What makes employers tick?

I just lost a job on Guru, and I am really scratching my head over it. This particular job had a way overpriced budget - I bid $300 for the $500 - 1000 budget range. However, I really cannot see just taking people. At the same time, I think the job was worth $300, I had just finished one that was almost identical and was paid a similar amount.

The job was an "editing a technical manual" job. Now, my blogs are a mess. I try to do a quick edit/ read through when I am finished, but these are no where near as polished as the work I turn over. As I have said before, I am not getting paid to write these - it is more of a psychological release. However, the only way an employer could get to this blog from my bid, would be to click on my profile and then click on my website, then click on the tab for other websites and blogs, and then click on those. By that time, they would certainly have to be more than a little interested in me.

My bids, are well-edited. My profile is well-edited. And, this was an editing job. If you click on my profile, you will notice that each service I offer has a unique description (and picture for that matter). I also have a variety of skills. My annual income isn't looking so hot right now because I devoted four months at the beginning of the year to putting out my own books (these do not show up on Guru as projects unfortunately).

The freelancer who won had no feedback, had never done a single job on Guru before and had a cut and paste profile. What I mean by cut and paste is that every skill she offers has the exact same picture. All but one of the descriptions of the services she offers have the exact same description. And none of the descriptions match the service. For example, her grant writing service description talks not about all the grants she has written (although they do get an honorable mention) but it talks about everything she has written.

Did I mention this was an editing job she just won? Most distressing to me is that her primary cut and paste description was horribly edited. She began talking in first person, and then flipped to third person. She ran one sentence into the next without a single space between the two.

Anyway, I will be watching to see how much (or perhaps how little) she bid on this. You see, I don't consider this to be my professional world even though I link to it professionally. This is my recreation (which is why it gets cut when I have to crunch in some money). However, my professional profiles on Guru and LinkedIn are frequently reread for clarity, updated, and improved. Polished, if you don't mind calling them that. But this freelancer presented herself like a lazy slob. (Cut and paste is very lazy - easy - but lazy.) Although she go the job, I cannot condone her efforts. As an employer, I, personally, would have never hired her. Would you?

Okay, I am going to go sulk in a corner now and lick my wounds.