Fishing in the Right Ponds: Where to Actually Find Offshore Talent Online

Hey, Lundin again.

You wouldn’t fish for tuna in a pond. You wouldn’t look for a CTO in the comments of a meme thread.

But every week I talk to founders who post a vague job on Twitter, scroll Upwork for 12 minutes, then wonder why they can't find good offshore talent.

So let’s fix that.

This week, I’m walking you through where to actually find the right people, based on what kind of help you need, your budget, and how much time you're willing to invest in training.

I’ve fished in all these ponds myself. Some are noisy. Some are goldmines. All of them have a sweet spot.

Upwork – Best for task-based or time-boxed projects

Great for:

• One-off design or research projects

• Short-term execution (landing pages, logo tweaks, light data entry)

Terrible for:

• Building long-term team members

• Filtering quality without doing deep interviews

How I use it:
Upwork is my go-to for execution-only hires. I don’t expect strategic thinkers here, but I do find excellent doers if I define scope clearly and filter aggressively.

Pro Tip:
Don’t just post and wait. Use the “Talent Scout” service or sort by work history + hourly rate, + proposal relevance. The best candidates won’t apply to vague listings.

OnlineJobs.ph – Best for long-term hires in the Philippines

Great for:

• Finding full-time EAs, customer support, ops, and admin help

• People who want stability, not gig work

Terrible for:

• Design, engineering, and high-specialty roles

• Expecting candidates to pitch themselves (you have to reach out first)

How I use it:
We’ve sourced multiple hires here. Best results come when you’re clear that it’s a real job with career potential, not just a VA slot.

Pro Tip:
Don’t just filter by skill, look at their desired salary vs. experience. That’s where you find the most overlooked candidates who are underpriced and hungry.

Hey Foster (yep, us) – Best for system-ready, vetted operators

Great for:

• Founders who don’t want to waste time training from scratch

• Teams that already have SOPs or want to build them fast

• Delegating outcomes and building a permanent team.

Terrible for:

• Super early-stage founders with unclear roles

• People expecting $3/hour unicorns

How I use it (obviously):
This is our in-house solution. Every person in the network is pre-vetted and trained in async, offshore-first workflows. We help match based on your needs, not just generic titles.

Pro Tip:
If you don’t have systems yet, don’t panic. Start with setting up a call and we’ll help you figure out what to hand off first.

Slack Groups, Discords, and Niche Communities – Best for specialists and hidden gems

Great for:

• Technical or creative contractors who don’t want to be on Upwork

• Finding someone through their work, not just a résumé

Terrible for:

• High-volume hiring

• People who need full-time help today

How I use it:
We’ve hired developers, copywriters, and recruiters through online communities. It’s slower, but often higher quality.

Pro Tip:
Go where they hang out. Lurk in threads. DM someone who posted value. Ask who they know. It’s slower, but you’ll find the people who are great at what they do.

Referrals – Best for speed and trust

Great for:

• Roles where cultural fit matters

• Replacing an existing role fast

• “I need someone good soon” scenarios

Terrible for:

• Hiring out of desperation or guilt

• Scaling beyond 1–2 people

How I use it:
Almost every A-player I’ve hired long-term was a referral. Someone they worked with, someone I trusted. Start there, your best hire is probably one degree away.

Pro Tip:
When you find a great hire, ask them: “Who else do you know that works like you?” You’ll be shocked how often they have someone ready.

Don't Just Fish Where It's Easy

Don’t hire based on where people are easiest to find, hire based on where they’re most likely to succeed.

Upwork is great, but don’t expect long-term magic there. Communities are gold, but require patience. Referrals work fast but might not be a forever source.

The real question is “Where do the kind of people I want to hire already spend their time?”

Find that. Fish there.

If you have a tool, platform, or channel that’s worked for you, reply and tell me.

Or, if you’ve got a horror story about hiring someone from a sketchy Facebook group or a miracle success story from a Reddit DM, I want to hear it too.

I’ll feature a few reader stories in an upcoming issue.

— Lundin

🖐️ Ask Foster

Q: How do I know if someone I found online is actually a good long-term hire, or just good at getting hired?

A: Great question. Most platforms reward people who are great at proposals, not performance. That’s why we use a testing process: give them a task that mimics what they’d actually do in the role. Don’t just ask about their experience, watch how they think.

Also: look for people who ask you smart questions. That’s the biggest green flag: they’re thinking like an operator, not a task-taker.