Upcoming Changes to Connects

[Aaron B]

Am I misunderstanding this? We now have to pay to apply for jobs if we haven't specifically been invited to it? Why has this been done? ( I know the answer, Upwork just want to take even more money from us ). 

There's no guarantee you're getting the job either. Never thought I'd see what is, essentially, gambling on a freelance website.

[Wassim T]

Aaron: Think of this as a "tiny investment" to help clean the platform instead of "gambling". It is a different thinking approach that makes a difference.

[Stanislav I]

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Wassim T wrote:

Aaron: Think of this as a "tiny investment" to help clean the platform instead of "gambling". It is a different thinking approach that makes a difference.

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Tiny investment on top of the nearly 30% that we already "invest"..

[Battulga E]

I used to gamble on esports. Now, I have to gamble to land a job on freelancing website as well. That's hilarious.

[Ashley H]

On top of the fact that Upwork already forces you to devalue your services due to other service providers who will take jobs for next to nothing.  Good professionals typically do not get paid what they are worth on Upwork.  People come here for cheap labor, and Upwork is taking more and leaving the freelancers with even less.  No thank you.

[Jessica Graciela D]

Tiny investment for someone who is already established, not someone who is starting out. I've said it before and I'll say it again: For me Upwork was a way out of a financial mess I was in, but if these policies would've been in place when I started out, I couldn't have afforded it. (and it didn't take only 20 or 30 connects to start landing jobs, it took 2 to three months of continuously sending out proposals and using up all my connects).

Also: did you notice that freelancer plus subscribers are paying more for their connects? What's the incentive to keep being freelancer plus? I could spend 12 dollars and get 80 connects, instead of paying 14.99 and getting 70 connects! 

[Alexander N]

Well naturally Upwork wants already established professionals to come to the platform. Not those who are starting out (in general i.e. learning the basics of their profession). These have to get a full time job first, to learn on it - then start freelancing. Going solo from your home isn't a good way to learn from zero, office environment where there is someone motivated to mentor you is better when you are a noob.

[Simone L]

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Alexander N wrote:

Well naturally Upwork wants already established professionals to come to the platform. Not those who are starting out (in general i.e. learning the basics of their profession). These have to get a full time job first, to learn on it - then start freelancing. Going solo from your home isn't a good way to learn from zero, office environment where there is someone motivated to mentor you is better when you are a noob.

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Well, I am an established pro (have my own business, website, a decade of experience, clients outside of Upwork, yadda yadda), and Upwork makes me wanna run away and never come back. The site, as it currently is, doesn't attract professionals and doesn't offer them anything of much value. Professionals also wouldn't pay for asking simple questions or similar. The new Connect strategy will make Upwork look even more like a scam to real pros. 

[Diego H]

Same as you, I am now moving to other similar sites. I started my move when they increased to 20% their comission. It's time to leave.

[Alexander N]

That move with commissions was of the same sort. They kind of made people understand that freelancers they want to see here are those who would benefit from the commission change: they want to attract more of those who'd pay less, and have less of those who'd pay more.