I will answer this from an employers perspective. I myself have managed teams of developers, and have also hired individual developers off free lance sites. (as well as graphic designers and writers).
To most employers, the actual rate you charge is not that important. The basic reason is that we view our time as the most valuable constraint on a project.
That is, we are far more likely to pay more, if it assures us that it is going to save us time in the long run.
Time can be taken up by having to re-do a project, poor communication, misunderstood requirements, etc etc.
The most important thing you can do (as many below have said), is to read the job description I have posted, and provide a customized proposal to it. I am not asking for a detailed in depth proposal, but I would like to see that you have put in say 20 minutes or so of work on it.
The comment here, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2619472 is also applicable. My description of the job is likely not going to be exhaustively complete. Ask me one or two questions about the job.
Better yet, if i've missed a very important part of the description, ask the question, but then make an assumption and say, "if I assume this is the task, then I would do y, and my timeline would be x"
Also, use bullets in your reply to me, I'm going to be scanning a ton of applicants, and bullet points help me quickly read through your application.
To most employers, the actual rate you charge is not that important. The basic reason is that we view our time as the most valuable constraint on a project. That is, we are far more likely to pay more, if it assures us that it is going to save us time in the long run.
Time can be taken up by having to re-do a project, poor communication, misunderstood requirements, etc etc.
The most important thing you can do (as many below have said), is to read the job description I have posted, and provide a customized proposal to it. I am not asking for a detailed in depth proposal, but I would like to see that you have put in say 20 minutes or so of work on it.
The comment here, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2619472 is also applicable. My description of the job is likely not going to be exhaustively complete. Ask me one or two questions about the job.
Better yet, if i've missed a very important part of the description, ask the question, but then make an assumption and say, "if I assume this is the task, then I would do y, and my timeline would be x"
Also, use bullets in your reply to me, I'm going to be scanning a ton of applicants, and bullet points help me quickly read through your application.
Hope that helps.