In our last article, we shared a few steps for how hiring developers online. We also cited a few outsourcing marketplace websites where you can quickly find freelancers to join your development team. Today we’ll talk about these platforms in more detail.
In the next topics, we are going to dive more deeply into each of the websites. We’ll explain better about their services and why you should consider using them. The outsourcing marketplace websites we are going to talk about are: Upwork, Freelancer, Guru, Hubstaff Talent and also LinkedIn. You can add to our list later in the comments below.
1. LinkedIn
Although more of a professional social media network than an outsourcing marketplace, LinkedIn still stands as a valuable tool to find new talents. LinkedIn over the years developed several features for hiring processes. We’d like to highlight the three main ones: LinkedIn Jobs, LinkedIn Recruiter and Job Slots.
LinkedIn Jobs is the first pick and the best suitable option for small to medium size businesses. You can create a job post in a few minutes if the basic qualifications you are looking for and share instantly with your network. In a few clicks, you are already matched with hundreds of potential candidates.
LinkedIn Recruiter is a hiring platform for talent professionals within LinkedIn. In Recruiter you will find more advanced filters, can save your searches and will be able to contact candidates using personalized InMail. The last feature is the most useful since you can contact LinkedIn users even when they have a private account and you don’t have their contacts. The only problem is that it’s a highly-cost product.
At last, Job Slots is an expanded version of LinkedIn Jobs. You will have access to more features to manage your job posts. Such as recommended candidates based on your job post criteria and Recruiter activity and a dedicated Customer Solutions Manager and Relationship Manager. This is more suitable for large companies due to its pricing.
2. Upwork
As we mentioned in the last article, we had a positive experience with the Upwork platform. This is the reason why we still use it today when we need to quickly find a new developer for a small project. It’s an all-together hiring platform that covers every single aspect from the hiring process. You can easily find developers, schedule interviews, track time and have secured payments.
You can interview, hire and pay your freelancers all on the same platform. Moreover, Upwork created a well-secured place to reduce the action of scammers in its website.
In Upwork, you can create job posts with very detailed descriptions. This includes: skills, project size, time requirement, location, English level, etc. And at last you can receive proposals from freelancers across the globe. You are able to send invites for specific profiles and the platform already matches you with the best potential candidates. Its filters help you to really limit your search and find the ideal candidate.
But the best feature of Upwork is its enormous talent pool. You can find freelancers in various set of categories. Copywriting, UI/UX design, software development, IT support, machine learning, virtual assistance, blockchain development, etc, you name it. There are millions of freelancers working on the platform today, increasing the chances of you finding the best suitable developer for your company.
3. Freelancer
As the name implies, this is a platform developed with the specific case of freelancers in mind. Freelancer is one of the oldest and largest outsourcing marketplaces for online hiring that ever existed.
It has an easy-to-use very intuitive interface and function as well as its more modern competitors. Same as in Upwork, you can either create a job post and wait for freelancers to send you proposals, or you can invite them to make a bid. You also have access to a large number of candidates, although with less diversity of categories than you can find on other platforms.
A differential aspect of Freelancer it’s the fee you pay for posting your job. The fee increases with the number of add-on features you put in your job post. So it’s an ideal cost-effective platform to use when you have very small or simple projects.
4. Guru
Guru is another of the current most popular outsourcing marketplace website you can find. Such as Upwork and Freelancer, you have a large pool of talented professionals to pick. And you also can create unlimited free job posts with your account.
One of the best aspects of the Guru platform is its management features. They allow you not only to add multiple freelancers to the same job but also to assign roles to each one of them to have better project management. This makes the website ideal for jobs where you need to hire more than one freelancer.
Guru provides you with multiple payment options meaning you can pay your hired freelancers by milestones, tasks, hours or by using recurring payments. On the other hand, it has one of the highest fees charged for both employers and freelancers. So have this in mind if you have a limited budget to spare in your job post.
5. Hubstaff Talent
Lastly, we’d like to comment on the Hubstaff Talent platform because this is one of the best 100% free alternatives to outsourcing marketplaces. You can create free job posts and freelancers don’t have to pay any fee to apply for jobs or to create accounts. This gives full flexibility for both employers and freelancers in their contracts, communication and payment methods.
But sadly Hubstaff Talent has one of the smallest talent pools in comparison to the other marketplaces. Also, you have less security and are more vulnerable to the actions of scammers, since there is no confirmation of identity. And there isn’t a work history in Hubstaff Talent so you won’t be able to check the freelancer’s past experiences.
Nonetheless, Hubstaff Talent is still a valid alternative when you don’t want to spend too much in your hiring process.
Conclusion
In this article, we shared a few of the outsourcing marketplaces where you can find and hire developers online. Our suggestions were: LinkedIn, Upwork, Freelancer, Guru and Hubstaff Talent. Each platform has its pros and cons so you should have a careful look at each one of them to choose the most suitable for your budget and your hiring process.
We hope you can find an interesting option in our list and you can always help us to improve our recommendations in the comments below or by contacting us. Thanks for your reading!
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