Despite a stagnant employment market in 2011, online hiring has grown at a record pace, up more than 100% from 2010. Online work marketplace Elance released its most recent Online Employment Review, which reveals that the demand for contingent, global online work will continue to grow.
As more companies seek instant access to talent and greater flexibility to run their businesses, individuals are taking control of their future by building careers as independent professionals.
While global economies continue to struggle with job creation, online work thrived this year with 650,000 new jobs posted, and cumulative earnings set to surpass $500 million.
Ved Sinha, Elance’s Vice President of Interactive Marketing, substantiates the projections for companies looking to the hybrid work model for 2012:
“The figures from the online work report show that the demand for online work is doubling, as businesses work to better manage its employees and see to it that its employees manages its work, the skill-sets are not limited to any one area. Due to the popularity of the Android and mobile usage, HTML5 requests have seen a 238% increase.
Although PHP programming is still on the rise, programs gaining traction like Drupal surprisingly showed up as number 51 on Elance’s top 100 over skills in demand.
The number of businesses hiring on Elance and the number of online professionals working on this platform grew more than 120%. Earnings for online professionals rose in more than 100 countries around the world. In the U.S., earnings rose in 43 out of 50 states, including some of the hardest hit regions in unemployment such as Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina.
2011 reflections: online hiring
Businesses are developing innovative workforce models that blend full-time and part-time, local and remote, employed and contracted workers. The practice of hiring and managing talent online is spreading and 83% of small businesses surveyed by Elance plan to hire up to 50% of their workers as online contractors online in the next 12 months.
Looking forward: predictions for 2012
In 2012, the market for online contingent work is set to double as more businesses across the globe hire and manage workers online for the first time. Below are the trends that will shape the world of work in 2012:
Software Developer
Visual Designer
User Experience Designer
Digital Marketer
Technical Writer
Web Researcher
Data Analyst
Content Moderator
Accountant
Distributed Workforce Manager
- The rise of the global, virtual workplace. More professionals will build independent careers by working with multiple clients all over the world. Online contractors will collaborate with each other remotely, across geographies and time zones. Technological advancements enabling better online collaboration, telepresence, skills assessment and identity verification, will make significant contributions to the new virtual workplace.
- Professional services become America's next great export.The global demand for U.S. talent has increased steadily over the past year and is set to grow even faster as online platforms like Elance break down global barriers and open up opportunities for collaboration.
- Increased adoption of the contingent workforce elevates the importance of compliance.To tap the power of a flexible workforce, companies around the world turn to online work platforms to facilitate compliance with their internal controls and evolving government regulations.
Promising online careers for 2012 include:
Technology changes so fast, it seems almost necessary to maintain a frequent check on one’s performance and skills. Beyond webinars & Dummies reference books, what are some feasible means freelancers can cost-effectively keep their tech skills sharp? Paying attention helps, according to Vinha.
“Freelancers are able to see the trends and what is up and coming, so there’s always a way to find what work is in demand in the emerging skills requests,” he said.
“By always having access to the trends, they can anticipate and train accordingly,” he added.
For those who are interested in transitioning to online work, Vinha advises bringing the following to the table:
“Build your online work reputation. Of course you’ll need to have an excellent portfolio, but look at who your competition is, and then decide how you want to differentiate yourself. That’s when it becomes critical.”
For businesses looking to staff-up a team on an hourly or project basis, Elance offers instant access to qualified professionals who work online. Elance provides the tools to hire, view work as it progresses and pay for results. For skilled professionals who want to work online, Elance offers access to qualified clients, a virtual workplace and guaranteed pay for great work. Contractors have already earned nearly $500M on the Elance platform.
The company is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View, CA. To take advantage of the massive growth in demand for its services across the world, Elance opened European headquarters in Oslo. For more information, visit www.elance.com.
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