To hire a provider for a job on Elance, simply post your job on Elance and choose from the providers who respond with their proposals. Alternatively, you can search for specific providers and invite them to work for you by clicking on the ‘Request a Proposal’ button on their profile page.

Once your job is posted, you will start receiving proposals, sometimes within hours. Here are some tips for how to review a provider profile and how to screen and evaluate providers.

When you’ve made your selection, and want to proceed with awarding the job to a specific provider, log in to your Elance account and follow the steps below:

1. Click on the ‘MANAGE’ tab in the top navigation bar.
2. Next, click on the ‘My Jobs’ link located on the second row of the navigation bar.
3. Click the job name or the number of proposals received to view the list of service providers and their proposals.
4. When you have chosen a provider to work with, click on the ‘Award’ button on the far right side of the selected proposal.
5. Review the terms and make any necessary adjustments including the start or end date, the milestones, amount or other contract documents. Once you are satisfied, click the ‘Award’ button near the bottom of the page.
6. Your service provider will then review the terms and milestones that have been submitted and will either accept the job or propose new terms.
7. If the provider updates the terms, you will be notified and will have the chance to accept, decline or modify before the job begins.
8. You can hire multiple service providers for your job by repeating the process for different providers on the same job. Only award the project to as many providers as you want to do the work.

When evaluating providers, consider the items below before making your decision:

• The proposal should be tailored to your specific needs, demonstrate knowledge and expertise, and fit within the parameters you set. Read our blog post for more information on how to screen and interview providers.
• Review the providers profile for feedback from other clients, view their portfolio, see what skills they possess as well as the additional information they provide in the summary section. Here is an article on how to review a provider profile.
• Each job post has an expiration date, but you are free to select a provider before the deadline.
• If a service provider asks you to go outside Elance to avoid paying Elance fees we ask that you report the violation and recommend that you choose a service provider that adheres to the Terms of Service that all parties agree to in order to use Elance.