With freelance work no longer relegated to the journalism industry, many brands are looking to take advantage of the benefits of hiring freelance workers.
To help brands locate the correct candidate and help freelancers locate the right job, many marketplaces and job boards have sprouted up which cater exclusively to freelancers.
Below are four of the most popular and unique freelance job marketplaces on the 'Net (note: others include freelancer.com, elance.com and upwork.com).
Upwork
A freelance job board for a wide variety of available positions, Upwork delivers unto job posters a large and diverse audience where professionals from all backgrounds can come together a discover new jobs that fit their specific qualifications and constraints. Categories available to post jobs in include Web developers, virtual assistants and accountants.
99 designs
Built specifically for designers, including graphic and website designers, 99designs implores brands to build a design brief in which they detail what they would like a designer to make. Then, once brands have submitted their brief, designers from around the world are able to read the brief and then submit their ideas for how to complete the brands design. Brands are then able to review the designs and submit feedback to designers in order to help them tweak their ideas to best suit the brand. Contests on the network last seven days, at which time brands must pick a winner.
Toptal
Created exclusively for developers, Toptal enables brands to seek out developers that specialize specific in such areas as iOS development, as well as Python and JavaScript. In order to help brands connect with the right developers, Toptal asks brands to submit details about their project requirements. Once the marketplace has the info it needs from brands, it looks through its registered freelancers for those that fit the requirements.
DesignCrowd
Another freelance marketplace built specifically for designers, DesignCrowd enables brands to find graphic designers along with logo, Web and print designers among others. Similar to 99designs, brands that leverage DesignCrowd start by submitting a brief that describes their project and sets up guidelines for designers. Once brands receive concepts form designers they are able to provide feedback in order to help designers revise their concepts.
