etc is the best way and only way to succeed on that site.
As for Craigslist - mostly scams. I even attended a online discussion about a posting just so that I can get a true feel for it.
I think if you can spend the time and search through postings for VAs you will find them and after a while you will now what to jump on and what to leave behind for others. If you do find postings or scams on Craigslist, send them a notification and it will be removed.

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Internet Marketing Specialist
Back Pocket Business Solutions

I don't pay a monthly fee to use Elance. I take the free connects that they give me and that's all I would use for the month. I have primarily used it during down times when things might have been a bit slow. Right now, that's not the case and I haven't used it in a couple of months.

I just had another client that I worked with contact me yesterday for a large and well-paying project outside of that site. He was also one of two clients that gave me testimonials for my website. I guess my point is that you can use it for what it's worth- and that there can be some value there for not much effort, but that I also agree with Lora that you shouldn't solely depend on it (or any other freelance job site) and that it shouldn't take up a large amount of your time in terms of seeking work because it's not very likely that the odds are in your favor for long term work at decent pay. It also depends on your skill set and what you can uniquely offer that will set you apart enough to be able to stick to your set rates.

I don't know that I see it as fighting for a job in any other way that I'm always in some competition with other VAs in the industry anyway. But I do agree that VAs (or anybody for that matter) should not bid for jobs at rates that don't even come close to minimum wage because that just perpetuates the buyers/providers out there who think they can get cheap labor and not pay a living wage.

As for Craigslist, I post a small biz ad on there, but I've never applied for any VA jobs from there. The only good thing I ever found on Craigslist was my husband...but that's a whole other story .

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

I only use elance for the free account also. I just can't believe that their are so many people offering services for $2/hr and I am not about to belittle myself to that rate.
I am also still amazed that you had clients contact you after the fact for work. This is great and encouraging to myself and others that may use this site. You had given some great advice in your previous post.
Okay Kimberly, now you have to tell us the story of meeting your husband on Craigslist! Sounds very interesting.

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Internet Marketing Specialist
Back Pocket Business Solutions

I have also used eLance (the free membership) and have submitted several proposals with no luck. I also place a small biz ad on Craigslist, but am frustrated that most of the ads in the small biz section are the get rich schemes. I have also tried Team Double-Click, but find they just want you to download software to use at a cost. I think we all need to be creative and persistent in seeking clients.

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Margie Gibson
http://mgvirtualofficesolutions.org