SkillDosti Review 2024 – Is It What It Seems?

What is SkillDosti?

SkillDosti is both a freelance marketplace and a recruitment platform, meaning you can use it both to find freelancers and full-time employees. This double role separates SkillDosti from regular freelance platforms like Fiverr (however, with prices starting as low as $5 per project, Fiverr is hard to beat).

As a marketplace, SkillDosti focuses on creative talent, such as writers, designers, video editors, photographers, and architects. The website is in English, but it’s worth noting that SkillDosti’s core market is India, and the platform makes it easy to find available talent in different regions of the country.

SkillDosti claims a 96% satisfaction rate with its services, but can it really compete with better known freelance marketplaces? And if you don’t live in India, is it still relevant for you? I’ve examined SkillDosti in detail so by the end of this review, you’ll know if it’s the right service for you.

How SkillDosti Works

It’s pretty simple to start using SkillDosti to find freelancers and candidates. At signup, you can register as a recruiter to see your business options. Alternatively, you can start by posting your project to hire freelancers fast.

SkillDosti also offers tools to help freelancers, like a personal branding service and online courses, upskilling the talent pool available to your business.

Wide Range of Specialist Roles

When you set up a project, one thing to note is the large range of job roles available. SkillDosti has more than 10,000 freelancers in its database, and it’s not just a case of hiring writers, editors, and graphic designers. There are many more specialist niches in SkillDosti’s database, so you can hire a casting director, restaurant manager, or even a DJ.

Set Up a Company Profile Fast

One thing that’s confusing is that you can create a project with a contact email address before you even have an account. But if you want an account, you’ll have to set that up separately. Setting up an account gives you a handy dashboard where you can manage job postings.

It’s pretty simple to complete the basics: name, email address, and password. Next, SkillDosti asks you to fill out your company’s information, industry, and web links before you can get access to your dashboard. It would have been super helpful to be able to fill this automatically from LinkedIn, but that’s not available, so you’ll have to type your details in.

Recruit New Hires, Not Just Freelancers

Most freelance marketplaces are set up so you only work with freelancers via the platform. SkillDosti is different, because one of its key features is helping you hire new staff.

As a recruiter, you get a dedicated hiring manager (via one of the premium plans) who helps you by sifting through the available talent pool to find the best candidates for your job. Then all you have to do is look at the vetted applications and set up interviews.

Browsing Candidates Has to Wait For Project Approval

Another feature that’s different from most freelance platforms is there’s no easy way to see the range of freelance talent available until you have a project approved. The interface makes it easy for freelancers to find opportunities in different areas, but not for recruiters to do the same.

This is a failing in my opinion. You need to get a feel for the available freelancers to make an informed decision about whether SkillDosti is really the right platform for you. Most freelance platforms don’t work this way. Fiverr lets you browse the creative talent without even signing up1.

It’s hard to say whether SkillDosti is truly easy to use. While everything appears simple, there are hurdles that get in the way of true ease of use, which I’ll cover below. Plus, it can take a while for projects to be approved. As you’ll see, it’s difficult to get an idea of typical rates and skill levels without signing up for the platform.

Easy Project Creation

Setting up a project in SkillDosti is pretty simple. Choose the role you’re looking to hire, then describe your project in the box provided. Add your timescale, then move on to set your budget. The budget is in rupees, which is perfect for the local market but not so helpful if you’re in another country and looking to hire an Indian freelancer.

Finally, add your personal details, and wait for your project to be approved so you can start receiving quotes.

Contact Candidates by Phone

The SkillDosti platform is geared towards setting up communication between recruiters and freelancers or candidates.

After obtaining a list of potential hires, you have the option to review their profiles, include the selected candidates in a shortlist, and subsequently arrange a call. This process resembles a phone interview, serving the purpose of ensuring the suitability of the chosen individual. Importantly, there is no obligation until you reach a mutual agreement to proceed with the hiring.

Better for Freelancers

My impression is that SkillDosti works better for freelancers looking for work than for those looking to hire them.

It’s easy to set up a profile, and to find jobs in different niches and locations. If you’re feeling brave, you can visit the sitemap page for a daunting list of jobs sorted by town, role, town and role, and company. Since SkillDosti didn’t ask for location details when I posted a project, I’m not sure where those details come from.

Support Is Quick, but Seriously Lacking

It’s not particularly easy to identify the support options on the SkillDosti site. There’s a phone number in the website footer, but no indication if that’s a general contact number or a support one. There’s live chat on the site, but you have to provide a name, email, and phone number before you can even have a conversation.

The company has a number of social media profiles, and I tried to use one of these, as well as the live chat, to get some information about confusing features. There’s a FAQ section of sorts, which has some helpful information, but overall, SkillDosti’s support options are sub-par.

Live Chat Didn’t Work

I tried the live chat option a couple of times. The window kept disappearing, and even after I entered my details, I wasn’t actually able to talk to anyone. That was a major disadvantage in trying to get my account set up.

Unofficial Support via Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger turned out to be the only way I could get a response from the SkillDosti team. I got a reply within seconds of my message. Although the response was polite,  it was only a link, and didn’t really answer my question. And when I followed up with more questions, there was no response at all.

It’s not easy to find out about pricing on the SkillDosti website, but if you explore a little, the information is there.

Like other freelance marketplaces, freelancers pay a commission for using the site to find work.  Payments are held in escrow and are only released once work is completed and accepted.

If you’re looking to hire someone, you can post a single job for free and it stays live for 15 days. But some of SkillDosti’s other features will cost you more. For example, if you want the job opportunity to be available for a month, or an HR manager, or to promote your job opportunity, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium plan.

There’s also an annual plan, which allows you 15 job postings at a time, plus promotion in the most important cities.

There’s no indication of accepted payment methods, and SkillDosti has a no-refund policy.