Testing a Change to Job Feeds & Search Results to Support Top Rated Freelancers

[Baris A]

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@Natasa M wrote:

Well, I agree with this, about trying the same thing and expecting different results... And it is not about clients.

Top rated already have a lot of perks, already have preferential status, access to certain jobs etc. Ultimately, if someone who doesn't have top rated status wins over clients, that means that that person is a better seller. I don't see the purpose of creating a tenure for top rated who are unable to win jobs, sorry. You already have that in practice and it is not working. And btw this clients have 100+ candidates and that is why they don't hire anyone is a faulty logic. 

Anyway, whatever... 

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 The system I wrote was not for top rated freelancers only and it is not for freelancers who are unable to win jobs. The only freelancers who will consider this will be the ones already paying $400-500 in fees. I wrote 75 JSS and if one can't sustain at least 75 JSS, freelancing is not their calling.

The topic of this original post is not a smart thing to do but they will do it. I wrote that system because 1. I've been thinking about it for some time and it is an alternative that can solve their problems. And 2. They can change the numbers but in the end since they try all those ideas and fail why not look for a solution from our side.

[Baris A]

They can invite freelancers with min. 75 JSS who paid an average of $300 (for example) for the past year. For the first 3 months they pay normal fees (as before). After the first 3 months if they want to stay, they pay the fixed fee. Anyway, whatever...

[Charles K]

(Just realized this will be buried and hard to see due to the threading system so reposting below.)

[Natasa M]

You missed just one thing there - regular job postings are not exclusively your (top rated) market.

If clients are not interested enough in top-rated clouds after one year of heavy advertising, they probably don't feel like they are getting some special value out of it. If top-rated freelancers didn't make their own market success (the market was effectively closed to everyone else) it is debatable what they can bring to the table in this regular market (and why should regular freelancers be pushed aside, yet once again, to make a room for people who - collectively - didn't promote their own market well, despite being endorsed by Upwork and pushed on clients from all sides).  A very few clients would search freelancers on the regular market, if top-rated market was indeed that much better or delivered on its promise...

But whatever... 

[Eve L]

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@Natasa M wrote:

You missed just one thing there - regular job postings are not exclusively your (top rated) market.

If clients are not interested enough in top-rated clouds after one year of heavy advertising, they probably don't feel like they are getting some special value out of it. If top-rated freelancers didn't make their own market success (the market was effectively closed to everyone else) it is debatable what they can bring to the table in this regular market (and why should regular freelancers be pushed aside, yet once again, to make a room for people who - collectively - didn't promote their own market well, despite being endorsed by Upwork and pushed on clients from all sides).  A very few clients would search freelancers on the regular market, if top-rated market was indeed that much better or delivered on its promise...

But whatever... 

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I don't know what you think a TR freelancer is, and what kind of perks we get out of it, but I'm not a part of any "cloud" or anything else. I apply for jobs the same way as everyone else. As for the choice to add only TR as a requirement for a job doesn't mean that you can't apply for the job post even if you are not TR.  

To have a TR badge on your profile should give you some perks, and as of now there aren't really any, other than being able to remove a feedback.

By ONLY letting TR freelancers apply after a job post has received x amount of proposals a client would most likely get better proposals, and less spam.

But whatever. Upwork will do whatever they want to no matter what I or anyone else in this forum thinks.

[Natasa M]

Eve, I was not replying to you here, but it was response to Charles' post above - he reposted it someplace else because here it was getting buried. I agree with your last sentence, sure.

[Wendy C]

In essence,  I agree with Rene.  That said, Upwork apparently is too 'iffy' (for a number of reasons IMO) to actually bite the bullet to make a decision and then implement it. A two tier system is the single most logical, proven, and transparent method to improve the bottom line of U, FLers, and clients.

Every FLer response to this initiative is correct.  It is poorly thought out and far more detrimental to clients, FLers, and U than I can express.

[Reinier B]

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@Wendy C wrote:

In essence,  I agree with Rene.  That said, Upwork apparently is too 'iffy' (for a number of reasons IMO) to actually bite the bullet to make a decision and then implement it. A two tier system is the single most logical, proven, and transparent method to improve the bottom line of U, FLers, and clients.

Every FLer response to this initiative is correct.  It is poorly thought out and far more detrimental to clients, FLers, and U than I can express.

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 I cannot agree with you more. In fact, I am convinced that the collective response to this "perk" is the very last thing Upwork expected, or wanted to hear.  

[Ken W]

To make jobs a little more "exclusive" to top rated applicants, while I understand the theory, isn't fair. 
Not all the best freelancers are top rated, and not all top rated freelancers are the best. 

I generally find anyone who has been on here for more that 1+ year, or has done over 30 jobs will in a lot of instances, not be top rated - purely because the JSS system has let them down. I have seen profiles of people who do fantastic work, raved about by clients in feedback (5 stars as far as the eye can see), years on upwork, and have a job success of 80%. These people who have completed hundreds of jobs, 100+K of earnings are now being held back because a new person who has been on here for 16 weeks and done 2, maybe 3  low paying jobs who is "top rated" gets first shot? 

By maybe teaching people how to do job searches properly, or saving job searches, it could save this head ache. For example, I have several "filters" I have saved, with different tiers of jobs.

The top of my list: Jobs with low applications (0-10 etc) and are looking for the best quality ($$$), with tags applied (Ie: animation, etc).
Then: Next tier down, are ($$) jobs, and perhaps some more applications (10-20 etc).
Next: If I still am on my job search, I will start looking at jobs with any amount of applications. 
To set this up takes about 5 minutes, but can save hours of going through hundred to thousands of job posts.

[Virginia F]

Seriously ... ? OMG Upwork, I'd love to be a fly on the wall of your R & D room.