Thanks for sharing Andriy. We appreciate the feedback. We are also glad to hear that your overall experience working for the IAPWE has been positive.
While I agree that the IAPWE has definitely gotten a few things right, there are areas where we have much room to improve.
I also agree that having some type of sample submission or review as part of the application process can help save everyone time and that this is something more clients should consider utilizing.
One point that I would like to add, is that, if clients have the budget and the interest in paying freelancers to provide a custom content sample that is created specifically for the application process, this would probably serve to give clients an even more accurate gauge on whether or not the freelancer will be a good fit for their needs.
Also, at risk of sounding like a freelancing platform evangelist, I really think that more clients should consider taking advantage of some of the benefits and additional resources offered by platforms like Freelancer and Upwork. It should go without saying that what works best for one client may not be suitable for another, but the additional features such as built-in payment and financial tracking, instant messaging system (think Facebook) and other great features have been useful tools for the IAPWE and our freelancers.
If I had to guess, I would say that the additional fees are a major turn off for some clients and this is understandable. Still, if one considers the additional money that would otherwise be spent on third party project management solutions, bookkeepers and other additional software and services, I believe at the very least, it would come out being a wash with the advantage of convenience landing on the side of having everything in one place through one of these platforms.
Platforms like Freelancer cater to millions of clients and freelancers ever day and they appear to have put a lot of thought into the tools and workflows that they offer. I just get the feeling that they are somewhat underrated and that more clients (and their freelancers) would benefit from and enjoy the features offered by these platforms if they were to give them a try.
I also question if some of these platforms get a bad wrap for arguably promoting the underpayment of freelancers through bidding wars in which they undercut one another (I don’t think that this is a good thing at all), but for clients bringing freelancers directly over to these platforms, I don’t think that is really a factor in such cases.
Andriy, to your point about approval times - I hear you loud and clear. The IAPWE is continuing to work on our own workflows and we are hoping to continue to take steps to improve the speed of submitting and approving content so that our freelancers can be more productive.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts.