Guru.Com - Part II
/So I'm thinking it's time to leave Guru. Aside from the low-quality jobs being posted and the frightening low rates being offered, the other point weighing heavy on my mind is that it's a time waster.
Jobs are posted frequently on Guru and aside from a good resume and low bid, speed counts when bidding. If you don't bid within 48 hours of a project being posted, there's a good chance the employer will assign it to someone else before they ever see your bid. So I log on to Guru twice daily and read the postings. This takes about 10-15 minutes. Then if I decide to bid, that's another 15-20 minutes, as I try to tailor my cover letter to meet the employers needs. That's all well and fine if I'm getting work, but makes me feel like I'm spinning my wheels if no work comes in.
And also, I've just felt it's time to let go. Guru, I told myself, has served it's purpose but it's time to let it go to make way for other things to come into my life.
This is where the Universe has decided to test me. I still think leaving Guru is the right thing to do. But I just landed a huge project through them--what will in fact amount to the most I've ever been paid for a single article. So emotion kicks in and now I'm like, "What? Leave? Are you mad??"
Sooooo..... do I hang on or go? One thing I forgot to mention with Guru is the rating system. Every time you complete a job, the employer rates you on a five-star system that determines your "Guru Rank." Plus, Guru posts how many jobs you've worked on and money earned and employers consider all of this when looking to hire you. A freelancer with 30 projects and a solid 5 star rating from all employers is a much safer bet than a newcomer with no rating. And if I leave Guru, my almost 3 years of 5-star ratings disappear. And this new project will really boost my rating. Ack!
I still think I should let it go. I've been thinking of cutting back on my magazine writing work, Guru is a huge time waster for me and this last job aside, I haven't had work from Guru in almost 8 months. But aaarrrghh--it's hard to walk away from something that just panned out big time for me. Even if I only get one or two jobs a year from Guru, it's new clients and I more then make back my membership fee. Yet this must be balanced against how much time I spend "surfing" guru and spend time bidding on work that never pans out.
I can't decide. You all tell me. What do you think I should do? Stay with Guru or ditch it?
