Share your tips on creating a great profile

[Lena E]

Building a great profile is essential to landing jobs here on the platform. Many of you provide reviews and great tips for freelancers starting off. We also have a video here that walks through the steps of building an awesome profile: 

What else have you found beneficial when creating your profile?

[John W]

How do you reorder items in your work history?  I have also added some skills, but I cna only see th eone that has a predetermined heading. 

[Vladimir G]

Hi John,

You can't reorder items in your Work History, but you can reorder skills by dragging tags to a new position.

You do need to choose a skill from a standardized list of skills. If you're having trouble finding your specific skill, you can try the following:

• Be sure you're using the correct spelling and naming the skill in English.
• Start typing the word instead of pasting it into the field to view partial matches as you type.
• Try some synonyms, like "fax" instead of "facsimile." Or be a little less specific; for example, try "technical documentation" instead of "electronics manual creation."

[Preston H]

One of my tips:

If your profile looks like the profiles of lots of other people, and you are offering the same skills as tons of other people, then we really don't need you here. So don't bother.

If you have something different to offer, and if your profile is unique, then you have a better chance at success here.

[Taylor S]

". . . then we really don't need you here. So don't bother." Wow, that's pretty rude. Some people haven't established a lot of work history yet, or some people simply don't have "unique" work experiance yet. You really shouldn't devalue people who are trying their best by saying, "You shouldn't even be on Upwork." 

[Jennifer M]

lol Preston.

OT and pet peeve of mine: Putting testimonials in your overview. Lame.

[Preston H]

Taylor,

I did not say anything about "work experience" or "work history."

I welcome newcomers to Upwork and am willing to help them succeed.

But just do the math:

"New Contractor A" has a distinctive profile and offers some in-demand skills and expertise which nobody else or very few people offer. Such a contractor will be more likely to succeed.

"New Contractor A" posted portfolio pieces demonstrating her expertise using pivot tables in Excel, specifically mentioned pivot tables in her overview text, and mentioned her extensive experience in setting up Excel files for use in managing government contract and grant data.

Compare that to New Contractor B whose profile looks like the profiles of 10,000 other contractors. New Contractor B claims to know how to use "Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint."

Why should any client hire New Contractor B instead of the other 9,999 contractors with essentially identical profiles and skill sets? Especially when many of the other 9,999 indistinguishable contractors have extensive sets of favorable feedback and a track record of completed projects?

So, Taylor, let me repeat: If you are boring "New Contractor B"... don't even bother setting up an Upwork profile page. If you are distinctive "New Contractor A," then you're probably already on your way to earning money here.

[Nusrat N]

thank you very much.

[Yusuf O]

MY TWO CENTS

1. Resist the temptation to use 'difficult words' and occupational jargon in key areas of your profile description. E.g simply say "I'm an experienced professional Graphic Designer" don't say "I'm a Visual Communications Designer & Adobe Expert", unless you're deliberately trying to target a more saavy audience.

2. Feature an intro video on your Upwork profile: Uploading a good profile video will naturally bring you a step closer to any prospective client. It may also help set up the stage for a more productive conversation down the line.