Your Elance Profile serves as your online resume that your clients will use to evaluate your skills and background.  It is an essential part of getting work on Elance.  We suggest making sure to have a well written overview along with many samples of your work, past job history and skills on your profile page.

Profile navigation:

Visitors can view all data for a freelancer on the Overview page, or pull up specific data using the navigation links located to the left of the profile - Job History, Portfolio, Team & About the Company.

Profile Overview:

Profile overview includes all data available for a freelancer on one page. Sections include About Us, Company Snapshot (for Business membership plans) or My Snapshot (for Individual membership plans), Job History, Identity, Portfolio, Team, Services, Skills, Keywords, Groups & Service Description (for Business membership plans) or Resume (for Individual membership plans).

Snapshot:

Snapshot section includes key metrics for Jobs, Reviews, Clients and Earnings. The Level is based on Points calculated from three main criteria: Client Relationship, Service Delivery, and Marketing. For more information on Points go here.

Identity:

Identity section shows details about the freelancer, such as Username, Type (Company or Individual), Location, Authentication, and more. Authenticated data includes verified details for the freelancer - payment source, phone number, location and credentials.

Job History:

Job history section shows a snapshot of jobs with the most current activity, including status (working or complete) and a count of completed or in progress jobs. 

Clicking on any of the hyperlinks in the job history section will lead to a page which includes full details about the jobs, including specific feedback. This information can be quickly accessed by clicking on the Job History link to the left of the main profile page.

A snapshot of the freelancer's job history, including an overall feedback score is included on the Job History page. 

Description of the job is included on the Job History page so details about projects can be viewed. If feedback was left for the freelancer, it will include the client's scores and comments along with the job details.

Private jobs will not include the job details.

How to edit profile details:

Once signed into Elance, the owner of the profile will be able to make edits to the information. The left navigation includes links to specific sections, such as skills, resume & contact details.

Each page includes Edit buttons next to any editable content. Click Edit, make changes and Save to publish the changes to your profile.

TIP:  Check out an Elance blog post coaching prospective clients on how to review Elance profile pages.

To create or edit your portfolio, after you’ve created your profile, please log into your account and follow these steps:

1. Click on Find Work tab on in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the Freelancer Profile link.
3. Click the Portfolio link on the left of the profile page.
4. If you wish to upload, delete, rearrange a file, click the Edit Current Folder link.

If possible, use a common file type. Elance will accept any type of file, however, depending on the web browser, only some types of files will display inside the browser window. Using most browsers, all .gif image files, .jpg (or .jpeg) image files, .html Web documents and .txt text files will open in the browser window. You are limited to 1MB files per upload and the total space is 10MB. We recommend you use these types whenever possible.

Profile Page Thumbnail Image Policy

Profile Page Thumbnail Image Policy

Within your profile you have the option to select a thumbnail profile image.  Freelancers with a Business membership can choose a logo for their thumbnail image. Freelancers with individual accounts or team members of Business accounts must choose a portrait image of themselves or not to display an image.  What is considered an acceptable portrait?  Your portrait must be a verifiable likeness of you and follow these guidelines:

• Must be a portrait image of you with a clear image of your face.
• Image must be appropriate for a professional community.
• An avatar that is of reasonable likeness to you is acceptable.
• Do not use a group picture or full body photo. The photo must be a head and shoulders photo showing only your face.
• Thumbnail images are encouraged but not required.

If you would like to be represented by a logo image, you must upgrade your account to a business membership.

To update your thumbnail image:

1. Go to your profile by hovering over Find Work and clicking Freelancer Profile.
2. Click the Edit button located at the top left of your profile underneath the image panel. A dialog box to upload your new image will appear. 
   
   
    
3. Click on Choose File and select an image to upload.
4. Once your image is selected, a preview showing your profile photo and your thumbnail will appear.
5. If you’d like to adjust the cropping of your thumbnail image, simply click the Edit link underneath the thumbnail image.
6. On the Edit Thumbnail page, you can click-and-drag the region that you would like to appear in your thumbnail. Click Save when finished.
7. Once complete, simply click Set as my Profile Picture to finish.

Important note: Only .jpeg, .gif, .tif, .bmp or .PNG image files uploaded to the main portfolio directory will display on the profile overview page. Images in folders will not show on the profile overview. All other types of files will only be viewable by clicking on Portfolio from the left navigation.

 

What Are Skills and Keywords on a Freelancer Profile?

Skills and Keywords are used by the Elance search engine to identify and surface freelancers that meet search criteria.

 

To enter your skills, please log in to your account and follow the steps below:  

1. Click on the Find Work tab on the top navigation bar.  
2. Click on My Profile in the second row of the navigation bar.
3. Click on the Edit link next to the Skills section of your profile.
4. Choose from a list of pre-defined skills by clicking on the pull down menu under the Elance Skills column. You can enter in a self-assessment of your skills.  To help differentiate your profile, you can also certify these skills through an online test. If you do not see your skill in the pull down menu, type it into the Custom Skill field.
5. Scroll down and click on the Add another skill button.  Based on your membership plan, you can enter up to a particular number of skills.

 

To enter Keywords, follow the steps below:

1. Click on the Find Work tab on the top navigation bar.  
2. Click on My Profile in the second row of the navigation bar.
3. Click on the Edit link in the keyword tags section, where you can enter in keywords and short phrases related to your specialized service offerings. These may include the industry you specialize in (i.e. if you specialize in 'Websites for Real Estate') or a niche professional service such as 'Voice overs'.  The number of keywords you can enter is limited by your membership plan
4. Scroll down and click on the Submit button.

Your new profile or edits to your existing profile will be displayed within 24 hours on the main search index.

 

Note: If you do not have access to your Freelancer Profile, please contact your Team account owner or administrator.

Profile Widget

The Elance Profile Widget is an embeddable piece of HTML code that showcases your profile information, like number of jobs, number of reviews, recent job history, skills, and testimonials, while also linking back directly to your profile page. To create your personal profile widget, simply log in to Elance, click the Tools & Widgets, link located in the Resources drop down. Next select the type of widget size you’d like (Wide vs. Tower), the category of your choice*, and the default view, and you’re set. You’ll be able to copy a piece of HTML code that can be plugged in anywhere you'd like to on the web.