Mar 8, 2023 09:04:38 AM Edited Mar 8, 2023 09:09:20 AM by Shannon L
Two new Marketplace updates:
Check out the product release for Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Connects and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Mar 8, 2023 09:03:06 AM by Muhammad A
I just came across a job where client is looking for entry level freelancers but cost of posting proposal is 8 connects??
Mar 8, 2023 10:26:00 AM by Christine A
Me too. I just saw a post with an $80 budget that costs 8 connects to apply, and it's not even a real job - it's a freelancer ad from somebody wanting a copy-typing job.
Mar 8, 2023 11:08:32 AM Edited Mar 8, 2023 11:16:41 AM by Sophie A
I understand what you saw is not the best example, but it has more to do with the demand for the job (to hopefully reduce the number of proposals), not necessarily the value of the budget.
Mar 8, 2023 11:15:17 AM by Christine A
There were only 5-10 proposals - most people would be able to tell that it wasn't a real job.
Mar 9, 2023 02:11:36 AM by Pradeep H
Hi Gajender,
Welcome to Upwork! I checked your profile and noticed that you need to improve your profile to increase your chances of getting hired. I suggest you take a few Upwork Academy courses to help you get started:
Mar 9, 2023 01:27:37 AM by Muhammad A
Exactly, I just saw couple of just under $200 and required 8 connects.
Mar 13, 2023 10:20:00 AM by Amanda N
That is insane! $80? then your only making like $60 after Upwork takes their 20%. BS!
Mar 8, 2023 10:07:02 AM by Muhammad A
How will eight connects can reduce proposals for jobs?
Where 20,30,40 connects are being used by freelancers.
This will not change the scenario.
Mar 8, 2023 10:13:23 AM by Konstantinos F
Seeing how the boost bidding wars have escalated, I don't think that the initial connect cost of a job will make any difference. I think that it would make more sense to award a large connect amount when you get hired for a job. More hires, more ammo to go to war basically. It sounds bad, I know, but I am getting the feeling that that's how it is now.
Mar 8, 2023 09:52:10 AM by Khangelani H
Has anyone noticed that some jobs now require 8 connects to apply? It's just getting more expensive being here.
Mar 8, 2023 09:56:06 AM by Sophie A
You can see the Update here :
Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Co... - Upwork Community
Mar 8, 2023 09:59:34 AM by MD N
Hello Khangelani,
Yes, Upwork recently implemented a change to its connects system, where freelancers are required to use 8 connects to apply for certain jobs. This change was made to encourage freelancers to apply to jobs that they are more likely to win, instead of applying to a large number of jobs without much consideration.
While this may increase the cost of applying to certain jobs, it can also help reduce the number of low-quality proposals that clients receive and increase the chances of winning a job for those who apply. It's important to carefully review the job description and requirements before using your connects to ensure that you are a good fit for the job.
In addition, there are still many jobs that require fewer connects or no connects at all, and you can also consider upgrading to a paid membership plan that includes more connects if you find yourself frequently applying for jobs.
Thank you
Nayem
Mar 8, 2023 02:26:07 PM by Christine A
MD N wrote:While this may increase the cost of applying to certain jobs, it can also help reduce the number of low-quality proposals that clients receive and increase the chances of winning a job for those who apply.
It's highly unlikely than an extra 30 cents is going to discourage anyone from bidding. If Upwork really wanted to increase the quality of its freelancers and reduce the amount of useless spam bids that clients receive, there are much better ways of achieving this.
Mar 8, 2023 10:35:37 PM Edited Mar 8, 2023 10:37:15 PM by Jack E
I was already careful about what I applied to. You have to be... Anyone that's truly experienced in their field isn't going to jump on every low-quality post on the site (of which there are countless), or waste time and money applying to things that aren't a good fit.
My guess is this won't affect the more unskilled sets of freelancers that are already just applying to everything, or will only impact countries with poorer economies.
Frankly, it's off-putting. Six connects already caused me pause enough to apply, now eight!? It makes me not really want to apply to anything... you already take 20% of my hard-worked earnings... for what? Now it's more expensive to apply as well. Upwork is practically stealing from freelancers. I mean, taking 20% of all my earnings is hardly a fair referral fee for a marketplace, and things just keep getting worse. On top of that, because it's contract work, the tax rate is higher. Does Upwork even consider that using this site basically means throwing away half of all your money!? If you guys are concerned about your revenues, maybe you should consider that this is only going to push more and more people to contract outside of Upwork. You're actions are pushing more and more people to consider breaking ToS simply to be able to earn a fair income.
And what's worse is there was ZERO communication about this. You just changed all the costs to apply without warning. Wake up, and everything is eight connects. It's like your company mission statement is "to piss off freelancers more than anyone else possibly can."
I really hope someone who works at Upwork sees this... they are alienating their client-base over and over, and at some point, this is going to topple. Given the economy, if one strong competitor gets an injection of funding this year, I can see someone taking a large chunk of Upwork's market share out the gate. People are fed up, and Upwork isn't listening. No company can be successful while ignoring the market.
Mar 9, 2023 07:02:01 PM by Josh G
Has anyone else noticed a recent uptick in required connects for jobs? It's like all of the jobs that were six connecta now require 8? Has anyone else noticed this?
Mar 8, 2023 10:54:40 AM by Kelly E
Who is most interested has nothing to do with who is most qualified for the job, which should be Upwork's aim.
And heck, who is willing to *spend most* doesn't have anything to do with interest, either. I never send a single proposal where I'm not sure of my qualifications *and* tremendously interested. Yet my proposals never even get opened anymore, nevermind responded to, because of the utter glut of garbage that potential clients are seeing.
Upwork makes more $$$, on more freelancers using up more Connects, boosted and not boosted (no more 1 Connect jobs, I note), and clients (and freelancers) get zilch in relief.
I thought UW was trying to go upstream—but it appears to be a race to the bottom now.
Mar 8, 2023 11:08:39 AM by Vitor G
I agree. All updates come to make the platform worse for the users. Never an update that improves our end.
Mar 8, 2023 10:57:46 AM Edited Mar 8, 2023 11:14:54 AM by Valeria K
I just came across this Job post, and it's the first time I have seen a job that takes 8 connects to apply. Wasn't it 6 the max? Is it new?
**Edited for Community Guidelines**
Mar 8, 2023 10:59:11 AM by Haris F
I haven't ever seen a job post that costs 8 connects to apply to, is this a new change or a bug?
Mar 8, 2023 11:18:32 AM by Khangelani H
I have seen a job which costs 8 connects to bid, and it already has 50+ bids. Will wait and see, but seems plan is dead from the start.
Mar 8, 2023 11:35:32 AM by Vitor G
I think I will just stop investing in it, stop applying for jobs, and just answer the invitations.
I feel that I am putting in so much effort, 2+ hours a day analyzing and sending proposals, and answering clients, and instead of things getting better, it just gets worse.
Availability Badge Connects, Boosted Proposals, Increase in Jobs Connects Costs.. the list goes on..
Every month there is a new update to squeeze out the max of us without any improvement on our end. It's just not paying off anymore.
I make less money now that I am a Top Rated Plus with 100k profit than before that, without those updates.
Mar 8, 2023 12:20:22 PM by Christine A
Vitor G wrote:I think I will just stop investing in it, stop applying for jobs, and just answer the invitations.
You still get invitations? I don't.
Mar 8, 2023 12:25:50 PM by Vitor G
Not sure if they are legit though. I get invitations, but they rarely reply back. I don't understand.
Mar 8, 2023 12:13:58 PM by Jelena J
I can't say I like this. This means we have to invest more and more in purchasing connects. This platform should serve people to earn money.
Mar 8, 2023 01:15:57 PM by Cicely C
"This platform should serve people to earn money." You're exactly right. Freelancers shouldn't have to "pay to play." Upwork already charges both freelancers and clients on the backend during active contracts. They're getting greedier. Charging more and more to use a WORK platform defeats the purpose of helping people earn a decent living. 🙄
Mar 8, 2023 01:39:15 PM by Jelena J
Yes, this is a little bit disappointing.
I'm begging my freelancing career here and it's challenging to win a job because I'm new on the platform, so investing money in proposals and connects is not so easy.
Mar 9, 2023 03:14:48 AM by Christine A
Cicely C wrote:Charging more and more to use a WORK platform defeats the purpose of helping people earn a decent living. 🙄
"Helping people" is not Upwork's purpose - it's not a charity. This website exists to make a profit, like all businesses. (Whether it ever achieves this goal is another matter.)
Mar 16, 2023 01:21:28 PM by Cicely C
"it's not a charity" - True, but as I stated, they already make revenue by charging both freelancers and clients during active contracts. I've used this platform for quite some time, off and on, and I've seen the number of new paid features they've added over time. They want to continually increase their revenue, which is understandable for any business, but adding gimmicks like connects and bids cheapens the platform in my opinion.
Mar 8, 2023 02:19:26 PM by Rodrigo B
6 connects was already a lot. And all good projects are now 8 and still full of proposals.
Mar 8, 2023 03:38:01 PM Edited Mar 8, 2023 04:09:56 PM by Arjay M
Hello.
Tonight I noticed that the cost of responding to customer requests has risen. Everything would be fine, but now the average price is 6 connections per response. I thought this was an isolated case, but I have at least 5 requests in the feed in the last hour that cost 8 connections. I did not see any information or news about this.
P.S. It seems to me that I will soon be giving 50% to upwork just for giving me at least a job.
**Edited for Community Guidelines**
Mar 8, 2023 04:01:41 PM by Chris R
I also am now seeing jobs for 8 connections. It's getting difficult to justify costs here.
Mar 8, 2023 04:29:36 PM by Yasha S
It just kills the ability to compete, a couple of applications and you are forced to buy connections again. Pay 8 connections for a request that the client overestimated in terms or rate. But what can I say, according to my statistics, 70% of requests are not even viewed.
Mar 8, 2023 02:29:57 PM by Md Hafizur R
I'm confused about some recent activity on Upwork. I noticed that 8 connects were deducted from my account for a high-budget job, even though I didn't increase my bid. I'm not sure why this happened. Additionally, I didn't receive the 10 free connects that Upwork usually provides when a client responds to my proposal. Can someone please explain what might be going on?
Mar 8, 2023 06:48:27 PM by Zubair A
This is not a good update. Rather I think it'll be best to take off boosted proposals and ensure clients pay money into escrow before posting their job.
Increasing the required connects to apply when most jobs posted actually end up without a hire only milks us the freelancers
Mar 8, 2023 06:44:36 PM by Anthony J
The max used to be 6 but now I'm seeing jobs with 8. Anyone else seeing the same thing?
Mar 8, 2023 06:54:00 PM by Shehan F
Yes Anthony, here's the announcement - https://community.upwork.com/t5/Product-Release-Notes/Marketplace-Updates-Boosted-Proposals-and-Conn...
Mar 12, 2023 12:38:52 PM by Josh G
Thanks for sharing the link. To the team at Upwork: require more of the clients. I'm seeing vague posts, posts with little information, and clients with little or no history posts that are for 8 connects. You might have reduced the number of proposals from the freelancer side, but now it's time to require more of the posters. If I'm going to spend 8 connects, the posting needs to be clear and quality. Right now, they aren't.