Today we’ve soft-launched our V1 Academy, a guide and source of information for those new to Upwork. Click through to learn more. 

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we’ve been implementing new features, testing new layouts, and moving fast to make updates to the community. I can promise we have nothing but the best of intentions. 

We have updated our User Agreement and Terms of Use to make them even clearer and more user-friendly (less legalese!).

We’re launching a contributor program and want you to join!

Now, by purchasing a project through Project Catalog, you can send funds directly to freelancers in Ukraine with no work required. To make sure freelancers receive the entire amount of your donation, we are waiving the standard freelancer service fees.

Wondering if deep-diving into the Community conversations can help forward your freelancing career? Our new featured contributor believes it indeed can and shared a unique perspective on going beyond the information successful users share in the forums.

Check Biljana's story below and feel free to drop a question or a shout-out. Let us know if our Community played a role in your success on Upwork and provided guidance that you found especially useful. We'd love to hear from you!

Here's another great freelancing story! You can read more about the life changing experiences and success formula our Community Featured Contributor, Liz S., shared with us in a recent conversation.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have a question or would like to share your impression about Liz's journey!

Whether you’re a freelancer, client, or both, we need your help! 

As we near the end of 2021, we wanted to take a moment to thank our wonderful Community and share what we’re grateful for and excited about.

This past quarter, the community team has been busy working on bug fixes and new feature launches to improve the community experience! Click through to learn more.

Over the holidays, we’ll still be moderating and monitoring the Community, but there may be some delay in response. Upwork’s automated systems will be processing all requests and transfers as normal. However, there can sometimes be slight delays in receiving and withdrawing funds due to bank holidays.

Over the past year, we’ve announced in the Community more than a dozen of the most prominent new features, but that’s only a small portion of what Upwork achieved this year. We’re so grateful for the feedback our Community members share. We’re excited to pull back the curtain on more of the successes by sharing the numerous features we’ve added this year.

Check out our conversation with our Community Featured Contributor, Lisa J., and learn about her journey to becoming a full-time freelancer.

We’d like to share some helpful resources created for independent professionals at every stage in your career. Find great tips you can pull from in each of these resources, whether you’re building your freelancing career or looking to level-up your current approach to your business. Check out these handy resources on drafting cover letters, updating your resume, and ways to market yourself.

Check out our conversation with our Community Featured Contributor Ashraf K. and learn about his journey to becoming a  freelancer on Upwork!

Check out our conversation with our Community Featured Contributor, Claudia Z., and learn about what she likes the most about working online!

On July 27th, our Upwork Ambassadors in Ukraine are hosting an exclusive event for tech talent on Upwork called Upwork Tech Talk: Strategically Reskill to Grow Your Career in IT. We’ve created this thread for attendees to continue the discussion!

Upwork webinars and virtual events are created to deliver a range of helpful information to new talent and experienced freelancers and agencies. Topics range from getting started tips for new talent to business growth webinars. These webinars are usually hosted by Upwork Ambassadors and the Upwork team.  

Project Catalog™ adds another way for you to build your businesses and create new client relationships on Upwork. The topics covered in the webinar are:

• What is Project Catalog™ and Advantages to using this new feature
• How to set up a project step by step
• What projects look like on the client side
• Questions you asked us

Check out our conversation with our Community Featured Contributor Viacheslav K. and learn about his experience working as a Full Stack Web Developer on Upwork!

On June 17th, 2021, we hosted an Upwork Expert Talk for talent in the Customer Service & Admin Support category: “Increase Your Income by Showing Clients the Real You.” We created this thread to continue the conversation. 

Check out our conversation with our Community Featured Contributor Andrei T. and learn about things he enjoys the most about working online!

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and we are happy to celebrate the culture and contributions of our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) team and community members. In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month we will highlight contributions of our AAPI team members . So, to get started, we wanted to start with why this matters. Simply put, having a deeper understanding of the experiences of others creates an opportunity for empathy and inclusion. 

Check out our conversation with our Community Featured Contributor  Bill H. and learn about his career in Business Consulting that spans five decades.

If you recently attended the Upwork Power Webinar: Proposals That Sell, you might have some follow-up questions you want to ask. Because it’s only an hour long, we don’t always get to address everything.

So, let’s continue the conversation!