🐈
» Support » Product Release Notes » Direct message before hiring
Page options

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
JoanneP
Moderator

Hi Gabrielle,

 

If you are referring to the direct messages feature, this is currently available to clients who are under the Client Plus Plan. To learn more about this feature, please check out this help article. Thank you!

vsalinitro
Community Member

Would it be possible to include previous job posts and reviews of the clients sending a direct message? The information available at the moment are not enough to vet a potential client.

VladimirG
Community Manager

Hi Valerio,

 

Additional client information is included in the first Direct Message notification email that is sent to freelancers when a Direct Message conversation is initiated. You will be able to see details about the client, including the number of jobs they’ve posted, their star rating from feedback, and how much they’ve spent on Upwork.

vsalinitro
Community Member

Hi Vladmir, I'm aware of that but unfortunately, that doesn't help in understanding if I would be interested in working with a particular client or not. Usually I check the client previous reviews, given and received, and the kind of previous work they posted before, funnily the data displayed at the moment is also the one I care the least.

Since this data is obviously available when applying for a job, it would be great if it could be the same for direct messages.

VladimirG
Community Manager

We appreciate your feedback, Valerio. I'll forward your suggestion to the team for further consideration.