New Client here - Freelancers declining Job invites

[3c78114d]

Hi there,

So how do you get started here as a client, I have posted a job and invited some freelancers but the proposals are getting rejected just because I am a new client here.

Any tips? I did verify the payment method though!

[pgiambalvo]

Sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, many freelancers are vary wary of responding to or working with new clients because they are trying to avoid the many scams here.

[3c78114d]

I truly understand this, but what about genuine ones like me? Very sad!

[ad251628]

You are absolutely right.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Any tips?"

I have hired over 160 freelancers on Upwork. Hiring freelancers on Upwork to do high-quality work at very affordable prices is easy if you now a few basic techniques.

Post your jobs as hourly jobs.

Make sure the description isn't overly long.

Use the client-side ability to INVITE freelancers to apply to your job. (Which is apparently what you have been doing.)

But also: Make sure your job posting is public, so that other freelancers can see your job posting and apply to it.

Choose people from a variety of different parts of the world, and a variety of different price niches.

DO NOT TRY TO HIRE "THE" RIGHT PERSON.

That is impossible.

There is no way of knowing how a freelancer will work within the context of YOUR PROJECT until you hire them.

Instead, hire a number of people who are interested, and then CONTINUE WORKING with the best freelancer or multiple top freelancers from among those you hire.

Or: Hire "A" right person. (Maybe MANY people can do your job, and you can randomly choose from many different candidates.)

If your needs are simpler, you may be able to hire only one person. How many people you hire depends on the complexity of the job, how much it involves creativity, how long-term the job will be, etc.

For example, if you want to hire a freelancer to draw a bear which you are going to post on advertisements all over the city as part of a big ad campaign, you may want to hire 6 freelancers to do this. Because it is creative work and you want multiple options to choose from. But if you want a freelancer to draw a bear which will be used on the internal invitation for a company picnic, for your staff of 10 people, then maybe you should only hire 1 freelancer, because you don't really care that much about how the work turns out as long as it's a novel drawing of a bear.

[feed_my_eyes]

I'm glad that your system works well for you, especially since you want to hire "very affordable" freelancers, but it is indeed possible to hire the right person instead of just picking a bunch of random people and hoping that one of them works out. I'm pretty sure that when clients hire me - and only me - it's because I'm an expert who can get their job done properly, and not because they "really don't care that much about how the work turns out." 

[ad251628]

Hello Preston,

That is absolutely thoughtful and helpful too. Thank you for sharing. 

[3c78114d]

Okay, I closed the old job and posted a new Premium Job, hoping to get some freelancers onboard now.

[36974b9d]

What kind of job you are posting? 

[feed_my_eyes · Accepted solution]

What type of job is it? I can give you some of the reasons why I would turn down an invitation: 1. Budget is too low (I'd say this is the reason 99% of the time). 2. The job description is fixed price, but contains such a bewildering assortment of requirements and attachments that it would take me an hour to scope it properly. (In which case, you should go hourly.) 3. The job post includes Upwork's suggested questions like, "What recent job have you had that's most like this, and why?" (I hate those stupid questions, and I'm not alone.) 4. The client says they're looking for a ninja or a rockstar, or they want a "wow" factor or "make it pop". Or if they say "Write the word "XXXX" in your job description so that I'll know you've read this." Basically, anything that makes me think that the client isn't a sensible person. 5. The job description is too vague. 6. The job description contains contact information. 7. The timeline is too short. 8. I don't even supply the service that the client is looking for. 

I never turn down projects just because a client is new.

[elastella]

Everything Christine said. 

I'll add postings where the client says "this shouldn't take longer than  XY hours"; or talks about looking for experts only when they selected entry-level skills/price range or has invited more than 10 people.

[feed_my_eyes]

Oh yes - very good points! Similarly, if a client says "this is a simple job", it's an automatic no. Whether your job is simple and how long it'll take - that's for me to decide.

[3c78114d]

Yes, it's a writing job

I did

• fixed price job because of the budget
• asked manual questions for screening
• An expert-level job with Native or Bilingual speaker
• A simple job description with clear requirements

But I did receive a decline because "Client is new"

Anyways, I think the featured job extra is helping a lot, maybe it is seen as a guarantee.

Thanks for all the solutions, I will keep that in mind next time.

[prestonhunter]

re: "But I did receive a decline because 'Client is new'"

I think you have magnified this in your mind in a way that isn't an accurate reflection of how Upwork freelancers use the platform.

I work with new clients all the time.

I have never factored whether or not a client is new into decisions about which clients to work with. I think most freelancers are like me in this.

[oquintela]

---

Ela K wrote:

I'll add postings where the client says "this shouldn't take longer than  XY hours"[…].

---

LOL Exactly! Or when they want an expert and want this expert to explain them how he/she will accomplish the task. 

[martina_plaschka]

Further to Christine, what makes me decline an invite:

• client says: easy job, will take half an hour
• client says (translation): 1000 words, but lots of repetions - I'm tempted to reply: great, I'll only translate the first instance then
• client invited 150 people
• write BANANA on top - a client who doesn't even trust me that I read his job description and needs proof is not a serious professional respecting freelancers that are serious professionals
• client is clearly a scammer

[matheszabi]

I reject clients ( projects) simply based on their location.

If there are from 2-3 of those specific countries, he can say anything, can have whatever reviews:  I am not interested.

[3c78114d]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will keep everything in mind next time when I post a job.

[ericaandrews]

I am definitely a freelancer that will automatically reject a client with an unverified payment method OR for having no or limited Upwork history, ratings, and reviews or being on the platform for only a short period of time....pretty much for the SAME reason most clients won't bother with 'new' freelancers that don't have any Upwork experience.  Unfortunately, Upwork has been overrun with clients scamming freelancers out of work and money in the past year, and the vast majority of these scams originate from new, recently created Upwork 'client' accounts, often with no or few hires on the client's profile. I don't bother with any clients that have been on the platform less than 3-6 months or who don't have any hires.  While I know this means possibly 'missing out' on good 'new' clients, I am fine with that. For me, it's simply too risky to bother with clients without some hiring history, ratings, and reviews due to the explosion of clients running scams on the Upwork platform in the last year.  Not worth the risk.  The whole Upwork platform is based on REPUTATION for freelancers and clients.  When somebody has no reputation on the platform, they are an unknown risk.   However, you have 'new' clients that join the platform with no reputation and no history for freelancers to review that only want to hire freelancers with 'high' ratings, good reviews, and a long track record.  I laugh when I see clients with no Upwork experience with 'high' demands in their job posting, like 90% job success rate, and must have earned over X number of dollars, etc.  Basically, demanding a freelancer have 'proof' they are are a 'good' freelancer without being able to provide 'proof' they are a 'good' client.  It doesn't work that way.  You're not just 'interviewing'/vetting the freelancer, but the freelancer, especially a seasoned one, is interviewing you and vetting YOUR worthiness as a client.  Often clients with no history dive straight in and go straight to fanning out invites to 'expert vetted' and 'top rated' freelancers, most of whom are going to immediately decline that invite with a laugh and move on.  Depending on the skill/talent you are looking for you, you might not stand a good  chance at getting the 'top notch' freelancers in that field in your first few hires.  Just as freelancers have to EARN their way to access to better and better jobs and invites, new clients have to EARN their way to access to better and better freelancers, since they can only get the attention of 'the best' talent on Upwork by building their client reputation on the platform.

Your best bet as a 'new' client with no hires on Upwork is to possibly consider targeting/hiring 'new' freelancers that have no or few hires yet, since both of you are in the same 'boat' and can help build each others' reputations with a first job/hire on Upwork.  Do a few 'new' freelancer hires like this, pay the freelancer promptly and on time, leave a good impression with the freelancer, get a good review/rating from the freelancer : Do this a couple/few times and you'll find more freelancers willing to engage your invitiations in the future.

[naseershaik_]

Hello Shiva, usually it's rare that a freelancer declines the invite. But if it does happen then it means that you are inviting the wrong candidate to your requirement or it might be because the freelancer has left with no bandwidth to work on your job.

And, it adversely depends on the type/domain/requirement you post in your job.

@Christine A has given few of the test cases which would be a reason for your project denial by the freelance professionals.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Regards,

Shaik Mohammad Naseer.

TOP-RATED FREELANCER.