There is a lot of spam message going on right now with oDesk providers who are part of the gDev team. The original message which started from a simple “hi” turns out to carry more than what meets the eye.
UAE based company, gDEV FZ LLC who claims to be the biggest employer in oDesk started sending out invitations and hiring providers for a fixed rate fee to undergo several tests and a Skype interview that’s intended for various technical and customer service positions. Well, who wouldn’t be enticed to grab the opportunity? gDEV offers $40-60 fixed rate fee for spending just 3-4 hours of taking the exams and a few minutes of Skype interview, and the best part, if you get hired, you get a whopping $10 hourly rate or more depending on the nature of your job. That seemed to be a dream job to many freelancers who are still living on a feast and famine kind of life. But that seems to be perceived as too good to be true when all these grievance messages started to sprout.
Are the gDEV invitations just a hoax then? I don’t think it’s enough ground to say that they are not legitimate. Delays are part of the hiring process. And as applicants, I guess, it may as well be taken against us if we show impatience.
gDEV has already issued a stern warning for those who will continue with the flared messages. To those who were not able to control their patience and have not put their complaints in proper channeling, it may have just caused you a quicker kill on your chances of getting hired.
Again, patience is a virtue.
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I was too exicited abt working for gdev when i saw the employment history but i lost interest as i think it somehow diminish the joy of freelancing and make it a regular job.
And yeah I did got paid 100$ for taking tests, so its not a spam
There were actually no large delays with me and gDEV, although I was worried there would be after investigating them on Google and reading this article. I accepted their fixed-price "job"/interview, and about a week later they sent me information on completing the tests and the interview. Once I did, I got paid the next day, and got a job offer the day after that. Not spam!
Sounds good. I did get paid as well although mine took longer than the usual process. I did not land the job but I'm happy to hear that you actually nailed it.
I just finished my Skype interview and was really pleased to see that payment and feedback were done on oDesk, within 10 minutes. I just hope I get the job.
Wow thats great! I am interviewing with them for a second time. The first position I didn't get but I got the offer to interview for one that is a higher level. I have taken the tests. I scored very well and I will be interviewing tonight! I am very hopeful of a job offer based on my test scores! I will keep you posted.
I have also worked for gDev. They always paid on time.
BEWARE!!! GDev FZ LLC is a HOAX. Don't fall victim like me. Their modus operandi is send you an invitation which requires you to take a series of tests spread out in 5 days. They'll bait you with hundreds of dollars income. I researched on the company and all they have is a one-page website.How can they afford to pay 30 dollars per hour when they cannot even put up a decent website?? Worse, they don't even pay you for the time you have spent on taking the tests. They are so wise they will make you set the contract to $1.00 inclusive so you cannot even leave a contractor feedback !!! These people should never engage in legitimate sites such as Odesk. They will just ruin Odesk's reputation. Check out the url below to find out: http://www.gdev.com/
Thank you for your comment. It's sad that you seem to have a different experience with GDEV. I've never made it to the projects they have invited me to apply but contrary to your experience, I received $60 payment for taking the tests and going through the interview.
What seems to have happened is that, they no longer offer the same fee for those who go through their screening process.
Their website is actually http://www.gdev.biz/ and is indeed just one page. hmmm I agree that they don't provide enough info. The invitations they send are always generic, therefore, very possibly spam.
I just decline their invitation… I was really interested, they are offering $30 for an hour and they only paying $1 for the interview, that is really huge wasting time for me. Probably if they are offering $100 for 5 days interview I think I'm gonna take it, but do they I'm still afraid if failed on interview they gonna give bad feedback.
I was just invited to interview. I would be very interested to hear from someone who has worked for GDEV on an ongoing basis.
hi! where can i take gdev tests?
Hi John,
Looks like you're in a crossroad. One thing I always keep in mind when i come to a point of choosing between two (almost) equally enticing option is to weigh the pros and cons. If you already have a work and you are happy with what you are doing, at the same time if it meets your needs, your loyalty will have it's big return in the future.
Don't get me wrong, I know gDev offers really high paying salary. But consider that you are still starting at square one with them. There is a big risk that you will have to consider. Because in the end, you may end up losing both.
Think and pray before you take your next step.
I hope that helps.
Florante
big big scam. devfactory.com now, I noticed the gdev in the user name of the person sending invites. The phone number for contact us on devfactory.com goes to a completly different company, I have no idea how they got odesk to show as if they spent that amount of money and hours billed, must have somehow messed with odesk to do that. Don’t do this I think its identity theft, why would they ask for a copy of your drivers lisence, next thing i bet would be social security code, scam fake, closed book. PS all comments above being spammed probably by the same company to try to continue the scam.
Hi Nikita,
This is totally a different scenario i\’m seeing now. When i first wrote this post, there was no such thing, so I guest, it\’s evolving pretty quick. I was never ask for a driver\’s license or any similar personal document.
With regards to the oDesk record they have, I don\’t think that is something that can be easily manipulated without oDesk flexing its muscle to make sure it protects it\’s reputation.
I did get an invitation to take tests but I am still waiting. Can you guys tell me the type of tests that I have take?
The test will depend on the position to which you were invited to apply. Gdev actually has a lot of different positions they recruit. I was invited before as customer service, project manager. Just make sure you know the position you are applying for and the responsibilities associated to it. If that\’s settled, then you\’ll get a better chance of landing the job.
I took gdev exams I guess about 3 months ago then they said there would be $1 fixed rate upon taking those exams.Unfortunately I didn’t receive any payment.But just recently they invited me for an interview.I guess I have to try for the 2nd time around.Been really hoping to land an online job with a very good employer.
I am surprised by those calling gDev a hoax or scam. If you are an Odesk freelancer, you would see that gDev has spent over 26million in salaries since they started operations. And yes, they are the largest employer on oDesk.
I work for them and I love the,,,,THE BEST!!!!!
Hi Joel,
It\’s good hear the other side of the story. I\’m glad that you are working with them and you are enjoying your stay with them. I hope others won\’t just listen to hearsays and unsatisfied applicants. As I\’ve mentioned in a previous reply, the figures showing how many thousands of hours and how many oDesk contractors are involved in their projects is enough proof to dismiss the allegations of it being a scam. And most certainly, oDesk will weed this out if this is indeed a scam.
After a day or two improving my Odesk profile, taking some necessary skill tests and applying to several recruitment positions, I finally got an interview invite today with GDev. Wow! That’s quick! I’m pretty much confused on what will be my next step. There is a button in Odesk for me to click in order for me to accept the interview invitation but there is also an instruction in the ad that if I wish to apply for a certain GDEV position I need to apply thru their website by clicking on a link that is included in the ad. Which of the two should I do first? Will I be breaching any agreement with Odesk if I follow the link and apply thru their site? If you know how to go about this process, let me know. I will appreciate any information. I don’t want to kill my chance just because I did a wrong move. Help!
Hi Jay,
You can click on the link that they have given you. I also received an invitation from them with this link: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition….
Based on their invitation there will be a testing phase and a trial phase before they make the job offer. So as long as the job remains inside oDesk there shouldn\’t be any complications with that. However, if they have offered you the job and would like you to work outside of the oDesk environment, then that\’s a violation of oDesk rules.
I hope this helps.
Florante
Hi,
I have some different experience about GDev. I completed their test, which was for around 4 hours. After that, I did not receive any feedback from them about the test, payment, or even the further work. When I sent a message, I got the reply that a supervisor is assigned to check my test, but again there is no reply from last one month.
Now, in my Odesk account, I see that the GDev contract is ended but the job is still listed under the Active Candidacies. Now, I don’t know if I should wait for this job or I just ignore this.
-Charudatta
Hi Chaduratta,
I think the best thing for you to do is to make another follow up with them. In my case I made a follow through the odesk messaging system as well as with the person who interviewed me over skype. After a couple of days, i received my payment.
I hope this helps.
the only problem with gdev is that it’s a full time job under cover.
this means they can end the contract any minute and you are on the street.
in a regular job if they are going to fire you they have to pay you money, you have vacations, medical care, etc.
that’s why I never ended up working for them.
I think some things people have complained about can be adequately explained by simple cluelessness or bad manners on the part of the gDev people. How many times have you complained about sending resumes and cover letters and you never heard back from the hiring company? How many times have you had a job interview and after you left you never heard from them again?
Let's see if we can get some harder information. Those of you who say you work for them, did they also ask you for a copy of your driver's license? If so, did they explain why they needed it? And, can you please post something that will substantiate your employment with them? At least one person has alleged that all the posts in favor of gDev are spam; can you show something to gainsay that?
Has anyone investigated gDev and found anything bad about them beyond vague suspicions in chat rooms and blogs? Has anyone found any legal complaints against them, or negative writeups in trade journals or other reputable publications?
Hi,
First of all I thank Florante Valdez for helping out all the freelancers by putting up these blogs.
I am working as a full time employee and also started working as a freelancer. I received an offer from gDev on oDesk. Yesterday I cleared the test and within one hour I came to know that I cleared the test. The person who was my point of contact was from Philippines and asked me if I was ready to appear for skype interview after 2-3 hours. I said yes and the interview was scheduled immediately. I cleared the interview and I was informed that I will be endorsed to HR by that person and I will receive a test assignment.
The offer I received was of $0.99. They did not mentioned that I will be paid for clearing the interview but they have mentioned that for the test assignment I will be paid based on the hourly rate mentioned in the job posting on oDesk.
What I have observed that they are putting up job postings which are invite only and visible to only those people whom they invite.
I will post more details once I hear back from them. Meanwhile if anyone can share their recent experience it will be very helpful.
Thanks,
Brij
Hi,
Just received the offer form gDev yesterday. It will be one week testing phase and they will be paying me fixed amount for that. If things work out well, I will be hired for hourly rate.
Enjoy,
Brij
People, are you so naive to see the truth behind all of this? It's just oDesk! They're just using people to work for free! They are never paying anything! Look at the profiles of their "well-paid" ex-contractors, most of that are accounts without any history, job description is hidden, and what? Newbies are earning 18k+, 100k+??? This comany even don't exist, and you think that they paid to odesk 10% (odesk's fee from payments to employees) of the money they spent already there (what is MORE THAN $2Millions!) Are you really so blind???
I am kind of thinking the same here
Hi ALL,
I received a trial assignment just 15-20 days ago. Completed it successfully and was paid the next day. Now I have been hired and working on hourly rate. So I will say gdev is not fake….
Enjoy,
Brij
Hi All,
First of all you must know that they will not pay you a single dollar unless you are get hired,it involves(Testing,interview + one week trial assignment).
Second they only select top 5%,so apply only if you are fully confident that you are best.
A person with intermediate skills can pass (initial test + interview) but it is hard game to pass trial week assignment,they will reject you even if you have completed assignment successfully but not in top 5%.
I was rejected just for not properly commenting my assignment code.
Any how GDev is good company with well established standards.
Guys, I applied for L2 Software Support, I did the tests and had the interview with the Human Resources person, they told me they will send me the trial assignment, but I haven´t heard anything from them since a couple of days. Do any of you know how long it is going to take?
Im pretty confident about my skills, actually the tests were pretty easy for me, but definitely it takes a while to be hired.
If any of you know how long is going to take to receive the trial assignments, please let me know.
I just got the offer, turned down the first one and now I got another email from a gmail account asking me to take the tests at .90usd, I submitted my id when I first applied so I guess now they are looking for the rest of my documents, SCAM. How much would they get to sell your identity? You wanna make a deal?