Time to review proposals

[Art M]

How much time is appropriate to review proposals and hire a freelancer? One week? Two weeks? Do those who send proposals have general expectations on when, and if, they hear back from me?

[Preston H]

How long?
That is up to you.

Experienced freelancers routinely advise bidding freelancers to submit a proposal and then forget about it.

So there really no "expected" length of time.

[Dana S]

In my experience it has been a fast paced environment. If I do not hear from the client in max 48h, I will just assume he/she is not interested.

In rare cases I had a replay that  would let me know it’s a hiring process that will take some time and I take that into consideration.

But if a client would be interested in a week or 2 after my submission, chances are I will not be available, because I only submit proposals if have the availability also.  

And in a 2 weeks’ time a freelancer might take on other jobs. That will change the parameters of the initial proposal; it also depends on the type of the job.  

I have done traditional recruiting and the processes are not similar.       

[Sarah B]

I generally agree with Dana and Preston. I send proposals and forget about them. The only real risk a client has in waiting is that my availability may change, and that can pretty dynamic sometimes. Most clients seem to get in touch within a couple of days, but I've had many that contact me after a week or several, which I'm always happy to accommodate if I can.