What are Groups?

Groups are communities of freelancers on Elance who are aligned based on affiliations and/or professional expertise. Groups are organized by sponsoring companies who set the membership criteria to join their group.

Membership in an Elance group gives freelancer recognition for their experience and expertise by displaying corresponding group badges on their Elance profile. The criteria to join a group is set by the organizing company, and is often based on passing corresponding skill tests on Elance, but sometimes is based on other custom requirements.

Group affiliations help prospective clients identify freelancer based on their branded credentials. Often clients prefer working with freelancers who are members of groups that are relevant to the expertise they seek.

How do I post a job for a Group?

By posting a job for a group, you are letting all freelancers know that you prefer responses from those that have passed the membership criteria for that group. 

To post a job to a group, log into your account and follow these steps: 

1. Click Groups link in the footer of any Elance page. 
2. Search for Groups in the directory.  Once you found a group you want to post your job to, click on the group name. 
3. On the Group page, click on the Post a Job link under the group description. 

OR

1. Click on the Post Your Job button in the top navigation 
2. Pick the Group that is relevant to the skill you are searching for in the Request specific skills or groups field. 

How do I join a Group?

Each group has different membership criteria.  The group administrator determines the eligibility rules and requirements for their group.  Elance does not determine who can and cannot join a particular group.

At this time, only Elance freelancers can join groups.

To join a group, log into your account and follow these steps:

1. Click the Groups link in the footer on any Elance page or you can click the Join Groups link on your Freelancer Profile page.
2. Search for Groups in the directory.  Once you found a group you want to join, click on the group name.
3. On the Group page, click on the Join this group button.

How do I leave a group?

You can leave a group at any time.  Simply, go to the group’s page and click the Leave This Group button on the left side of the page.