- Craigslist is notorious for scammy operations, but there are methods to find Craigslist gigs that fit your needs
- Pay close attention to all of the small print in any job posting before applying and discover red flags before investing an excessive amount of of your time working with Craigslist poster
- There are a lot of alternative ways to find freelancing work, we offer 8 alternatives to Craigslist on your freelancing needs
Background on Craigslist
Launched back in 1995 when the web was fairly young, Craigslist was each founded by and named after Craig Newmark, a software engineer in, you guessed it, San Francisco. Originally it was more of an events notification system via email, then became a full-fledged website in 1999. Because it grew, it became many things to many various people.
Today, you can find absolutely anything on the location, from cars to haircutting services to Craigslist gigs for all sorts of freelancers. Craigslist may not look glamorous, but don’t judge the location by its layout––it generates greater than $1 billion dollars every year and reaches about 300 million people (almost all the population of america) each month.
With those sorts of stats, why would you ignore Craigslist as a viable way to generate freelance income? Some persons are postpone of Craigslist gigs due to repute of the location, some are wary of privacy or scammers, and a few younger employees may not even realize Craigslist exists (Which makes me feel old, but we’ll leave that for an additional discussion).
In this text we’ll address the obstacles to using Craigslist, should you how to find legitimate Craigslist gigs and use them to construct your client base, and provides you some alternative ideas if Craigslist is only a no for you.
5 Scams to avoid when searching for Craigslist gigs
Let’s just start with the elephant within the room. Craigslist is referred to as a spot for shady people to scam others out of cash or possessions.
This obviously is just not all the time the case, but everyone has heard of somebody of their network (or their grandma’s hairdressers doggroomer’s network…) who got involved in a scary Craigslist situation. There was even an animated short dedicated to a Craigslist horror story.
Don’t let that stop you from searching for Craigslist gigs. The reality is, scams account for less than 1.5% of posts on Craigslist. With a number of precautions, you’ll have the option to spot scams from a mile away and keep yourself secure.
To make sure, let’s review the highest 5 scams and their red flags in order that you aren’t taken in.
1. The Bait and Switch
You discover the right posting––the job suits your skills, the pay is affordable, but when you send an email to get more information, the outline you get is totally different from the unique ad. And rather more fishy. Scammers do that to look more legitimate than they really are. By writing a professional-sounding posting, they’ll get you to respond, and once you have responded, you have invested time and energy and might just be willing to wade further into the mess. Don’t fall for it. If the instructions or application strategy of Craigslist gigs don’t match what you originally inquired about, something is off.
2. The Bank Deposit
Most individuals have heard of this one. A job description claims that you can “earn cash for doing practically nothing!” All they need you to do is allow them to use your checking account for some vague (or sometimes elaborately detailed) reason. They may deposit funds, after which ask you to send a part of the cash to suppliers or clients. The unique deposit will then bounce and you might be out the cash you sent to the fake partners. There is admittedly no legitimate business model that involves sending money from one account to the subsequent. Even when you make some money at first, you could possibly be involved in illegal activities.
3. The Bogus Business
On this fraud, the scammers will arrange a job posting that appears completely real, however the business behind the gig is unquestionably not. The illegitimate company often asks for an application fee or an investment of some kind that you pay directly to the poster or to the “business” itself. But when the business doesn’t have a functioning website, a phone number, a physical address, social media accounts, customer reviews, etc., it’s more likely that you are simply giving your money away to someone who won’t ever call you back.
4. The Identity Thief
Legitimate Craigslist gigs won’t ever ask you for vital personal information––things like a driver’s license, social security number, financial details, and even identifiers like your mother’s maiden name or the name of your highschool––before you have been hired. A scammer will arrange a job posting and ask for increasingly personal items until you quit on the gig. By that point, they could have enough to use your bank card, apply for a loan in your name, steal your email address and other accounts, even take your own home. Never give any personal information to someone you haven’t thoroughly vetted. And a few kinds of knowledge you should never share, period.
5. Big-Name brands
This scheme involves posting fake jobs for real corporations. It’s easy to get caught dreaming that, actually, an enormous brand inside your industry is hiring off of Craigslist! Several years ago, one such scam claimed that the Higher Business Bureau was hiring customer support reps with no experience needed. It wasn’t real, and, by sending their resume, people had their information stolen without finding work. It isn’t inconceivable that big-name corporations might turn to Craigslist to find employees, especially in the present economy, but when Craigslist gigs seem too good to be true, an excellent rule of thumb is that they probably are.
How to Find Legit Craigslist Gigs
After reading through that list of potential job scams, you might start pondering it’s dangerous to even visit the Craigslist site! But for each fake job posting, there are millions of legitimate Craigslist gigs. The percentages are in your favor, so don’t quit, just learn the way to protect yourself.
To try this, there are a number of rules that you can follow to find legit Craigslist gigs and grow your freelance business.
Search for detail in postings
Real employers will take the time to explain what they need and what their business is about. Grammatical errors, vague descriptions, or followup emails that don’t match what you thought you were signing up for are all red flags. Search for gigs that closely match your skills and offerings, not only any “earn a living from home” listing.
1. Stay local
One of the best Craigslist gigs for freelancers are likely right in your area. If possible, search for postings from local businesses. This manner, you know of course that the job comes from an actual company, and it is simple to confirm the small print. You furthermore may might find numerous joy in being a part of your immediate community and creating in-person working relationships.
2. Meet your potential client
This may occasionally be crucial tip on this list. All the time insist on meeting an employer before you provide any personal information. The meeting can happen over Zoom or face-to-face. Be wary of a possible client who isn’t willing to show their face, and all the time meet in a public place. Talking to someone gives you the prospect to read their body language and get a gut feeling for what it can be like to work together. If anything feels off, don’t hesitate to walk away.
3. Never work at no cost
A posting that asks you to create “sample” work very specific to a client is something to avoid. There may be nothing to stop them from taking your work and never contacting you again. You recognize your value as a freelancer––you don’t ever have to do work without being paid for it. If you feel strongly about working with the client, send your portfolio over. That needs to be enough for the client to determine in case your skills are an excellent fit.
4. Create a contract
Any legitimate potential client needs to be open to putting your working relationship in writing. If an employer is unwilling to sign anything, run the opposite way. Even just asking for a contract should weed out potential scammers, and the signed document gives you some protection within the event that the gig turns sour.
5. Don’t apply without doing all of your homework
Never just send a resume or click through to an application from Craigslist without looking into the business behind it. Take a look at their website, LinkedIn profile, and even reach out outside of Craigslist to get a feel for the legitimacy of the corporate before you offer up any details about yourself.
6. Keep your money
Legitimate Craigslist gigs won’t ever ask for you to “buy in” to the position. Application fees, upfront investments, etc. are all red flags that a job is a scam. There are many real gigs that may pay you, not the opposite way around, so don’t feel the necessity to accept a job that asks you to give them money.
If you follow the following pointers, there are definitely Craigslist gigs on the market for you.
8 Alternatives sites for craigslist gigs
While Craigslist gigs will be an awesome option for freelancers searching for more work, if the potential for scams is just too intimidating, there are definitely other options for locating freelance work.
Below are only among the sites that supply legitimate job postings to help you find the right fit for you.
1. Freelancer
Freelancer.com was considered one of the primary job sites that catered directly to freelancers, offering positions specific to contract employees. Remember that Freelancer does take a percentage of your earnings, but in return, unlike Craigslist, they provide a security net, with the power to resolve disputes inside the platform.
2. Upwork
Like Freelancer.com, Upwork takes a cut of each project you complete, and competition for jobs on this site is high. Nonetheless, with billing housed inside the platform and an enormous volume of users, Upwork will be an awesome way to catapult your freelance profession and earn greater than you do now.
3. Flexjobs
Flexjobs is greater than just the sort of marketplace that Craigslist is. Yes, there are legit job postings, but there are also a wide range of resources available, corresponding to profession coaching. Moreover, Flexjobs claims to screen each job posting, so you won’t have to cope with scams. Flexjobs has a weekly or monthly membership rate, so you have to make the decision whether it’s value it for you.
4. SolidGigs
SolidGigs stands out on this list because, as an alternative of being a job board where you sift through potential gigs and check out to determine whether or not they are legitimate, SolidGigs sends pre-screened job postings straight to you. For a monthly or annual membership fee, you’ll also gain access to their full range of courses and tools to help you in your profession path.
5. Fiverr
Fiverr has develop into a controversial job site for freelancers, mostly because originally, the location was designed to literally offer employers a probability to have tasks done for less than $5. Obviously, to a talented employee, that is problematic. Nonetheless, Fiverr has modified lots since those early days, and lots of people find numerous success freelancing through this platform. Like most other freelance marketplaces (Craigslist excluded), you pays a percentage of your earnings for the privilege of using Fiverr.
6. ClearVoice
ClearVoice is a platform specific to content creators. Writers, editors, designers and other content professionals will really find their area of interest here. ClearVoice is taken into account a tier above sites like Fiverr and Upwork, so if you are more of a talented freelancer you will find barely higher paying work on this platform. ClearVoice takes a 25% cut off the highest of every gig, but the upper price point helps to make up the difference.
7. Vollna
Vollna is a consolidation site that puts opportunities from most of the other freelance job sites on this list in a single place and sends you a notice when one matches your skills. This makes it easy to seek for gigs. There may be a free version of Vollna, but so as to narrow down the quantity of postings you get through email, you’ll probably want to pay for the mid-level tier.
8. Guru
Guru purportedly has barely less security than another freelance platforms, so you’ll want to take the identical precautions on this site that you would on others, including Craigslist. Nonetheless, if you find an awesome client, you can proceed to work with them, potentially for years, so Guru is usually a solid way to find gigs.
Conclusion
There are every kind of how for freelancers to find jobs, and Craigslist is one powerful tool in your freelance arsenal. While there are scams, if you take the right care, there isn’t a reason to completely avoid Craigslist gigs. Particularly if you are curious about working for small, local businesses, Craigslist is an awesome way to connect with recent people and find success as a freelancer.
Even when you aren’t searching for used furniture or second-hand appliances, Craigslist has a spot in your enterprise.
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