I’m both shocked and impressed at how simple it is to outsource IT work completely online nowadays.  I’m very curious to see what affect this trend is going to have on the IT industry in 1st world countries.  Instead of finding a graphics designer in your local city for $100, you can now hire one who does comparable work from the Philippines for $5.  It’s a no-brainer!

Although there are many outsourcing sites, services, and companies, here’s a few that I’ve used myself or heard good things about:

oDesk

• One of the more popular sites, thousands of potential employees (called “providers”) to choose from
• You only hire someone if you feel there’s a suitable candidate for your job posting, you’re not forced into making a decision or anything
• You can arrange to only pay after the job is complete, so there’s no risk!
• There’s online tests that providers take, such as English proficiency, PHP, etc. so you can have an idea of their skill sets
• You can arrange interviews with prospective candidates before hiring
• There’s a “Work Diary” section of the site where you can see screenshots of what your “employees” were working on, very cool!
• All in all, I’ve had a positive experience with nearly everyone I’ve hired.  There’s been a couple people that didn’t work out, but that happens in a normal office environment anyways.

Elance

• Another popular outsourcing service
• I haven’t used it myself, but I have friends that have had good success with Elance
• Has a great “Water Cooler” community forum where buyers (employers) and providers (employees) can share ideas and network
• “Elance University” training program to get both buyers and providers up-to-speed with how to use outsourcing effectively
• Like oDesk. there’s skill tests to verify that the candidates are up-to-par in specific areas
• Con – a tad on the expensive side

GetAFreelancer

• Apparently they have over 500,000 service providers…wow!
• People have complained about email spam; it sounds like once you register your inbox gets flooded with offers and whatnot
• Site has an easy-to-understand layout
• It takes 15 days after your first request for payment (this is for providers) to receive money, “for security reasons”.  If you need cash quickly you probably want to look elsewhere.
• All in all a decent service that has tons of prospects to choose from.  Really seems like an employers paradise.

Related posts:

1. Outsourcing Myself – Decisions
2. Outsourcing Myself – Intro
3. Outsourcing Myself – Took The Plunge!