Earlier this year, we shared some of our upcoming plans to highlight top talent on Upwork. We understood that you are looking for more ways to stand out and want better access to high-value opportunities with quality clients. As we continue to attract more businesses seeking flexible talent solutions, we have also heard their need to more quickly find talent they can trust for complex, strategic, and long-term work. To further our continued efforts towards this vision, we're excited to announce two new talent badges: Top Rated Plus and Expert-Vetted.
TOP RATED PLUS
What is Top Rated Plus?
Top Rated Plus is a new status for talent that has a proven track record of excelling on large or long-term contracts on Upwork. On average their contracts last 7 months. These professionals and agencies are highlighted because they have delighted clients on large contracts. Businesses frequently seek talent for large projects or longer-term relationships, and trust talent with this proven experience on Upwork. Right now Top Rated Plus talent has earned more than $100K on average through Upwork, four times as much as Top Rated talent.
What are the benefits?
- Priority access to work with Upwork Enterprise and Business clients: they will be able to find you more easily in search, and our Talent Services teams will prioritize inviting you to their invite-only jobs.
- A Top Rated Plus badge displayed on your profile visible to clients on Upwork’s Enterprise, Business, and Plus plans (to all other clients you will continue to appear as Top Rated)
What are the requirements to become a Top Rated Plus freelancer?
- Earned $10,000+ in total earnings (all contracts included) the past 12 months
- Worked on one of more large projects in the past 12 months without negative feedback. What is considered a large project can vary depending on the skill category:
- $5,000: Design & Creative, Engineering & Architecture, Legal, Translation, Writing
- $10,000: Accounting & Consulting, Admin, Data Science & Analytics, IT & Networking, Sales & Marketing
- $15,000: Web, Mobile & Software Dev
- $20,000: Customer Support
- Are not an exclusive agency contractor
- Maintained Top Rated status
What are the requirements to be Top Rated Plus as an agency?
- Earned $20,000+ in total earnings (all contracts included)
- Worked on one or more large projects in the past 12 months and no more than 10 percent of the contracts had negative outcomes. What is considered a large project can vary depending on the skill category:
- $10,000: Design & Creative, Engineering & Architecture, Legal, Translation, Writing
- $20,000: Accounting & Consulting, Admin, Customer Service, Data Science & Analytics, IT & Networking, Sales & Marketing
- $30,000: Web, Mobile & Software Dev
- Maintained Top Rated status
Timing
- The Top Rated Plus badge was released today to some clients. If you qualify for this badge, clients on Upwork’s Enterprise and Business plans will now see it on your profile, as will some clients on Upwork’s Plus plan. You will start seeing the badge on your own profile and MyStats later this summer - we’ll notify you by email once you can see it there.
EXPERT-VETTED
What is Expert-Vetted Talent?
Expert-Vetted Talent is a new status for talent that has deep experience in their field, on or off Upwork. Upwork invites this talent to participate in a rigorous pre-screening process. We chose to highlight these professionals because businesses frequently seek talent with a strong combination of expertise and soft skills, and they trust talent that has been pre-screened by professionals in the relevant field. This talent will get prioritized for clients on Upwork’s Enterprise and Business plans, whose average project value is over $8,000.
What are the benefits?
- An Expert-Vetted badge on your profile to help you more easily stand out and find quality work with top clients on Upwork’s Enterprise and Business plans. All other clients will see your Rising Talent, Top Rated, or Top Rated Plus badge if you have one.
- Priority access to work with clients on Upwork’s Enterprise and Business plans
- A personal relationship with an Upwork Talent Manager who helps match you to opportunities aligned with your goals
Our team is hard at work to further enhance the Expert-Vetted experience, so expect more exciting updates on the horizon including opportunities to engage with this exclusive community of professionals like you and other ways to more easily access high-value work.
What are the requirements to become an Expert-Vetted freelancer or agency?
This opportunity is available by invitation only. Keep your eyes peeled for an invitation in your email inbox or when you log into Upwork. Once we are able to offer this opportunity to more people, we will provide an update here.
If you are invited to participate, you will need to pass a rigorous pre-screening process which may include a portfolio review, coding tests, interviews, or other steps relevant to your area of expertise. Agencies participate in a similar process to assess the agency’s expertise.
Our initial focus is Design & Creative; Web, Mobile, and Software Development; and Sales & Marketing.
How is this different from previous programs, like Upwork Premium?
Expert-Vetted replaces previous programs for expert-level talent. We’ve done extensive research with businesses seeking expert-level talent on Upwork for large projects and created new criteria in line with current client expectations. If you’ve previously taken an assessment for Upwork Premium or Upwork Pro, thank you! We have your results on file and will take them into consideration as we grow the program and extend additional invitations. Your results also continue to be available to our Talent Services teams which take them into consideration when sending invitations to jobs.
Timing
- The Expert-Vetted badge was released today to some clients. If you qualify for this badge, clients on Upwork’s Enterprise and Business plans will now see it. You will start seeing the badge on your own profile and MyStats later this summer - we’ll notify you by email once you can see it there
RISING TALENT & TOP RATED
Freelancers who are currently Rising Talent or Top Rated will continue to keep those badges and benefits. Expert-Vetted and Top Rated Plus are not replacing Rising Talent or Top Rated.
When you earn Expert-Vetted or Top Rated Plus status, your new badge is only visible to Upwork's Enterprise and Business clients—as well as select Plus clients for Top Rated Plus.* All other clients will see your Rising Talent or Top Rated badge if you have one.
See the chart below to learn which badge clients see when they look at your profile, depending on the client type.
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We care deeply about helping you succeed on Upwork. There is plenty more to come! We will continue to invest in our talent badges and other solutions. We'd love to hear your thoughts on how these new statuses impact your work and other ways we can help you achieve your goals.
Thanks!
Iliana Montauk
Product Manager
*Beta test update July 2021: We are always working to improve features on our platform, from time to time some users may see options while we test changes for this reason. Over the next few weeks we'll be testing a way for badges be visible to all clients when searching Project Catalog. If there are any changes that will permanently take effect we will update you here!