What was the first job you did on Upwork?

HaileyA · ‎08-08-2022

Hello Community Contributors! The Upwork Academy team is planning to create some quick tip videos to help new professionals on Upwork and we’d love to share your advice and best practices! Please know that your invaluable responses will be shared with other freelancers. Should you choose to participate, you are giving us permission to share your response, your Upwork profile photo, first name, initial of your last name, country, and skill category.

Tell us your story of the first job that you were hired for on Upwork. What was it? How did you win the job? Is there anything you would have done differently if you could go back to that point in your Upwork journey? What tips and advice would you give someone who hasn’t gotten their first job on Upwork yet?

asnide1 · ‎08-18-2022

Hello Hailey,

My first job was amazing! I remember the moment and can measure time from that moment (which wasn't so long ago). The client was super nice and told me that he read my reply because it was one of the first ones and thought he'd at least reach out to me. It was nice of him because he had a serious history on Upwork but just needed "something quick".

I was so extremely nervous. I messed up like 3 times on what I was supposed to do. I created a To Do list for him. I sent him a million reference links on what I could do and felt like I was smoothering him with options.

I was super lucky though. He told me what he wanted again and why which allowed me to re-focus and create the project on time. I probably made about $2.00 hr if I really think about it but I knew This was my first chance. This was the moment where I could get some feedback and the client was so nice that he understood why I was nervous and gave me some room to vent all these options.

I bet things could have gone sideways for me. He could have stopped talking to me at any point and hired somebody more relaxed and experienced on Upwork. Yeah, he might have paid a little more but it wasn't a big project.

I got lucky. I worked hard and stayed transparent. Every month or so I touch base with my past clients. Not to bother them, but to let them know what I've been up to and to see if their is anything I can help them out with. Like 2 sentences long. A few months later, my first contract PM'd me and wanted another job! Yay for me. No competition, no overbearing options. I knew what he liked and was able to create a custom quote, get the job and turn it around in two days.

HaileyA · ‎08-22-2022

Hi Adam, thank you so much for sharing this inspiring story! What a great idea to continue sending updates to your past clients even after delivering the work needed for their first project. That's awesome that it has led to more work and a strong client relationship for you! I think you have some great tips in your story and I will plan to reference some of them in the video I create if that's okay with you?

mostafa_hefnawy · ‎08-24-2022

Hello Hailey,

I'm basicly working as a senior graphic designer and a digital photo manipulatoin artist. But here at Upwork I'm sorry to say that I rarely can find a job as if my proposals (nearly 40 ones) are transparent. And when it happened to get a job (just yesterday), it was just to cut someone out of a background. This job I get after a so much proposal had been sent. But I'm still a little bit happy, as I wish this one will open alot of work form me. I believe in this platform, Upwork, that it'll unleash our creativity and do more work to live from. Thanks alot for this disscusion area, Hailey!

Regards,
Mosta. Hefnawy

30436544 · ‎08-25-2022

For newcomers like myself, who are professionals in other sectors and desire transferrable skills to this freelancer platform, these experiences would be extremely helpful.

I'm quite curious to find out who are on this platform right now on the cusp of success. It's actually a test of patience, and I wonder How long time it has taken them to receive their first employment offer.

thank you

c78246e4 · ‎08-29-2023

My name is vicky and I'm a Coral Draw and Photoshop and autocad and sketchup with 2 years of experience.
I'm not entirely new here but I'll like to connect with fellow designers like me and also get to learn more on how to succeed in this Film industry.

12766d7d · ‎09-05-2023

None yet

8c4ea043 · ‎08-31-2023

Hey there, fellow Community Contributors!

I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to chime in and share a bit about my Upwork journey so far. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, and I must admit that I haven't landed any jobs on Upwork just yet. I've been actively applying and showcasing my skills, but the right opportunity hasn't come my way.

If any of you wonderful folks have any clients in need of DevOps Lead, System Administration/Engineering, Network Administration/Engineering, Solution Architect, Business Intelagance, Data Analytics, Data Engineering and much more. I would greatly appreciate if you could refer them my way or forward any relevant invitations. Your support would mean the world to me.

Also, speaking of advice and tips, I'd love to ask for a profile review. For those who have successfully navigated their way to landing that first job on Upwork, could you kindly share your insights? What was the first job you did on Upwork? How did you win the job? Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently at that initial stage of your Upwork journey? Your wisdom would be incredibly valuable to someone like me who's still striving to get their foot in the door.

Thank you all so much for being an amazing community. Let's keep uplifting and supporting each other on this exciting freelancing adventure!

Warm regards,
Usama I.

Connect with Usama on Upwork