Clients prefer country, not skill

[#1]

Clients always prefer countries when it comes to choossing a freelancer, not skill. Its a common scenario on upwork now-a-days.

I've seen a lot of new freelancer from first world countries getting hired on big budget jobs even when they don't have a complete profile or portfolio. On the other hand, freelancers from thirld world countries pulling their heart out for jobs. They even bid only $5 for projects worth $50. 

When it comes to graphics design related projects, a projects gets 50+ proposals within 2-3 minutes & the clients don't even bother to react to the proposals coming from these countries. They rather invite freelancers from UK ,USA, Germany or Italy. 

Personally I always prefer submitting proposals with samples (with watermark). While It takes 5-10 minutes for the edit, there's already 50 proposals for the job & my works goes to in vain.

This is really frustating & I don't know how to deal with this frustation. Any suggestion, guys??

[#2]

Hey Mohathir,

It's difficult when clients ask freelancers where they want to work, While you have the talent to work more productively on a project. One tip I got from the coaching team at https://community.upwork.com/t5/Coaching/ct-p/Coaching about the client's chosen location is that you should just write that you are not in the ideal location on your proposal for the client and give it a chance. Obviously, if you really want the job. If not, you can simply ignore it and look for clients who don't need specific locations.

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Mohathir,

William and Daniel are both right. There are millions of freelancers on Upwork with marginal skills who think offering $5 per hour work is the way to get a job. Maybe so, but the way to get a good job is to upgrade your skills so that you are competetive in the marketplace. I review profiles and I probably see 10 new graphic designer profiles every day, most of whom say they have one or two years of experience. This is not very competetive. The skills are something high school kids can do and they are up against people with 10 years of experience and that includes experience learning how to talk to clients on their level.

In that regard, a lot of new members think learning how to be an accountant is good enough. Freelancing involves dozens of hidden skills from how and when to write proposals to what to say on a profile. You learn how to filter out potential scammers and find clients who have long-term value. These are skills that take time to learn. Just saying "I know how to edit videos," isn't a guarantee a client will pay attention to you.

Secondly, if I read this correctly, Daniel has  a point. If being from another country is a problem for the client, then bring it up and discuss it with them. There's no sense ignoring a problem. 

You mentioned USA, UK, Germany and Italy. Is that where the clients come from? If so, it would seem to make sense that clients perfer freelancers with native language skills. Again, I see a lot of profiles and a lot of new writers from non-English-speaking countries do not have polished writing skills. In the age of Grammarly and spell check and auto-writing and a few other programs I don't even look at, publishers expect publication-ready copy. They've all but eliminated the position of editor -- gone, like the dodo bird or the Studebaker.  Some of these publishers don't want $5 per hour writers who can churn out imperfect copy.  A few even believe content should be engaging, informative and letter perfect. Writers struggling with English vernacular don't get those jobs very often.

[#4]

whats a 'Studebaker'? 

[#5]

Oh MAN!!! It's a car company! Great cars. Long gone sadly.

[#6]

Hi

[#7]

Mohathir,

Consider upgrading your skills to more in-demand skills that clients need regardless of location. For example various computer programmers on Upwork are hired from all over the planet due to a shorten of specific computer languages.

My skills are expert level Marketing and Sales and I have been hired from clients in 20+ countries because this Expert Skill level is difficult to locate.

Do a Google search on the most in-demand jobs on Upwork for the list.

Have a great day!

[#8]

how do you define an expert? like if you can't do it is undoable? how would the client know that what you do is actually what they want, so would your marketing expertise work for a Turkmenistani company let say, do you have insider knowledge how each market works (because people/clients don't give a monkeys on how marketing works in USA etc, try Egypt and see if the same works.. as for "Do a Google search on the most in-demand jobs on Upwork for the list", would you switch to AI coz is very in demand? I mean we just switch easily to anything.

[#9]

If graphics design is your area of expertise, I see no reason clients from other parts of the world should not want to hire you (assuming you can communicate with them). Instead, I see that culture plays a role in design. Like trending topics or keywords, some aspects of style or popular culture get more attention on their "home turf" simply because people know them, can "read" the images, and will respond more quickly to these familiar images, which is not to say that you can't acquire and employ these cultural references (if that is what the project requires). 

If it's any consolation to you, something similar occurs when clients are looking for German language skills. Although the German spoken in parts of Germany differs significantly from the dialects spoken elsewhere, most clients will insist on ticking "Germany" as the location of choice in their job posts. So often, it is up to me to decide whether the job would still be a good fit for me.  

Don't despair. Stay on the lookout for matching skills, and keep bidding! Wishing you the best of luck!

[#10]

You're not getting my points right....but anyway, thanks for writing.

[#11]

The most important factor that clients consider when choosing a freelancer is their skills and experience related to the project. A freelancer's portfolio, testimonials from past clients, and their ability to meet the project requirements are all important considerations for clients. Additionally, factors such as communication skills, availability, and cost can also play a role in the decision-making process. So, it's not accurate to say that clients always prioritize the country over skills.

[#12]

You're absolutely right. Thank you! 

But it's also true that when you're skilled on a software like photoshop or Illustrator, you're capable of doing any image editing & graphics design related task. In this case, you can only choose "photoshop editing" or "Adobe photoshop expert" as your skill. No point of adding extra skills to your portfolio. Am I being clear here? 

[#13]

sure but have you seen zillions of clients from India demanding experts for $2 an hour?

[#14]

I say you are wrong when you said clients prefer skill rather than country of origin. I am  a Top Rated freelancer on upwork from Ethiopia and My skills are pretty good. One time I tested out a theory on a job posted by a USA client,he pretty much described what he wanted on the job post and even attached the files that needed fixing, I fixed everything and water marked and sent it as a proposal before the client started viewing the proposal ..I got viewed but not hired..then after an hour he hired another person ..I went back to the clients review section to see what freelancer he hired and it's from his own country. I even saw the freelancers profile he hired and he hired a completely new freelancer from USA instead of me a Top rated freelancer. Even my Badge meant nothing to him!!Country you live in matters when you work on upwork!

[#15]

The vast majority of Upwork clients currently want the job done, now, and for the cheapest rate. Some seek freelancers from certain countries, because they know they can have them work for much, much less than the world or U.S. standards. If they thought they could get that from people in France, or the U.S. they would hire them.

My skills are pretty good.

In this market, "pretty good" is not good enough. You are competing with millions of freelancers, many with excellent skills.

Your experiment is deeply flawed, and only proves you were not hired for one job, and that's it. Are there clients who discriminate? Of course. However, they are not typical. You wouldn't want to work with a client who has such feelings towards anyone.

Use the Academy to learn how to have a professional profile; your profile needs work. It is the only thing you have to draw clients and deter scammers. The first line is all clients see in a search and you are wasting yours with greetings, and the stars and top rated stuff, which the client already sees. Learn outside of Upwork about vetting and having a professional presence. 

There are plenty of successful freelancers from all over the world. I believe your issue is "pretty good skills" and a profile that needs work.

You don't know what the client sees. You don't see the proposals or the discussion that may have taken place. When you don't get hired, don't look at others, look at yourself to see what can be improved.

[#16]

Personally I always prefer submitting proposals with samples (with watermark).

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Do you mean that you submit watermarked portfolio pieces or that you do the job and watermark the submitted graphic?\

If the latter, then you are working for free. If you and others do that, then the prospective Client just got multiple design submissions for free and simply have to hire someone to remove the watermarks, if they can't do it themselves.

[#17]

I can clearly see that you don't have enough knowledge on graphics design. Removing watermark is not that easy task & sometimes it's impossible. I'm an expert on this field & I know how to watermark images correctly.

Also, when a client have a project consisting 100+ images, he'll look for some samples to see if the freelancer bidding for the project is capable of the task.

[#18]

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MOHATHIR S wrote:

I can clearly see that you don't have enough knowledge on graphics design. Removing watermark is not that easy task & sometimes it's impossible. I'm an expert on this field & I know how to watermark images correctly.

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It is true that I have a very basic ability to do image editing. That said, there are many other graphic design experts on this and other forums that disagree with you on the difficulty of removing watermarks.

Also, when a client have a project consisting 100+ images, he'll look for some samples to see if the freelancer bidding for the project is capable of the task.

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Ah, classic. That client is not asking you to produce a few free samples to see if you are capable. They are asking you and every other freelancer that they interview for a few free samples so that they can get most (or all) of the project done for free. And to make it less obvious, some will split their "sample farming" (that's what I'm going call it now) into multiple jobs.

[#19]

re: "Removing watermark is not that easy task & sometimes it's impossible."

I am not sure what you mean by that.

My skills with graphic programs aren't advanced, but I rarely see watermarks that I can't remove fairly easily. I have practiced doing so many times.

I do not believe that watermarks have any place in an Upwork freelancer's work.

[#20]

Well, that is not correct. Because I am from Pakistan, and my Profile Rating on Upwork is little bit more than 3. But still I was hired for a USA company. The reason I have a low rating, is I was hired by another USA company but didn't complete their work on time.

[#21]

so what would be the reason for a USA company hiring a Pakistani you think, excellent english skills, great knowledge of how the business works in the USA...don;t think so, just low rates

[#22]

Really Touseef?

If you do, then I will help your work.

And how can I join your company?

[#23]

You need to focus on your skills, profile, and proposals. This is not the place to get your first job, or any job.