Since I am self-employed right now (3 weeks ago the radio station I worked for closed) and have a lot of time on my hands, I was trying to see what more I can do as a designer/content creator.

So I started some accounts on some ‘top’ freelance sites. Right now I have a sour taste in my mouth.

elance.com - started the account some time ago, logged in (of course after losing the pass and username). Good thing I still use that email address. I was using the free option and selected some time ago the content creation category. Today I saw something cool in the design area and wanted to bid. Nope, can’t do this. I need to update my profile and after some hours already it’s not changed. The “premium” price for the upgrade is pretty decent, but everything moves TOO SLOW for me. I want to make changes and pay (if needed) or just see the changes right away, if I make them on the free account.

guru.com - FRUSTRATING. I have spent almost 2 hours tweaking my darn profile with all the info needed and when I wanted to see what’s for me to bid on, ONLY premium member solutions. It’s impossible for me to grasp how such a huge site can’t offer 1 lousy project for a regular user. All the paid options are VERY expensive, especially for a beginner account. I want to test and see some projects, do some work etc. Not pay 150 USD and then realize it’s useless to me. I have deleted my account. Nobody will pay me for those 2 wasted hours though.

getafreelancer.com - I think so far is the best one I am using. Can’t say I am desperatelly in love with it, but it seems to offer me a fair share of possible jobs and maybe I’ll be able to make some pocket money out of it. Should I be pleased, I might upgrade the account.

What other freelancer job sites whould you recommend? I am a designer/article writer, no programming experience though.

Should you have your own experiences in this, please do share them. I’d love knowing if you were pleased with these sites.