I don't even receive declines...

[stephanima]

Hello everyone,

I've been on upwork for a while and I already got some jobs or was declined for some proposals.
Wasn't applying for jobs for a while, because I was too busy with other things.
However since a month or something, I apply for jobs and just nothing happens.
I don't even receive a decline. 

Now I'm not sure if it's only bad luck or my profile just went "out of date"?
I'm wondering if I should change something.

Do you see any problems on my profile which make me less wanted for jobs? 😄

Thanks and best regards,
Stephanie

[david_gruber]

I very new to Upwork and at times I wonder if the whole thing is a scam. I wonder how much of Upwork's revenue is based on a cut of work completed vs. upgraded membership fees. I spend time putting together thoughtful, detailed, economical proposals, and there is never, ever any response. In one case, I actually performed the work because the client attached the necessary files, just to show that I could do the work. Nothing.

It would be beneficial to know if a proposal has even been read. Heck, even a decline would be a sign that there is some form of life out there. 

[VladimirG]

Hi Stephanie,

I checked your profile and can see that some of your recent proposals were accepted and declined. Not all clients decline proposals they don't accept and you can check if a job was awarded to another freelancer by looking under the Archive tab on the Proposals page and following the link.

Hi David, welcome to Upwork!

Please check the information I posted above and note that some clients do need need more than 24 hours to review the proposals they received and decide on a freelancer. Also, I personally believe you need to submit more proposals in order to receive a reply, seeing how you just started using your Upwork account. Also note that working without a contract and providing unpaid work can only reduce your chances of getting hired, since the client already received complete work. Upwork is a professional marketplace and freelancers should get paid for the work they deliver. In order to familiarize yourself with Upwork, please review the resources we shared in this thread and let us know if you have any questions afterwards.

[stephanima]

Thanks Vladimir,

in 2016 I mostly received a message when a proposal was declined. I never knew I could check the archive.
Funny thing is nearly all jobs I proposed to in the last weeks are listed as "closed" now. 
If I look at my proposals from 2016 just a few were closed, and mostly I received declines or was accepted for an interview. 
It just feels weird, when nearly no job seems to be serious? As most of them are just closed now?
But maybe it's just bad luck, I applied for jobs that just got closed soon after.

[david_gruber]

HI Vlad,

Thanks for your reply. To be fair, I should correct my prior note to say that the client provided a subset of the work to be done and that I completed that subset 100% to prove that I could do the work. 

Based on the limited statistics provided by Upwork (e.g., number of competing proposals, which always seem to be 20-50), I don't expect clients to respond with specific feedback like "your rate seems high" or "you don't seem to understand the task", but a very simple indication that the client is still alive and the job is open, or the proposal has even been read (or rejected) would provide solace that all the work I've been putting into proposals isn't just going into a black hole. 

I contrast the interface starkly with what happens on **Edited for Community Guidelines**. Instant feedback and job availability that is so real-time, they expire or are taken as you respond. Different market (unskilled vs. skilled), I get it. But I think there needs to be a better method of providing feedback to freelancers. Maybe I'm putting too much effort into my proposals. Having no work history here, that's been my approach. Maybe the successful workers get to the point where their proposal is merely "I'm available - here's my rate. Check out my reputation." Done. As it is, I've spent hours putting together proposals that, for all I know, have never been read.

Time will tell.

[kenstone]

Your profile is not public.

[stephanima]

Hi Ken,

that's right, my profile isn't public, because I don't want it to be public.
Clients on upwork can still see my profile.

Or did upwork change something I am not aware of?