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Direct message before hiring

lenaellis
Community Member

This week, we will begin beta testing a Direct Message tool that allows Plus clients to reach out directly to freelancers they want to work with before they post a job. 

 

With the experience today, clients have to post a job before they can start a conversation with a freelancer, even if they have already found someone who might be a good fit through doing a search and reviewing their profiles. With the new beta Direct Messages, clients can start a conversation with a freelancer about their project’s scope, budget, timeline, and their availability without having to post a job first. 

 

Here’s how it will work:

(See example images below which are mockups or taken from the Enterprise experience.)

 

Plus clients will see a new “Send Message” button next to freelancers’ info.

 

direct message mockup4.png

 

 

When clients click on “Send Message”, they will see the Send Message form.

 

 direct message mockup2.png

 

Once a Plus client sends a Direct Message, a 1:1 Messages room with that freelancer will be created, and clients and freelancers can access that room by going to Messages. An email will also be sent notifying freelancers that a client wants to chat about their project. In the email, freelancers will be shown the client's number of jobs posted, star review rating and total spend. See example images below taken from the Enterprise experience.

 

Direct message mockup3.png

 

If a freelancer is not interested in speaking with the client about the project, they can ignore the Direct Message or can block the client in Messages. Ignoring a Direct Message will not affect the freelancer’s JSS/ responsiveness score or ability to be invited to jobs in the future. Blocking a client will prevent a freelancer from receiving messages and invites from the client in the future.

 

There is a limit on how many conversations a client can send. Plus clients are able to start 40 conversations within a billing period. This feature is already available for Enterprise and Business clients, they will continue to have unlimited access.

 

75 Comments
AveryO
Community Manager

I'm sorry I failed to elaborate on that, Douglas. 

I meant to say that this feature is only available to Upwork Plus clients. As such, if a client is in a paid membership, we can use this as an indicator that the client is an engaged and active client, who is serious about hiring on the platform, and is willing to pay for a monthly membership to work with top talent on Upwork.

I have edited my post to reflect that. Thanks for flagging it, Douglas!

vsalinitro
Community Member

Bojan S wrote:

Hi Valerio,

 

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with more information about the email you're referring to. I'll check that and advise you accordingly.

 

Thank you.


Hi Bojan, I made a mistake, I cannot find the email I got when I received the direct message (I've looked everywhere but I can't seem to find it), the email I was referring to was about an unread message left in the chat by the same client.

This brings me to another question, is there any other question to check see the client profile other than aforementioned email?

jmcavoy251
Community Member

I was contacted through Upwork messenger regarding a possible job. The message states that projects might be discussed via DM without being posted first. The person has a profile picture and has included a website link in the signature and it all looks legit. However, I know that there are scammers who use other people's profile information.

 

How can I find this client to see if they are payment verified and what their past employment history is?  

kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Hi Jeanne,

 

The client's information should be included in an email notification that's sent to you about a direct message. We're currently checking if that's the case or if there there is an issue. While we're doing that, I'm going to send you a private message with the information. 

dimensiondesign
Community Member

I received a direct message today. The message was spam asking me to sign up for a new freelancing platform. There was no information about the client in the email (Client history) that was sent from Upwork, so I assume it was a new account. (Also the official email that was sent from Upwork to tell me that I had a direct message waiting for me has a misspelling in it, just to let you know) 

 

So I guess any spam client can create a new account, use the Upwork Plus free trial and spam us in direct messages now.

BojanS
Community Manager

Thank you for flagging this to us, Roslen.

 

I was able to locate the message you're referring to. I'll be sure to share this with our team for further investigation and appropriate actions will be taken according to our internal processes.

 

Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and please use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

 

Thank you.

elastella
Community Member

Roslen M wrote:

I received a direct message today. The message was spam asking me to sign up for a new freelancing platform. There was no information about the client in the email (Client history) that was sent from Upwork, so I assume it was a new account. (Also the official email that was sent from Upwork to tell me that I had a direct message waiting for me has a misspelling in it, just to let you know) 

 

So I guess any spam client can create a new account, use the Upwork Plus free trial and spam us in direct messages now.


I also received the spam message about the other platform - by the time I got to reading it the client's account had already been suspended. The other time I received a DM a client asked several questions which I answered before the client vanished into thin air and was never heard of again...

 

26621a76
Community Member

How do I message a freelancer without hiring them?

JoanneP
Moderator

Hi Eric,

 

You can use the direct messaging option to reach out to a freelancer before posting a job and hiring. To learn more about this, please check out the announcement here

12e82ec2
Community Member

I would like to contact freelancers via message without sending them the job invitation. In the past, this was a possibility on Upworl, and now I don't see this option. It's crucial for my hiring process, as I'm getting negative responses by just sending an invitation without consulting with the freelancer beforehand. I have another account on Upwork and have been using it to hire people for years.

I'd appreciate your help.

Thank you,

Gabrielle