Freelancers, Employers Get Online Matchmaker

Freelancers spend a lot of time marketing themselves and looking for clients (believe me, I know). Meanwhile, employers spend a lot of time searching for the right contractor. Headhunter.net, an online job placement company, is hoping to bring these two parties together at Sologig.com, a new Web site where freelancers can advertise themselves, employers can post jobs, and both can search for what the other group is offering.

Once you've signed on to Sologig.com as a freelancer, you can create one or more profiles describing what you do. On one mercifully short form, you enter your job description, select a "specialty" (in other words, a job category), and give other pertinent information, such as your rates, location, and if you have one, your URL.

On the next form, you give your credit card number. The cheapest membership level, which Sologig calls Bronze, is currently free, although the price will go up to $25 monthly in January. The other levels are Silver ($50 monthly), Gold ($75), and Platinum ($100).

Seeking Seekers

Prospective employers see these lists when they search for freelancers. For instance, you can look for IT professionals in Boston who've used the word Java in their job description. With the list in front of you, you can click on any item to read the prospect's full profile, including a link to the freelancer's Web page (if they have one) and a mail link should you want to contact them. Employers can also post projects, which freelancers can search in their quest for work.

Employers need to register if they're posting a project, but not if they're merely searching for workers. Employer registration is free.

Note that you can't register as both a freelancer and an employer--at least not without using two different e-mail addresses. And one registration won't work for both functions.

Site's Still Growing

Sologig.com joins several other vocational matchmaking sites as a great idea for the Web. Both Guru.com and ELance.com offer similar services. Sologig.com is the newest and needs to be smoothed out a bit. What's more, a site of this kind is only as good as the size of its customer base; if no one else is using it, it won't do you much good. (See "Guru.com Puts Freelancers to Work" and "Why Freelance When You Can ELance?")

Sologig.com officially launched on Tuesday, October 24. By Wednesday afternoon, Headhunter.net was claiming more than 1000 people had registered. That's a good sign.