What's New

Security Question and SMS Notifications

Posted Aug 01, 2008 by Michael

User security is a top priority here at oDesk. In addition to entering a password all users must now also answer a security question to perform sensitive operations. We also added an option to receive vital notifications via SMS.

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Why do I need a security question?

Users log in with their user ID and password to use most of our online and software features. Due to concerns about fraud and unauthorized access to financial information we’ve added an additional level of security to protect users’ accounts. The security question helps prevent unauthorized access if a user’s password is stolen.
Read more about the security question in the help pages.

How do I set my security question?

The next time you access your My oDesk page you will be prompted to create a security question.

How do I choose a security question?

The security question and its answer should be intuitive to you and easy to remember. Having said that, make sure to select a question to which the answer is difficult to guess.

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What is a security (SMS) email notification?

Many cellular phones come equipped with SMS (text messaging) capabilities. If you choose this option we will immediately send a notifications to your cell phone of changes made to your account.

Why should I add a security (SMS) email address?

We strongly suggest that you use a security (SMS) email address that forwards to a cell phone. That way you can be notified immediately of changes to secure settings of your account, even if you’re away from your computer. In the event of unauthorized account access, the sooner you know there’s a problem, the better.

What if I don’t normally receive email on my cell phone?

Your phone probably has the ability to receive SMS (text) messages sent to a special email address (e.g. 8881231234@yourprovider.net). Contact your carrier or check out this Wikipedia article to learn more.

Improvements to Ending Candidacies

Posted Jul 31, 2008 by Michael

We have made some changes to how oDesk users can manage their candidacies. Specifically we’ve consolidated and worthsmithed the pre-populated list of reasons for

• Buyers rejecting candidates for their job openings;
• Providers declining interview invitations from buyers;
• Providers cancelling their applications to jobs.

These changes should more accurately reflect the most common reasons oDesk users would have to terminate candidacies. However, if none of the new reasons is exactly what you’re looking for, we are also allowing users to specify their own reasons as free-form text.
Further more, in our attempt to combat Spam applications to job openings, we are introducing the “Flag as Spam” button so buyers can, with one-click, reject the undesired candidate. Providers with a high percentage of applications flagged as Spam will be investigated by oDesk and may face disciplinary actions.

Message Center now available in beta

Posted Jul 02, 2008 by Michael

We are pleased to announce the Beta launch of the oDesk Message Center! This is just one of many features we are launching to improve our communications capabilities, both from us to you and between you and other oDesk users.
What is the Message Center?
The Message Center is an email-like interface that captures messages generated by oDesk or oDesk users within the system. Messages are divided into 3 tabs:

• The Account Alerts tab contains message with direct or indirect financial implications. Examples include hiring actions (hire confirmations, raise rates) as well as payment-related messages (e.g. payment and withdrawal confirmation, payment methods changes)
• The Updates tab contains other system messages, with no direct financial implications
• The Tickets tab will contain discussions with the oDesk support team – no more fishing through your email to find our response to your support inquiry!

Will I still get oDesk messages via email?
For now, yes — all messages from oDesk will continue to be sent to your email account. But we are working on Message Center Preferences, which will allow you to configure which message types you receive in your email, your Message Center, both, or not at all. By enabling you to opt out of certain message types, the Message Center will help reduce your email load from oDesk and help you focus only on the highest-priority messages that truly demand your attention.
Will my messages “expire” from the Message Center?
For now, no, but once we have Message Center Preferences, we will likely delete Message Center messages after some period of time. You will always have the option to receive messages via email that you want to make sure you permanently keep.
What else is coming?
The next big thing is the “Inbox”, which will contain messaages from other oDesk users. The inbox will contain interview correspondence and team invitations, and will also enable buyers to email their team and keep the correspondence in one central location.
Oh, and by the way — you may notice that “My Stuff” has disappeared. We have moved “My Favorite Providers” into the “Find Providers” tab, and “My Referrals” into “Billing & Payment”. We think this is more intuitive, and hope you don’t mind!

oDesk Readiness is now public and required to apply to jobs

Posted Jun 04, 2008 by Michael

As promised, we have launched the second phase of the oDesk Readiness Test. This means buyers are now be able to explicitly search for and find oDesk Ready providers in provider search. Providers’ oDesk Readiness will also be displayed as part of their public profiles.
We are also going to enforce provider oDesk Readiness by setting the job application quotas for all providers who are not yet oDesk Ready to ZERO. Therefore, all freelancers, company managers, and affiliated contractors on oDesk will have to become oDesk Ready before they can apply to any more jobs.
If you have any concerns or suggestions please post your feedback here, http://www.odesk.com/community/node/3572.

Include Remittance Info with Wire Transfers

Posted May 29, 2008 by Michael

We are happy to announce what is a small but important feature requested by managers of provider companies. Some banks in our top provider countries like Ukraine and India require a memo along with a wire that helps provide some information about the payment, titled “remittance information”.
As requested, the wire transfer option in the withdrawals page now includes an optional field called “Remittance Information”. This field takes 35 characters, will be included with the transfer, and should appear in your bank statement.

Provider Search now defaults to “Titles Only”

Posted May 28, 2008 by Michael

In order to improve the relevance of provider search results, we’ve decided to set “Search titles only” as checked by default. So for example, if you search by the keyword “Java”, the default provider search results will only return those providers who have opted to include “Java” in their titles. Of course, you can always widen your search by unchecking the “Search titles only” checkbox.

Market your company with the new Company Profile

Posted May 21, 2008 by Michael

As a company manager, you now have a lot more control over how your company is seen by potential oDesk partners.
The biggest change is for Provider Companies:
– You can set a company “tagline” and full description, in HTML
– You can more easily upload your company logo
– We show more statistics about your company
– We show your company managers and up to 10 Affiliated Contractors, so your potential buyers can see who they will be working with
See a sample here:

Any team member with Admin privileges may edit your tagline, description, and logo on the Team Admn -> Team/Company Info tab (link)
Buyers: Now you can market yourself as well
Buyers, you can now display your company name, logo, tagline and description in each of your job openings. The setting applies to all of your job openings. It is of course completely optional, and the default setting is complete buyer anonymity.

Are you ready to work on oDesk? Take the oDesk Readiness Test

Posted May 21, 2008 by Michael

We’ve just launched the oDesk Readiness Test for providers. It is a brief tutorial, designed to educate new providers on oDesk policies and best practices. Providers who have recently billed hours on oDesk are by definition ready to work and will be granted the “oDesk Ready” designation without having to pass the oDesk Readiness Test.
The oDesk Readiness Test has the following specifications:

• 25 multiple choice questions
• Open book
• 90% correct to pass
• Should take less than 30 minutes to complete

Test topics include:

• Following oDesk Policies
• Getting Hired
• Working on Assignments

In two weeks, only providers who are oDesk Ready will be able to apply to jobs. Therefore, we highly recommend all providers who are not yet oDesk Ready to take the oDesk Readiness Test before June 4th.

Job and Provider Search Results Improvements

Posted May 15, 2008 by oDesk Marketing

We have overhauled the display of the search results for both jobs and providers.
For Jobs, we are now showing much more information about the buyer, including how much work they have billed, and how many of their job postings have resulted in hires. We are also showing more information about the job, specifically how many providers have applied, how many providers the buyer has invited to interview, and how many interviews the buyer has set up. Finally, we are displaying the buyer’s payment method verification status. Browse jobs.
For Providers, we are similarly showing more information about the provider’s history on oDesk, and also showing the first section of the provider’s self-description, so the buyer can more easily tell whether he is interested in contacting the provider. We are also showing the provider’s Company, if he is affiliated with one, including the name, logo, and feedback score. Browse providers.
Oh, and we think we’ve made both search results look a lot better too…

Posted May 08, 2008 by oDesk Marketing