Complete Your First Two Elance Provider Account Verifications

In my previous Elance post, I’ve talked about the different profile sections that you need to complete before starting on your Elance journey to success.

Today, I’m going to talk about the next step to profile/account completion, which is completing your first two verifications as an Elance provider.

As soon as you’ve signed up, you’ll see a notification box on top of your profile page that displays two initial steps to verifying your provider account.  These are the first two out of five ways to verify your Elance profile: 1) The Elance Admissions test, and 2) Phone verification.

The Elance Admissions Test

Just as oDesk has its oDesk Readiness Test, Elance also has its own admissions test for both clients and providers.  

For providers, the test requires reading all of the basic details of the Elance Help pages, which will help them familiarize themselves on how to use the system.  The test is open book, can be taken as many times as needed, and requires at least 80% correct answers to pass.

In my own experience, it was actually more difficult than the oDesk test.  Not because the items were difficult or anything, but because the links to the pages where the answers are supposedly didn’t seem correct.  There were 2 questions where I had to scan the entire page up and down several times just to find the answer, but to no avail.

In the end, I managed to score 80% in the test and was finally verified in that aspect.  But I know I still need to review all of Elance’s Help documents to really familiarize myself with the system, so I’ll be going back the moment I get some free time.

Verifying Your Profile via Phone

The second process was to verify my account via phone, and I must admit that it was more interesting than the admissions test.  You first enter your phone number for the operator to connect to you.  

For Pinoy freelancers, I suggest typing in your mobile phone number so that it’s easy and quick to complete.  When done, click Continue.

Once Elance calls you, the operator will ask you to read out the verification code that displays on the screen.  As soon as the code is clearly read out, your profile will automatically be verified.  Just refresh the page and you won’t find the notification bar that was once on top of your Elance profile.

The Importance of these Verification Processes

It may seem like quite a hassle to do, but verifying your credentials by taking the admissions test and verifying through phone is actually necessary in freelance marketplaces like Elance.

For one thing, your profile will come up on the results pages more than if you leave your profile empty and unverified.  Second, going through a verification process like this one ensures that you are a serious Elance member and that you’re willing to show clients that you are really who you say you are in your profile.

So if you haven’t taken the necessary steps to verifying your Elance provider profile, take some time to do so to be able to score projects on the site. You also have three other account verifications (being a paid Elance member, verifying your location, and verifying other credentials) to complete if you’d like to give your profile a glossy, verified look.