How many of you check Craigslist "Computer Gigs" postings for work?

[tankman1989]

The subject basically says it all. What do you look for when trying to find a short term computer "gig" or contact work?

 

[seedubya]

The subject basically says it all. What do you look for when trying to find a short term computer "gig" or contact work?

We don't use CL over here but I definitely don't used classifeds for customer acquisition.

Anyone who posts there is cheap.

 

[coffee]

I look thru them for entertainment purposes only. I would never answer one on CL.

Best Regards,

coffee

 

[Knightsman]

I have answered a few "more professional" ads, and it has paid off.

 

[CLC]

Absolutely never I did once upon a time and got screwed over twice

 

[tankman1989]

Wow, this must really differ from place to place as I've gotten some great jobs from CL, one was an IT manager for one of the most expensive country clubs in the world. I was blown away when I was selected for the job but when I found that I was the 11th IT manager in 8 months, alarms started to go off. I'll spare you the details on this place.

I do see from time to time some worthwhile gigs but I guess for the most part they are pretty cheap. It is kind of nerd entertainment to look and see what people are requesting and for how much.

Do any of you review the Technicial Support, systems/network or web /info design sections for job listings? There are often contract jobs listed there that pay pretty well.

 

[Cornerstone Technologies]

When I started out in LA a few years ago, I got a number of very good gigs from Craigslist. Every one of them was taken with a grain of salt and it was necessary to reject ones that seems too troublesome. In my area now though, people do not value what they are asking for and their offers reflect that reality.

 

[Blue]

This is sort of the reverse of what the OP is asking, but we used to post internship and volunteer positions on Craig's List. Overall, the technical skills of potential workers who showed up for the jobs weren't up to par, or had unrealistic expectations. So we ended up with about forty people being interested, only three actually staying, and even then, temporarily. Of the ones who did stay, I had to hold their hand throughout the most basic of IT tasks, e.g. installing Windows XP on a machine.

Add on to that the fact Craig's List changed their Terms of Service to say something along the lines of "we own your ad, you cannot post elsewhere", as detailed in a LifeHacker (?) article, and that pretty much nixed the whole idea.

We're in need of people who already have the skills to find their way around computer systems, perform basic tasks, and have fun with it, without me having to stop what I'm doing every 30 seconds to show them what to do. Corresponding with local trade schools, colleges, and other educational organizations, seems to be working out much better for everyone. I get people who are truly interested, want to learn more, and have a great deal to offer our community.

 

[300DDR]

Without CL, I never would have been in business. I start out using ONLY CL when I quit my old job and started working for myself full-time. By looking through computer service requests and posting my services ad, I was able to eat and put a roof over my head. From there, I got more word-of-mouth referrals, people leaving reviews on sites like yelp and yahoo local, and business grew to the point that CL is no longer necessary (though I still post an ad on there weekly).

If you are just starting out, it can be your best path to finding work - especially if you are in a big CL city, like LA or SF or NY. Of course, there are a lot of weirdos, but money is money if you can do the job and have an "adaptive" personality.

 

[Romaniac]

Yep, it's worth it. Juts feel 'em out if you are skeptical.

Had some good folks from there. Never had any big issues.

 

[Majestic]

I get some good quality business through craigslist as well.

 

[LABFE]

I'm reviving this old thread to find out if anyone checks any other sites as well? I've just started checking Craigslist "Computer Gigs," and currently have one job in the works but wondering about there being any other good sites to be checking? I'm obviously looking for these "gig" type jobs being an independent computer technician.

Also, any tips on getting connected with small IT companies/computer repair shops that like to hire technicians on 1099/contractor arrangements to do intermittent work? I'm in the Oklahoma City area. Just looking for ways to build up a full workload.

 

[gikstar]

Without CL, I never would have been in business. I start out using ONLY CL when I quit my old job and started working for myself full-time. By looking through computer service requests and posting my services ad, I was able to eat and put a roof over my head. From there, I got more word-of-mouth referrals, people leaving reviews on sites like yelp and yahoo local, and business grew to the point that CL is no longer necessary (though I still post an ad on there weekly).

If you are just starting out, it can be your best path to finding work - especially if you are in a big CL city, like LA or SF or NY. Of course, there are a lot of weirdos, but money is money if you can do the job and have an "adaptive" personality.

We don't look at Craigslist for work but you mention your reviews on Yelp helping your business grow... we got a call from our local Costco today because of our "All 5 Star Reviews" on Yelp, asking us to handle their warranty computer service where the client does not want their computer to be mailed off. This is the 'additional 1 year warranty' that Costco adds free to their computers. This work will give us an in to the client to notify them what additional services we provide... hopefully these will be mostly small/medium business clients. We pickup our first computer from them today.

I use Craigslist faithfully to purchase computer related items and have made a good number of contacts to where they contact me first before listing what they know I will purchase because I will purchase multiple items like new SSD's etc.

 

[brandonkick]

I used to look at it semi seriously at a point in my life, but I was never able
to find anything I really wanted to commit too. Most of it seemed too risky
or paid too poorly. For some people, I guess it works out.

 

[frase]

CL+= weirdos

 

[wickedmojoit]

I don't respond to the contract work, around here the contract work pays crap! But I will on occasion respond to businesses needing work and posting under gigs. CL is kind of a needle in the haystack for me but I check it every morning while I'm having coffee, takes 2 seconds. I might respond once every 3 months and when I find the Needle its worth it. Their are a few techs that seem to post religious in the computer services section. I think for that to work, you need to be posting at least a few times a day and have the time to weed out the 95% of crap responses or people looking to pay bottom barrel prices.

 

[Digital Micro]

Have you tried Field Nation? I do a lot of contract work through them.