I was trolling OneStart Classifieds a couple weeks ago looking for cheap deals on stuff I didn’t need and seeing if there were any job postings for some quick, easy money. I found a job entitled “Informatics Student” with this description:

We are looking for a certified IT person preferrably a student in the Informatics field. Must have experience in the web design, merchant services, and other web related technology. Serious inquiries only.

It said it was going to pay $10/hr so I shot off an email to the guy that was rather plain but straight to the point. He didn’t give a lot of details so I didn’t either.

I’m a senior Informatics student with years of web design experience. Please review my resume and list of technical skills:

http://maxbeatty.com/resume
http://maxbeatty.com/skills

I’ll be graduating in May and starting an IT consulting job in Chicago at the beginning of June, but I have lots of extra time this semester to take on a new project. Could you provide some details and what you’re looking for? Thanks and can’t wait to hear from you!

Best,
Max Beatty

The job was posted on 1/29, I emailed him on 2/2, and then he finally responded at 2am on 2/17

How are things going Max? This is Derren XXXXXX who once put a post on onestart about working with an IT student. I have checked out your resume and would like to sit down with you and let you know what I am looking forward to working with you on. I am in Bloomington tomorrow all day, if you want to meet however, the evening is the only time I have available. Wednesday I will be here all day and any time will work with me. Please give me an email back or a phone call so we can set up a meeting. My cell number is XXX-XXX-XXXX and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you

I emailed him back around 3:45pm later that day trying to set up a meeting time and included my phone number so he could call me if that was quicker than email.

Hey Derren,

Would some time around 7 be good for you tomorrow? Where would you like to meet? Some place on campus like the union or library? My phone number is 317-319-1140. Look forward to meeting you tomorrow!

Max

I never heard from the guy. No call, no email, nothing. Was I right to wait for a response from the guy? Obviously, the ball was in his court but then again people say not to wait for someone else to call you back. Since I didn’t know anything about this guy or his project, I wasn’t dying to get in touch and learn more. It was just a standard $10/hr gig and I’m not totally pressed for cash at the moment.

Shouldn’t he have emailed me back? Was it too much to ask for a call? I’ve had success in the past couple of weeks meeting people to tutor them and this is the usual formula:

  1. They email me asking if I can tutor them
  2. I respond sure, here’s my fee, and try to set up a meeting time offering my phone # for convenience
  3. They respond to confirm plans and give me their phone # 

It’s simple. It works. Is this Derren guy new to setting up meetings or am I too used to meeting freshmen at the library? I’d love for any feedback you might have as I continue to look for freelance gigs this semester.