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h_golighty11
Community Member

how to send a message to a freelancer?

Hi everybody, I am trying to contact a freelancer but I am not able to send him a normal message through the odesk message section. How can I contact him? It's not a matter of a job, so I don't want to post a job or hire him. Any help?
40 REPLIES 40
g_nembhard
Community Member

Hi Deborah, You can only contact them if you've previously been in contact or you wish to hire them.

I understand. Such a pity, I wanted to ask him something about a client that we have in common but I think that is also because of privacy.. I guess?! Thank you then, for your answer.

Yep, I think it would be open to abuse if people were allowed to randomly contact each other. Maybe he might use the forum sometime.

How do i contact someone who applied for my job ? I have questions to ask him about hiring them but i see now way of doing so??? How do I conduct an interview?! LOL

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Anastacia, 


When you click on "My Jobs," you'll see the Open Jobs that you have recently posted. Click on the job post that you want to review, and you will be brought to this page. Bring your mouse over to the applicant you wish to review, and the "Send Message/Hire Freelancer" option will pop up on the right-hand side. 

 

I hope this helps.

 

Screen Shot 2016-06-14 at 8.27.24 AM.jpg

 


~ Avery
Upwork
dejaliyah
Community Member

Thank you for your reply! I actually invited 2 freelancers to apply for my job and when I go to their profile page it says that they already applied for my job, but their name does not show up in my applicants list (so I couldn't message them). I had to contact support and they told me that they in fact did not actually apply that what Upwork REALLY means by that is that I already invited them, which is very confusing (they should fix that), so I have no way of knowing whether they actually saw or reviewed my invite and whether I should wait for them or go ahead and hire one of the existing applicants. Thank you!


@Anastasia O wrote:

Thank you for your reply! I actually invited 2 freelancers to apply for my job and when I go to their profile page it says that they already applied for my job, but their name does not show up in my applicants list (so I couldn't message them). I had to contact support and they told me that they in fact did not actually apply that what Upwork REALLY means by that is that I already invited them, which is very confusing (they should fix that), so I have no way of knowing whether they actually saw or reviewed my invite and whether I should wait for them or go ahead and hire one of the existing applicants. Thank you!


 Yes, the wording is wrong, even when you invite it says they applied.

 

 To see everyone you invited check unanswered invites

 

 You will only be able to message them when they accept your invitation.

I have an unanswered invite and still there is no way to write to this person, I have only these options - hire / decline. Please HELP. I have to learn whether this person corresponds to our needs or not before I hire. Many thanks.

Hi Jane, 

 

If the freelancer has not replied to your invite, it might be because they are unavailable or not interested in the job posting. You won't be able to message the freelancer until they accept your invitation. I would recommend you review the proposals you've received on the job post or send invites to other freelancers that might be a good fit.

 

Thanks!

~Andrea
Upwork

Yes I spent a few hours on this but am lost. Feel like an idiot as usual.

The upwork user interface makes us all feel stupid.  The single factor in that is the interface, we are all different, so I'm figuring it's not you.  Stuff like a freelancers profile page saying that they had replied to an invite when they had not.  Of, my replying here and having a subject line that was put in by upwork as: "Re: Yep I think it would be open."  I have NO IDEA where that came from because I can't find anything that matches it.  

Not you that's stupid.

So what about messaging to people you hired once?  There already is a relationship but I can't find any way to even message them if it's been some time ago.

Hi Bill, 


I would like to clarify your question about the Subject line of the post. It is likely that there was a thread that had a similar theme or subject, and was merged by one of the moderators before. When you clicked on reply, the original title of the thread that was merged is shown. I hope that clarifies it for you. 

Regarding your question about looking for a freelancer. You should be able to search for the freelancers you hired in the past by going to your My Freelancers page (Freelancers > My Freelancer), and look for the freelancer. Once you've identified the freelancer, you can go to your Messages page, and use the search box to look for the freelancer. 

Let me know if this is not the case for you, and I'll assist you further.


~ Avery
Upwork

Are you saying there's no way to contact talent directly? 

Hi George,

 

I checked your account, and this is a freelancer account. If you would like to hire a freelancer, you will need to have a client account and post a job. Please check here for more information.

~ Joanne
Upwork

I think this site is stupid if you can't ask someone a freaking question.

 

I mean C'mon seriously? its supposed to be a NETWORKING site, and sometimes you have questions about a job or would like to ask someone about their project. before submitting a proposal

 

You really need to have a way to allow people to contact each other easier. this is ridiculous 

 

It shouldnt be called a networking site. 

 

There are also people who dont have as much exprience as some of the people who have been on here forawhile or people who have had a lot of jobs

 

so its hard for us when we're new to try to contact people and ask people about the project so we can decide if we want to pursue it or not. 

We should be able to contact the poster to ask some questions about their project


@Jeff D wrote:

I think this site is stupid if you can't ask someone a freaking question.

 

I mean C'mon seriously? its supposed to be a NETWORKING site, and sometimes you have questions about a job or would like to ask someone about their project. before submitting a proposal

 

You really need to have a way to allow people to contact each other easier. this is ridiculous 

 

It shouldnt be called a networking site. 

 

There are also people who dont have as much exprience as some of the people who have been on here forawhile or people who have had a lot of jobs

 

so its hard for us when we're new to try to contact people and ask people about the project so we can decide if we want to pursue it or not. 

We should be able to contact the poster to ask some questions about their project


 I'm not sure where you got the idea that Upwork is a "networking" site. This isn't LinkedIn. It's not a place for freelancers and clients to "network". It's a place for clients to find freelancers to complete a job.

 

As a client I am 100% against the idea of freelancers being able to contact me about my job posts without actually submitting a proposal. I already get plenty of spam proposals. If freelancers could contact me without expending connects, then I'd be swamped with spam. On top of that, it also opens up the possibility of circumvention.

 

As a freelancer, you certainly can communicate with a client about their job post - you can spend your connects and submit a proposal and ask your questions as part of your proposal. It is up to you to decide if a job is potentially worth you spending your connects. Alternatively, you can only spend your connects on projects that you don't need to ask questions for in the first place.

100%

I dont think it would be open to abuse. I think it is a necessary way for people to connect about a project and ask questions about the project. I dont like to just submit a proposal without asking questions first. I'd like to network as well. Its ridiculous you can't at least ask some questions to the person who submitted the propsoal


@Jeff D wrote:

I dont think it would be open to abuse. I think it is a necessary way for people to connect about a project and ask questions about the project. I dont like to just submit a proposal without asking questions first. I'd like to network as well. Its ridiculous you can't at least ask some questions to the person who submitted the propsoal


 Many people have asked for this feature, and yes it would be nice, but Elance tried it once and had to quickly shut it down because of the abuse of the system. People were sending proposals through the right channels, they were sending them through the chat as not not spend their connects. It didn't take long for clients to demand the feature be removed. 

"Fairness is giving all people the treatment they earn and deserve. It doesn't mean treating everyone alike-Coach John Wooden"


@Jeff D wrote:

I dont think it would be open to abuse. I think it is a necessary way for people to connect about a project and ask questions about the project. I dont like to just submit a proposal without asking questions first. I'd like to network as well. Its ridiculous you can't at least ask some questions to the person who submitted the propsoal


 Ask questions in the proposal. 

 

I do all of the time and I receive a steady stream of responses from the clients. 

 

I'm also a client on Upwork and I would NOT want a tsunami of FLs spamming me with messages that I'd need to parse through to get to your message. Yes. It would be abused. As Katrina stated, it has been tested before and it was abused. Human nature hasn't changed since Elance died. They'll still try to find different ways to leverage the system in their favor even at the risk of frustrating a client (who will gladly take their business elsewhere). 

You have the option of networking on Upwork through which you can add people of similer intrest in your network and can contact them on Upwork.Hope it helps.

So I have to hire someone, and then talk to them and see if they can help me?
This makes absolutely no sense. I am looking to hire someone and the only way to talk to them is to hire them. But if I have not talked to them yet, why in the world would I hire them??????

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Lirim, 

I think you've misunderstood. Clients are unable to communicate with freelancers unless freelancers apply to a client's job post, or the freelancer was invited to apply to the job, and the freelancer obliged. On this interview stage, you should be able to discuss the project details with the freelancers, and vet which freelancer will be best for your project. 


~ Avery
Upwork


@lirim A wrote:

So I have to hire someone, and then talk to them and see if they can help me?
This makes absolutely no sense. I am looking to hire someone and the only way to talk to them is to hire them. But if I have not talked to them yet, why in the world would I hire them??????


Write a description of what you need while being as much comprehensive as you can.

 

Then:  

 

- post a public job with the said description

or

- post an invite-only job, selecting specific freelancers

or 

- post a public job and invite specific freelancers

 

People will apply for the job and/or answer your invite. You will be able to open a message channel with any of them.

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless

I have found freelancer and want to hire him but can not see any button/link for action. Hw I should do it?

Hi Dragan,

 

Just to confirm, are you referring to inviting a freelancer to join your agency?

~ Joanne
Upwork
junelle
Community Member

hi Deborah! you can ask support to request his contact details on your behalf. you'll need to tell them why you wish to reach out to this freelancer, though. they'll help you out if they think it's a good enough reason.
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." - Maya Angelou
Try harder, or care less.
mtaboclaon
Community Member

You can also Google his name. Maybe you'll find a link to his website or blog and you can send your message there.
d513ca4d
Community Member

This is a joke. This should be a much more open community where we can all message one another as we please. 

Anybody can message me through my profile page. Here's how:

 

Create a job posting. Send it to me as a private invite, with my posted hourly rate.

 

I will accept and we can talk as long as you want. It's your dime. Because you are paying for my time, everything we discuss belongs to you.

I agree with you.

helmsway_eng
Community Member

 

re: "I dont think it would be open to abuse."

 

Yes. It would be abused.

 

There are tens of thousands of pests who already us Upwork inappropriately. Don't open the floodgates for those pests to abuse the system even more.

 

re: "I think it is a necessary way for people to connect about a project and ask questions about the project."

 

No, it is not necessary. The site functions well already. At least it does for me.

 

re: "I dont like to just submit a proposal without asking questions first."

 

It's fine. Submitting a proposal begins the conversation. It doesn't commit you to anything.

 

re: "I'd like to network as well."

 

This isn't a networking tool. I think you have this confused with some other site.

 

re: "Its ridiculous you can't at least ask some questions to the person who submitted the propsoal"

 

Clients can ask any kind of questions they want when people submit a proposal. They can already do that. What are you talking about?

b6d4d31d
Community Member

 Apparently you cannot contact people unless you hire them or post a job.This is a huge issue because some people might not want to post a public job or hire someone without first establishing a good fit for the task, especially when it comes to web development. I think Upwork should consider changing this or a lot of us will start using another service. 

re: "Apparently you cannot contact people unless you hire them or post a job.This is a huge issue because some people might not want to post a public job or hire someone without first establishing a good fit for the task, especially when it comes to web development. I think Upwork should consider changing this or a lot of us will start using another service."

 

This Forum IS the right place to discuss something like this. If there are changes that you would like to see along these lines, posting your ideas here can be helpful. Upwork has employees who actively monitor the Forum and report discussions and requests back to management and development teams.

 

As for being able to contact people, there ARE ways to do that. You do NOT need to hire freelancer in order to talk to them. And you do NOT need to post confidential details of your project. There are many ways to post a job posting and have opportunities to interview people, and also many ways to use test jobs to evaluate the skills and abilities of freelancers, without posting details publicly. It is also possible to post a job posting as a private invite-only posting that nobody can see except the freelancers you personally invite to interview.


Preston H wrote:

 

As for being able to contact people, there ARE ways to do that. You do NOT need to hire freelancer in order to talk to them. And you do NOT need to post confidential details of your project. There are many ways to post a job posting and have opportunities to interview people, and also many ways to use test jobs to evaluate the skills and abilities of freelancers, without posting details publicly. It is also possible to post a job posting as a private invite-only posting that nobody can see except the freelancers you personally invite to interview.


All of this acts as a barrier and lowers collaboration opportunities.  It is not intuitive.  You never gave one concrete aswer as to how to contact someone on this site without hiring them and without a job.  The only option I have found is to go outide this site.

re: "The only option I have found is to go outside this site."

 

You are not required to use this site.

Nor are you required to read the posts in this thread which address your questions.

a8ee0270
Community Member

You can contact your freelancer if you have been hire from there company. 

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