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Fiverr Site Suggestion - Let Freelancers Have References


cyaxrex

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I think that the idea I am about to propose could be something which helps set Fiverr apart from other freelance platforms. That said, I think it could also attract some controversy. In this case, it will be interesting to see what others think.

First, let me explain the context. For over 10-years I worked with a company where I rose up through the ranks to become a regional manager. During this time, I was tasked with hiring a lot of new employees. When doing so, there was one thing which I could guarantee would see a CV (resume) not pass my initial screening process. - This was a significant gap in a jobseekers work history.

At present, I am in the very fortunate position of being able to walk into something like my old job with relative ease. I left on a high note of my career and I still have a few contacts. At the same time, though, I’m also starting to walk a bit of a tightrope.

A few of my former colleagues have already moved on to new pastures. It is, therefore, not inconceivable that in another few years, I won’t have any contacts left at all. Then if I ever reapply to work with my old company. I will do so with a 7-year gap in my work history and no references to speak of.

Of course, I can say if I apply for a job anywhere, that I have been freelancing for X amount of years. However, if I was in the interviewer chair, I’d then be wanting to know why the person in front of me couldn’t supply even basic things like a few client references.

Given the above, I have come to the conclusion that Fiverr might want to consider issuing sellers something like a formal letter of reference. Obviously, this wouldn’t be a letter of reference saying that a seller worked for Fiverr. Instead, it would be a letter / PDF document, stating that a seller has been selling on Fiverr for X amount of time, what services they have offered, how many orders they have processed, and what their rating is.

Ideally, each letter would also contain a link or QR code which people reading it could click / scan to be taken to a Fiverr page which verifies the authenticity of a document and confirms the information detailed therein.

If done right, a reference letter could also be used as a pitch letter which sellers could send to off-Fiverr clients.

It is fine to send off-Fiverr clients a link to our Fiverr profiles. However, a semi-official reference letter like that which I envisage would give the impression that Fiverr is proud to say it supports / is home to certain freelancers. I would even go so far as to suggest that more sellers would see value in things like Fiverr Learn courses if there was a mechanism like a reference letter in place to showcase qualifications off-Fiverr.

Of course, a feature like this would cost money to implement and be open to abuse. In this case, I would suggest that Fiverr only makes it available to Level 2 sellers and higher, and charges for the service. Those who see value in it like me would be happy to pay.

Anyway, that’s it. What do you think?

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You could take some screenshots also. I doubt fiverr would send out recommendation letters or letters verifying anything since we are not employees.
Fiverr probably also doesn’t particularly like to hear of us seeking out other employment activities, just a guess though. This wouldn’t benefit fiverr in any way that I can see. Fiverr isn’t like your ordinary business where you can request letters like that. It’s just a website where we advertise our services.
That would be like running ads on Google and asking Google for a letter of reference.

You have lots of positive things you could take screenshots of however.

I think any business owner under 50 would be aware of how many people are self employed on the internet and see that as an interesting thing with a very positive image for you as someone who is a free thinking modern person. People are fascinated when I tell them about fiverr.

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You could take some screenshots also. I doubt fiverr would send out recommendation letters or letters verifying anything since we are not employees.

Fiverr probably also doesn’t particularly like to hear of us seeking out other employment activities, just a guess though. This wouldn’t benefit fiverr in any way that I can see. Fiverr isn’t like your ordinary business where you can request letters like that. It’s just a website where we advertise our services.

That would be like running ads on Google and asking Google for a letter of reference.

You have lots of positive things you could take screenshots of however.

I think any business owner under 50 would be aware of how many people are self employed on the internet and see that as an interesting thing with a very positive image for you as someone who is a free thinking modern person. People are fascinated when I tell them about fiverr.

I doubt fiverr would send out recommendation letters or letters verifying anything since we are not employees.

Perhaps I didn’t clarify my point. This wouldn’t be a letter of reference sent out by Fiverr. It would be a document sellers could pay to download which simply states that a seller has been a seller for X amount of time an offers X services etc.

It would never be insinuated that a seller works for Fiverr. In effect, you could even call it a lead magnet which resembles a reference letter.

You could take some screenshots also.

This looks clumsy and isn’t proof of anything. I could easily photoshop myself as a TRS or Pro seller. This is why I’d recommend that letters / documents include a link or QR code people can use to verify the details contained in a document.

Fiverr probably also doesn’t particularly like to hear of us seeking out other employment activities,

I think this is unrealistic. I’ve scored work writing for brands and magazines which while sourced off-Fiverr, have resulted in more sales on Fiverr. I am not a fan of marketing Fiverr gigs. I consider it a waste of time. However, I do see value in directing some off-Fiverr clients to order from me on Fiverr for the simple sake of convenience.

I think any business owner under 50 would be aware of how many people are self employed on the internet

This isn’t my experience. I can safely say that after 7-years of freelancing, I have failed to convince anyone who asks what I do that I am not a drug dealer or an iphone repair person. Of course, it depends on the industry.

I get approached regularly on Linkedin by Maltese igaming (online gambling brands) looking to hire content writers, etc. However, my old coworkers in the hospitality industry don’t understand what I do now. Neither does anyone on my local business scene.

Many people are aware that they need a sales copy for their landing page. They kind of just don’t understand that this could be provided by the man who walks his dog by their house every morning. As far as they are concerned, such things come from an email to marketing and some magical combination of Internet and recruitment wizardry.

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I doubt fiverr would send out recommendation letters or letters verifying anything since we are not employees.

Perhaps I didn’t clarify my point. This wouldn’t be a letter of reference sent out by Fiverr. It would be a document sellers could pay to download which simply states that a seller has been a seller for X amount of time an offers X services etc.

It would never be insinuated that a seller works for Fiverr. In effect, you could even call it a lead magnet which resembles a reference letter.

You could take some screenshots also.

This looks clumsy and isn’t proof of anything. I could easily photoshop myself as a TRS or Pro seller. This is why I’d recommend that letters / documents include a link or QR code people can use to verify the details contained in a document.

Fiverr probably also doesn’t particularly like to hear of us seeking out other employment activities,

I think this is unrealistic. I’ve scored work writing for brands and magazines which while sourced off-Fiverr, have resulted in more sales on Fiverr. I am not a fan of marketing Fiverr gigs. I consider it a waste of time. However, I do see value in directing some off-Fiverr clients to order from me on Fiverr for the simple sake of convenience.

I think any business owner under 50 would be aware of how many people are self employed on the internet

This isn’t my experience. I can safely say that after 7-years of freelancing, I have failed to convince anyone who asks what I do that I am not a drug dealer or an iphone repair person. Of course, it depends on the industry.

I get approached regularly on Linkedin by Maltese igaming (online gambling brands) looking to hire content writers, etc. However, my old coworkers in the hospitality industry don’t understand what I do now. Neither does anyone on my local business scene.

Many people are aware that they need a sales copy for their landing page. They kind of just don’t understand that this could be provided by the man who walks his dog by their house every morning. As far as they are concerned, such things come from an email to marketing and some magical combination of Internet and recruitment wizardry.

So someone named Cyaxrex has been selling services on fiverr. How would you prove it’s really you unless your name really is Cyax Rex? Or you mean they would use your real name in the letter. I’ve never had anyone disbelieve or think it was weird to be working full time on the internet. But I’ve never applied for a job so that might be different. But really people should be aware of this and it makes me wonder about them if they don’t realize that lots of people are employed this way.

I would offer to show my tax returns probably to prove that I was employed on the internet although those don’t tell what company I work at. They do show I’ve been self employed as an internet worker.

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So someone named Cyaxrex has been selling services on fiverr. How would you prove it’s really you unless your name really is Cyax Rex? Or you mean they would use your real name in the letter. I’ve never had anyone disbelieve or think it was weird to be working full time on the internet. But I’ve never applied for a job so that might be different. But really people should be aware of this and it makes me wonder about them if they don’t realize that lots of people are employed this way.

I would offer to show my tax returns probably to prove that I was employed on the internet although those don’t tell what company I work at. They do show I’ve been self employed as an internet worker.

So someone named Cyaxrex has been selling services on fiverr. How would you prove it’s really you unless your name really is Cyax Rex?

They say a picture can speak a thousand words. I would hesitate a chance guess that someone I was approaching off-Fiver or in real life, would see a similarity between my profile picture and the same one I use on my blog, cv, etc.

I would offer to show my tax returns probably to prove that I was employed on the internet although those don’t tell what company I work at.

Actually, the last time I used an accountant, they tried to insist that I must be employed by Fiver since that is the name of the company sending me regular payments each month.

That said, as I stated in my oiginal post, I would ditch a job candidate at the screening process if they seemed to have a considerable gap in their work history. I wouldn’t give them an opportunity to show me their tax returns, and I’m petty sure I wouldn’t be allowed to ask for that information.

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I’d love that. I’m considering to apply for a residence visa and the visa lawyer asked me if I had anything a bit more serious-looking than a bunch of screenshots of my fiverr analytics to showcase how much of a businesswoman I am. 🙂

It’s not like I can email any individual buyers to get a recommendation letter, stamped and signed.

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So someone named Cyaxrex has been selling services on fiverr. How would you prove it’s really you unless your name really is Cyax Rex? Or you mean they would use your real name in the letter. I’ve never had anyone disbelieve or think it was weird to be working full time on the internet. But I’ve never applied for a job so that might be different. But really people should be aware of this and it makes me wonder about them if they don’t realize that lots of people are employed this way.

I would offer to show my tax returns probably to prove that I was employed on the internet although those don’t tell what company I work at. They do show I’ve been self employed as an internet worker.

How would you prove it’s really you unless your name really is Cyax Rex?

I always had him down as Mr. C. Yaxrex.

I like the idea. I think the idea of calling it a reference won’t wash with Fiverr but the idea of having something downloadable which could be sent to clients and contains my Fiverr vital statistics in a neat and presentable way would be a nice idea.

It’s something that I would have use for when approaching local/off-Fiverr clients and it’s likely that it would encourage people to visit the site.

Sending a Fiverr link is ineffective as those unfamiliar with Fiverr just see it as another social media channel. Yes, of course we could all make something in Canva or hire someone to create something showing the info we want but that would be a missed opportunity for Fiverr I think.

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I’d love that. I’m considering to apply for a residence visa and the visa lawyer asked me if I had anything a bit more serious-looking than a bunch of screenshots of my fiverr analytics to showcase how much of a businesswoman I am. 🙂

It’s not like I can email any individual buyers to get a recommendation letter, stamped and signed.

It’s not like I can email any individual buyers to get a recommendation letter, stamped and signed.

This is the basic problem. If we were allowed more direct contact with buyers, there wouldn’t be a problem. That said, I understand why communication limits are in place and my idea is really all about compensating for these.

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How would you prove it’s really you unless your name really is Cyax Rex?

I always had him down as Mr. C. Yaxrex.

I like the idea. I think the idea of calling it a reference won’t wash with Fiverr but the idea of having something downloadable which could be sent to clients and contains my Fiverr vital statistics in a neat and presentable way would be a nice idea.

It’s something that I would have use for when approaching local/off-Fiverr clients and it’s likely that it would encourage people to visit the site.

Sending a Fiverr link is ineffective as those unfamiliar with Fiverr just see it as another social media channel. Yes, of course we could all make something in Canva or hire someone to create something showing the info we want but that would be a missed opportunity for Fiverr I think.

I always had him down as Mr. C. Yaxrex.

What?

I don’t even know where Cyax Rex came from. However, I do know that it obviously reads as two words. - Or am I deluding myself?

I think the idea of calling it a reference won’t wash with Fiverr but the idea of having something downloadable which could be sent to clients and contains my Fiverr vital statistics in a neat and presentable way would be a nice idea.

This is what I would basically like. I have a feeling the term reference wouldn’t wash either. However, I do think that if implemented it would help moe sellers sell moe and add credibility to what they do. - And no other freelance platform is doing it. I imagine if Fiverr did, it would be well received.

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Or what about a downloadable certificate, the kind like doctors have from the schools of learning they attended. With a gold embossed emblem in the lower corner. It could say COMMENDATION from FIVERR for exemplary service from __________ to ___________. We proudly present to CyaxRex on this day __________

RECOMMENDATION FOR EMPLOYMENT

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Or what about a downloadable certificate, the kind like doctors have from the schools of learning they attended. With a gold embossed emblem in the lower corner. It could say COMMENDATION from FIVERR for exemplary service from __________ to ___________. We proudly present to CyaxRex on this day __________

RECOMMENDATION FOR EMPLOYMENT

This whole freelancing thing is so abstract that I’d die for a certificate to frame so people finally believe I have a job with achievements and stuff.

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What if the fiverr seller was terrible, or had their account banned or lots of terrible reviews, or did other things that were bad? Do they get the letter too? What about mek sells? Why not allow sellers to make these letters for other sellers based on their analytics and reviews?

What if the fiverr seller was terrible, or had their account banned or lots of terrible reviews, or did other things that were bad? Do they get the letter too? What about mek sells? Why not allow sellers to make these letters for other sellers based on their analytics and reviews?

I think I made it clear that only sellers above Level 2 should have the option for this and should pay. As for counterfeiting, that’s where a clickable link or QR code would com into play.

It would be a free money earner for Fiverr and only available to active users (not banned users).

I think my using the phrase ‘reference letter’ is the issue here. This would not be that. Rather it would be a verifiable statement of fact regarding the fact that a seller has an account, offers certain services., and has a specific rating.

It would serve well as a reference letter (even though it would not be one) as today most companies are only willing to state how long a person was employed for and what their job title was, out of fear of legal action if an employee disagrees with the likes of a personal recommendation.

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I always had him down as Mr. C. Yaxrex.

What?

I don’t even know where Cyax Rex came from. However, I do know that it obviously reads as two words. - Or am I deluding myself?

I think the idea of calling it a reference won’t wash with Fiverr but the idea of having something downloadable which could be sent to clients and contains my Fiverr vital statistics in a neat and presentable way would be a nice idea.

This is what I would basically like. I have a feeling the term reference wouldn’t wash either. However, I do think that if implemented it would help moe sellers sell moe and add credibility to what they do. - And no other freelance platform is doing it. I imagine if Fiverr did, it would be well received.

I always had him down as Mr. C. Yaxrex.

Yeah, it clearly read as two words.

What if the fiverr seller was terrible, or had their account banned or lots of terrible reviews, or did other things that were bad? Do they get the letter too? What about mek sells?

I’d love to think that Fiverr would consider doing something for the “generally good” sellers rather than thinking about the rubbish sellers or Mek-sells and how they could try abuse it.

It isn’t an endorsement or reference, it’s simply a well presented document showing all a seller’s info in a concise way. If a seller’s info is rubbish then this won’t work for them.

I would just show my tax return. It has my income and the fact I am self employed on the internet

That just proves you worked somewhere or earned money. It does nothing to say what you were doing and so it doesn’t help in either of the mentioned uses for this. I’d also not like a future employer to know my past income or salary negotiations could be pretty one-sided

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There is a file of earnings we can download. That probably doesn’t have our real name on it though. This also raises an issue of having something that might be accessed by hackers with our real names on it. Anyone I was thinking of working for would need to simply believe me when I described my work on fiverr. Maybe that’s unrealistic. I prefer working in very small companies though. But mostly I’ve preferred being self employed. Why go from self employed to being an employee? With a boss?

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I like it, and please also issue a yearly statement with an easy overview of earnings per months and year to freelancers to show to their health insurance, tax guy or gal, ministry of finance, bank, whoever wants to see it, the .csv files are nice but.

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There is a file of earnings we can download. That probably doesn’t have our real name on it though. This also raises an issue of having something that might be accessed by hackers with our real names on it. Anyone I was thinking of working for would need to simply believe me when I described my work on fiverr. Maybe that’s unrealistic. I prefer working in very small companies though. But mostly I’ve preferred being self employed. Why go from self employed to being an employee? With a boss?

Now I just think you are trolling for the sake of it. Have you ever applied for a job? Was it ever normal to submit a csv file proof of earnings with your resume? The idea is ridiculous.

As for hacking. There would be no bigger risk than that posed by someone sending a link to their profile.

If you don’t like my idea, that is fine. However, please don’t try to purposefully find nonsensical reasons not to. This just looks silly.

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(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

I’m not being insulting. You are rewording the same criticism every time I answer you. I took the time to try and clarify things. Then I decided I don’t have time in my life to do so forever. I’m, sorry if that upsets you.

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  • 1 year later...

Let me tell you how I got here:

I am building a human profile to show to a VO, to show that I am a human seeking visa.

I have sold not so much but 15000 usd on fiverr, and in my country if you divide the amount by months, it is far beyond the minimum wage.

Infact, it could be considered that I am living well.

Beside my present need to add this as my financial document, I have had it a hard time telling people off the internet what it is I do that I am not running off to the office every morning.

If fiverr could provide a downloadable document with analytics showing one’s total earnings and rating, this would count as part of someone’s life.

One way to verify is the link to your fiverr profile. Or a censored link that only a token generated from paid program. With this people can provide this token to someone who seeks to verify your claim.

So that once this token is inputed, one will be given a pass to view your dashboard with the analytics without having any personal access to manipulate your account information.

It will show fiverr care for those who are helping it make money.

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