enthusiasm and naivety

[lazzerin_raffael]

I'll tell you what happened. A client posted an interesting work and during the chat I made some drafts BEFORE STARTING THE CONTRACT 😞 and of course he never showed up again. NEVER make drafts before an open contract. Rather propose a paid consultation with a milestone.

can I put the customer's name? I saw that he quit his job without hiring anyone. maybe some other person is in my condition.

Thanks.

Raffaela

[luqman_mak]

Sorry for what happend. Lots of selfish and greedy people in the world who dont think twice before exploiting someones needs or feelings.
Lesson learned, 🙂
lets not lose our enthusiasm and reserve some of our naivness.

[feed_my_eyes]

If the client actually asked you to provide free samples, then you can use the "flag as inappropriate" link at the top-right corner of the job post to report them.

[lazzerin_raffael]

I didn't know, it will be for next time

[allpurposewriter]

I've done that, too, but there's a diffeence between being bamboozled and taking that step on your own. I've been at this so long that a false start that ends up with me throwing a few pieces of paper in the recycling bin doesn't bother me anymore -- as long as I know I took the risks myself.  Moral of the story: Keep your enthusiasm; ditch the naivete. 

[2e395a62]

It is a famous dilemma that applies equally to pre-contract conversations and a night at a bar: "how much is too much?". Whenever I'm in doubt (no, no, I don't empty my mag then 😉 ), I try to think how much info I'd need to hire a freelancer for such a task and if the freelancer's profile (my profile in this case) is convincing enough that I wouldn't need any additional "proof" to rest assured the freelancer is up to the task. But, to be honest, it is quite difficult to find the right balance between being exploited and building enough confidence to win a nice gig. As Anthony stated, sometimes it is OK to do some free stuff as long as it is our own decision. And yes - we will be robbed now and then. 

[lazzerin_raffael]

In fact, I also understand the client who needs confirmation and is safer to hire. Lately, I also suggest a modest amount just to pay the expenses as a consultancy before starting a job

[surb3y]

I am sorry to hear that. On the other hand, as long as the samples are small, I have found that submitting something like that really helps leverage your ability; especially as a new freelancer. Just my two cents. 

[elyannie]

I've been there, I was pretty furious the first time it happened because I wasted time and effort on someone that had no real intention of hiring me. I learned the hard way 😅 you have to let them know to officially hire you so you can get started on their project. If they can't figure out how to hire you, send them the link that explains exactly how to do it. If they don't follow through and hire you, they probably never were planning on paying you from the start. I still get people that try getting work for free but now I'm a little bit better about how to deal with it. 

[lizablau]

You could send him a note saying that legally he isn't permitted to use those samples without paying for them.  Not sure if that's true or not in your field, but it is for written work. 

[6bfcdaf8]

Upwork is all about trust. Because it allows people with no prior experience with each other and from all over the world do business together. So the most important skill here is making people trust you and assessing if you can trust the other one.

But also, don't forget that with any type of sales cycle, there is always an effort spent to get the deal. So you never know if the client was trying to steal your draft idea or they somehow changed their minds or werent happy with the results. 

I think the best advice is : never spend an effort or make a sacrifice you'll regret if you dont get something in return. If you like the client, they already have a good track record on upwork, if the effort you need to spend is reasonable, if you'll say "at least i tried" if you don't get the job... It should be ok.

I think the same advice can apply to personal relationships as well 🙂