My proposals are archived!

[Kathy T]

---

@Lena E wrote:

Hi everyone,

I’ve reviewed the comments on this thread and want to clarify a few things. The Talent Specialist program hasn’t changed and is working the way it always has. Talent Specialists help clients hire and find qualified freelancers faster. They do this by narrowing down proposals, or by inviting freelancers directly, to help clients find qualified candidates for their job.

When a Talent Specialist is working with a client the client is notified of the treatment. In both cases mentioned here, these clients were contacted directly by their Talent Specialist in Messages to assist them with their job.

And that is precisely the problem. Talent Specialists should NOT DIRECTLY contact clients. Clients should contact the talent specialists IF and I stress IF they feel that they need them and IF they feel they could help them.

And a feature should be available to the FREELANCERS notifiying them that their proposals were archived if that were the case. 

As part of this program and their services, Talent Specialists shortlist candidates and archive  when necessary, those who may not be a good fit for the job. Those archived proposals are still accessible for clients to review and unarchive. Albeit, we will review the messaging to make sure it’s clear that clients know about archiving and where to find those proposals.

In the cases mentioned in this thread, these clients received a high volume of proposals, some jobs nearly 100, and the Talent Specialist narrowed it down to about half. Again, this isn’t a new process and the program has not changed. The goal of a Talent Specialist is to help clients with hiring, and to make decisions faster, as to not be overwhelmed by the high volume of proposals they receive. If a client does not want their assistance, they can just let their Talent Specialist know and they will be opted-out of the treatment.

---

[Anna T]

Kathy T wrote:

And a feature should be available to the FREELANCERS notifiying them that their proposals were archived if that were the case. 

Pretty much, yes!  Although, I don't know if I'd call it a feature as there is no polite way of telling a freelancer their proposal has essentially been trashed because someone unilaterally decided that's where it belonged.  

[Ines H]

Most people are questioning a Talent Spec's ability to judge a freelancer's skills, but what I'm curious about is the Talent Spec's ability to understand the client's project.

More often than not, clients don't know exactly what's required for their project - they know what their end goal is but don't know how to get there. That's what we have the interview phase for. I can't tell you how many times I applied for/won a gig where the entire project scope was changed (for the better) after the client and I discussed their project.

If these Talent Specialists don't even discuss the project with the client, how can they begin to understand what the client needs, and how can they even think about archiving a freelancer when they don't actually know whether the freelancer would be a good fit or not? [TSs obviously don't discuss the project with the clients - otherwise, we wouldn't have two clients in this thread completely unaware that their jobs were managed by a TS]

Upwork - just stick to the technicalities of your platform and stop interfering with our business! We are the specialists here, not you and your teams. If the client needs a "Talent Specialist", there are plenty of professional Recruiters and Project Managers (!) they can hire right here on Upwork.

[Dan R]

Yes, in my case the Talent Specialist wrote a message that she would answer all my questions, but there wasn't any word about narrowing down the number of proposals, archiving, sending the invitations to the interviews and messaging to freelancers. I didn't even imagine that she would sort the freelancers. Finally I had to post several jobs to find the freelancer for my project, but the Talent Specialist "worked" on all of them. 

As I'm not the only person who appeared in such situation, I think it would be reasonable to give your users the choise to use this program or not. 

[Maria T]

Hi Dan R.,
Do I suppose right If I believe that you are the client that started this thread?
If so, have you had any news of Upwork about the problem?
As you can see, nobody (from the part of Upwork), has said anything since they answered at the beginning.

[Mary W]

"I'm sure they're tired of going back and forth with us. ..."

But they aren't.  Not in this case.  Not at all. Radio silence.

[Wendy C]

@ Dan R., thank you so much for returning to your original thread and for answering the questions.  Needless to say, we could not agree more with your comment "I think it would be reasonable to give your users the choice to use this program or not."

[Virginia F]

---

Lena E wrote:

Hi everyone,

I’ve reviewed the comments on this thread and want to clarify a few things. The Talent Specialist program hasn’t changed and is working the way it always has. Talent Specialists help clients hire and find qualified freelancers faster. They do this by narrowing down proposals, or by inviting freelancers directly, to help clients find qualified candidates for their job.

When a Talent Specialist is working with a client the client is notified of the treatment. In both cases mentioned here, these clients were contacted directly by their Talent Specialist in Messages to assist them with their job.

As part of this program and their services, Talent Specialists shortlist candidates and archive  when necessary, those who may not be a good fit for the job. Those archived proposals are still accessible for clients to review and unarchive. Albeit, we will review the messaging to make sure it’s clear that clients know about archiving and where to find those proposals.

In the cases mentioned in this thread, these clients received a high volume of proposals, some jobs nearly 100, and the Talent Specialist narrowed it down to about half. Again, this isn’t a new process and the program has not changed. The goal of a Talent Specialist is to help clients with hiring, and to make decisions faster, as to not be overwhelmed by the high volume of proposals they receive. If a client does not want their assistance, they can just let their Talent Specialist know and they will be opted-out of the treatment.

---

Hi Lena,

Since Steve H. hasn't deigned to come back to this thread as we've all been waiting for, perhaps you'd be so kind as to step in and offer something, anything, to help us understand what's going on? Leaving  us to hang in the wind is a really s___y way for Upwork to handle this issue.

I can understand why the mods are staying out of this as it's certainly not their doing. What I can't understand is how Upwork thinks it's okay to keep ignoring the questions and concerns posted in this thread. How about some basic respect for your freelancers?

Or is that too much to ask?

[Maria T]

This only so that the thread does not get lost.
Any mod? Someone on the other side?
It is really embarrassing that they are ignoring us in this way.

[Isabelle Anne A]

---

@Lena E wrote:

When a Talent Specialist is working with a client the client is notified of the treatment. In both cases mentioned here, these clients were contacted directly by their Talent Specialist in Messages to assist them with their job.

Thank you for replying Lena, but now I'm even more confused. Both the clients on this thread seem to be completely unaware that their hiring process was being intefered with by TS. Dan specifically said:

"Nobody asked me whether I need this service or not. There was't any choice. Talent Specialist just started sorting my proposals without my agreement."

So, after reading your explanation, were they lying, confused, or just forgot that they were contacted by TS? Or maybe they just weren't informed that a TS's tasks includes archiving proposals? (Dan & Sarah -- please feel free to clarify if you see this post.)

As part of this program and their services, Talent Specialists shortlist candidates and archive when necessary, those who may not be a good fit for the job.

As others have asked, what qualifications do these specialists have that give them enough credibility to decide which freelancers are and are not fit for the job? I think our skepticism is justified given their reputation in the forums.

If a client does not want their assistance, they can just let their Talent Specialist know and they will be opted-out of the treatment.

I think someone else already mentioned this, but this should be an opt-in service. Did the clients on this thread explicitly agree when TS informed them that they'll be filtering out freelancers on their behalf?

---

It's very upsetting that we have people (who, in these very forums, have been continually criticized for the way they carry out their tasks) other than the client who decide whether our proposals should or shouldn't be considered. It's one thing if the client wants this, but the two clients who posted in this thread clearly didn't. How many other clients, who don't bother to post in the forums, are receiving similarly frustrating services and missing out on great freelancers?

2018 was a very difficult year for me on Upwork, and things are not looking up. So now why should I bother submitting proposals anymore if they are just going to be trashed by someone who doesn't know what the client wants and who doesn't have any idea about my skills? (Not that I'm submitting many, given the absurdly low quality of job posts for the past several months.)