A couple of things to note about your profiles, (1) you cannot change the skill category of your profile once it is created and (2) since videos and Package Deals cannot be added to Basic profiles, the Profile Completeness indicator for a Basic profile will only reach 80%.
To complete or modify your profile,
- On the top right of the page, click your name and click “View / Edit My Profiles.
- Use the links in the Profile Completeness section to make changes to your profile.
To best represent yourself to Employers, be sure to complete all sections of your profile.
Screen Identity
One way for Employers to notice and remember you is by your screen identity, which consists of your screen name and icon. Both are displayed when Employers perform a profile search. These features establish, distinguish and market your unique identity on Guru.com.
Make sure this initial introduction to you is something that will leave a good first impression on potential Employers. If you went for a face-to-face job interview, you probably wouldn’t introduce yourself by the nickname you earned in high school, so the same principle applies here. Be smart. ProfWriterNYC will instill greater confidence in the Employer looking to award a $1,500 documentation project than DeathMetalRulz probably will.
Your screen name will make you more memorable. Do a great job for an Employer, and when they need more project work done, they can perform a simple keyword search for your screen name. And it’ll be easier to refer your outside clients to your Guru.com account when you give them a screen name rather than your profile ID number.
Feel free to make it clever and unique, but keep it sounding professional. Employers will respect that and remember it too!
To complete or update your screen identity,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Screen Identity” link.
- Click the “Edit” button and enter your screen name (up to 35 characters).
- Click the “Change” link to upload a screen icon.
- Click the “Save” button.
Images & Video
While only Guru and Guru Vendor members can upload a video profile, anyone can upload images. You can upload up to five images and a video profile to personalize and market your profile. Adding images and a video profile will give Employers a better sense of your style or your company’s character. You might upload your logo, a photo of yourself or your office. Use the video profile to distinguish yourself from other Freelancers by bringing your profile and personality to life for potential Employers.
Your profile images and video display on the right side of your profile and are separate from your Work Samples.
Images
To upload an image,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Images & Video” link.
- Click the “Add” button.
- Click the “Change” link and follow the on-page instructions to upload an image.
- Enter a caption for your image.
- Click the “Add” button.
Once you’ve added an image to one of your profiles, you’ll have the option to edit the caption, move the image up and down in the display order, copy images from one of your profiles to another, link to images in other profiles, or delete the images.
Note: Please be sure to adhere to the specs listed on the Change Image page. If your image is not within those specs, the upload will fail.
Video (Guru and Guru Vendors Only)
Video profiles can be uploaded to Guru and Guru Vendor profiles only. You can upload one video profile. If you would like to replace an existing video profile, you must first delete the existing one.
To upload a video,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Images & Video” link.
- Click the “Video” tab.
- Click the “Add” Button.
- Click the “Add” link to upload your video file.
- Browse for and upload your file.
- Click the “Upload” button.
- Enter a transcript (up to 1500 characters).
- Click the “Add” button.
Once you’ve added your video to one of your profiles, you’ll have the option to edit the transcript, copy the video from one of your profiles to another, link to a video in another profile, or delete the video.
Notes:
- Please be sure to adhere to the specs listed on the Add Video page. If your video file is not within those specs, the upload will fail.
- Including a transcript with your video will make it “search-friendly.” Be sure to include as many keywords as possible (such as your specific areas of expertise) so that Employers will be able to find your video easily, based on their search criteria.
- The Guru.com quality assurance team will review your video within one business day to ensure that it meets our guidelines.
- Your approved video will be converted to FLV format. Check the Images & Video section of your profile to check the quality of your converted video.
Troubleshooting Videos
If you have trouble getting your video to play, try these solutions to troubleshoot the problem.
- Install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
- If the video keeps stopping and starting, check your connection speed. Slow Internet connections will interrupt video play.
- If you can’t hear the audio, check volume controls on your computer and Flash player, and check your connection speed.
- If you can’t see the video but hear audio, your connection speed may be slow or the original video was incorrectly encoded.
Video Approval Guidelines
- Videos must not violate the Guru.com Terms of Service.
This includes, but is not limited to, asking for payment outside of Guru.com’s Billing and Payment System, asking for full/part-time employment, offering goods and/or services via bartering or trading, making false and/or misleading statements, or including content that is illegal according to our U.S. local, state, and/or federal laws. - Videos must not violate copyright laws.
Do not post a video containing music, video, images, etc. to which you do not own the rights. Videos containing such materials will be removed. Use your best judgment and err on the side of caution when deciding to use content that may be copyrighted. - Videos must not contain offensive content.
This includes, but is not limited to, content that we find racist, bigoted, lewd, obscene, sexually explicit and/or excessively violent. - Videos must meet technical specifications.
Your video cannot exceed 100 MB or 10 minutes in length. We recommend planning enough content to fill between 30 seconds and 2 minutes, 30 seconds of video.
Overview
Employers view the Overview section of your profile first. Use the Overview section of your profile to define yourself and your business by providing your skills, tagline, minimum hourly rate, work terms, etc. Take the time to complete this section with careful thought and attention to detail.
To complete or update your Overview, from the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Overview” link.
The Overview section is divided into four main areas;
- Summary
Tagline : Min. rate per hour : Min. project budget : Onsite preferences - Skills
Category : Subcategories : Industries : Experience : Software skills : Geographic markets - Highlights
Use this text field to explain your services, showcase your core skill sets and sell your abilities to Employers. Offer a brief (one- or two-line, at most) summary of your line of work, then delve into the particulars. - Work Terms
This free form statement is your chance to explain to Employers the ideal conditions under which you prefer to conduct all business. There are no requirements as to what you must discuss here. Some topics to consider: Payment methods, preferred communication channels, availability, code of ethics, return policy, etc.
Be sure to complete all sections.
Resume Page
The Resume page is an option provided to you for your Basic and Guru profiles. Through your resume, you can provide Employers with more information about your skills and experience. Your resume is shared across all Basic and Guru profiles in your account.
The resume fields must be filled in manually. You cannot yet upload your resume, although that functionality is in the works.
To add or modify your resume,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Resume Page” link.
- Your Resume page is broken down into eight sections: summary, strengths, experience, education, certifications, publications, affiliations and references. Select the tab of the section you want to edit.
- Click the “Add,” “Edit” or “Delete” button within the selected section.
By default, we hide your Resume page from the Employer’s view on the search pages. It is revealed to Employers only after you submit a proposal for a project. You may opt to show your Resume page at any time.
To hide or show your Resume,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Resume Page” link.
- Find the lock icon and click either the “Hide it” or “Show it” link.
Company Page (Guru Vendors Only)
In lieu of a traditional Resume page, Guru Vendor members are provided with a Company page. This space allows Guru Vendors to better represent their companies, as well as their management team and up to five featured employees. Your Company page is shared across all Guru Vendor profiles in your account.
To complete or modify your company page,
- From the My Profiles page, click the “Guru Vendor” tab.
- Locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Company Page” link.
- Your Company page has three main sections. Select the tab of the section you want to edit; Company Info, Management Team, and Featured Employees.
Work Samples
You can upload Work Samples to your profile to showcase your work to Employers. Your Work Samples will appear in Employers’ search results when they search for images, video, websites, audio or documents related to the expertise they seek.
To add Work Sample,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Work Samples” link.
- Click the tab for the appropriate Work Sample type; audio, document, graphics, videos or animations, or websites.
- Click the “Add” button.
- Complete the form and click the “Add” button.
Once you’ve added a work sample to one of your profiles, you’ll have the option to edit the description, move the work sample up and down in the display order, copy work samples from one of your profiles to another, link to work samples in other profiles, or delete the work samples.
Troubleshooting Work Samples
If you’re having trouble uploading your work samples,
- Check the file type, dimensions and size.
- Remove spaces and special characters from the file name.
- Check the remaining work samples file space.
If the file type, dimensions and size are correct and the file name does not include spaces or special characters and you’re still receiving errors, send the following to us via the contact us page.
- A copy of the error message.
- File type, dimensions, and size.
- File name.
- Type of browser (including version) you’re using.
Work Samples File Space Limitations,
- Guru and Guru Vendor profiles: 100 MB with a maximum of 100 files.
- Basic profiles: 20 MB with a maximum of 10 files.
To check your remaining space,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Work Samples” link.
- On the Overview tab, view how many files you’ve uploaded and how many MB of space of you’ve used within each section and as a whole.
Work Samples and Membership Expiration
If you allow your Guru or Guru Vendor memberships to expire, the associated profiles will be downgraded to Basic. Employers will still be able to see and review your proposals and profiles. Additionally, they will be able to contact you and hire you to complete projects that you placed quotes on.
Your profiles’ Work Samples will be limited to the first ten listed; the rest will be hidden. If you renew your memberships within three months of expiration, the hidden files will be restored. Otherwise the files will be permanently deleted.
If you have leftover Bid Pax bids, you will not be able to use them unless you have at least one upgraded profile. In other words, if all of your profiles are Basic profiles, you will not be able to use the Bid Pax bids until you upgrade/renew the membership for at least one of your profiles.
You will be charged a 11.95% transaction fee for any Guru Invoices or SafePay requests created as a Basic member, regardless of your profile’s membership status when you submitted the proposal to the project.
By default, you will be opted in to automatic renewal of your memberships to avoid membership lapses. You can opt out of auto-renewal by unchecking the “Automatically Renew My Selected Membership(s)” check box when upgrading.
Package Deals (Guru and Guru Vendors Only)
Package Deals are services that Guru and Guru Vendor members market to Employers in a bundled format. Employers can review Package Deals listed on your profile and instantly contact you by sending an order. After you receive an order, you can send Project Messages and use Work Room tools to negotiate the project terms, manage the project’s progress, etc.
You can create up to five Package Deals and can attach a file to each for a total of 10 MB across all Package Deals.
To add a Package Deal,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Package Deals” link.
- Click the “Add” button and complete the form.
Once you’ve added a Package Deal to one of your profiles, you’ll have the option to edit the description, move it up and down in the display order, copy it from one of your profiles to another, link to Package Deals in your other profiles or delete it.
Note: After you add or modify a Package Deal, our quality assurance team will review it and ensure that it meets our Package Deals Terms of Use (below). We will review and approve (or not approve) your Package Deal within two business days.
To check the status of your Package Deal,
- From the My Profiles page, locate the profile you would like to edit and click the “Package Deals” link.
- Your Package Deal will be marked one of the following: “Pending Approval,” “Not Approved,” or “Approved.”
To review, accept or decline a Package Deal order,
- On the top navigation bar, click “Projects.”
- Locate the Package Deal order, which will be denoted by the Package Deals icon.
- Click the “Review Employer Package Deal Order” button.
- Click the “Accept Package Deal Order” or “Decline” button.
Terms of Use for Package Deals
Package Deals, including their attachments and thumbnails, will not be approved if they include any of the following content:
- Derogatory or inappropriate statements
- Vague description of services offered
- Illegal or questionable content
- Request for payment outside of Guru.com’s Billing and Payment Service