Proposal Views

[ShannonL]

On February 22, we launched a test feature that provides freelancers with timestamps of when clients viewed their submitted proposals.

Check out the product update for Proposal Views and let us know your thoughts about this update in the comments below.

[k_salsbury]

This is wonderful. I would appreciate this feature 🙂

[williamtcooper]

Shannon,

Thanks for posting and with the example. Nice feature!

[bundie702]

Thank you for this. A community member tried to tell me this has been there "as long as he can remember," which I knew was not true (and he has lost all credibility with me; I know not to trust anything he says).

[cccamikaze]

I cannot see the timestamps, it's for everyone?

[AveryO]

Hi Camilo Luis, 

This feature is in testing. We’re hoping to expand soon, stay tuned! 

[3494ad87]

Hi Camilo,
 you can see in my screenshot. great Feauture by #Upwork.

[yofazza]

I mentioned this a few times, got some responses from mods, but still unsure:

How about proposal received notifications  sent to the clients' emails? I heard it's a bit different with proposal previews on the web. Could clients read these emails, have sufficient data to make a decision, and thus doesn't have to View? As in message notification that includes the complete message so we don't have to actually click-open Upwork's Messages feature to view a message?

If it is, then it explains the low view vs sent  ratio which is so weirdly low for most people in a more positive way than what I (and some people) think right now, about how 70-90% of proposals sent will not even be read by potential clients.

I cannot test this myself without acting as a client and post fake jobs.

[moolardevar]

Stats is "Beta." aka it doesn't work, aka it's fake.

**edited for Community Guidelines**

There's a guy on YouTube who breaks it down perfectly... back in 2021 when "boost" was in Beta (and I never paid attention to it -never heard about it until a few months ago, since I was the leader the pack due to actual talent -and UpWork came to me presenting me jobs -they don't do that anymore, apparently)... UpWork didn't feel like they were getting enough out of their lowest earners, hence, have figured out a way to juice them for more.

[moolardevar]

UpWork(s) will go the way of the Dodo, and I'll still be here doing what I've been doing, long before UpWork(s) was a twinkle in it's origin's eye.

🤓

[barry_pat]

Original Elancer myself and I feel the same way about all these gadgets. They worry about getting profitable but spend $ & time developing this crap. And don't even get me started on those creepy TV ads!

[moolardevar]

this is hysterical.. the beta stats only peak like this when I comment on this forum.. it's freelancers and/or moderators looking at my profile.. "paid views?" Really? pffffff 🙄🤔😹

[AveryO]

Hi ThiruMoolar, 

I want to clarify that you are seeing that data on your Profile Views because you have the Availability Badge on, and you use Connects to add the badge to your profile - hence, it shows "paid views." Your profile views show the number of distinct people who visited your profile. This report also indicates if your availability badge was on or off each day and how many Connects you used on the availability badge. We update the number each time someone views your profile. You may read more about it here.

[moolardevar]

Hi Avery, my availability badge has been on everyday since it was a feature, i think.. or everyday since I can rememeber anyway.. i'm just saying that the only other time the graph rose like that was over a month ago, the last time I commented on this forum. Hence, it would seem obvious, the views are coming from folks in this forum, no?

What I can say for sure is, I pay for it, yes -but it has never done anything of value for me.

it looks pretty, though... so, as a designer, I guess that has aesthetic value. 🙂

[PradeepH]

Hi ThiruMoolar,

I am sorry to hear how you feel about the Availability badge. We offer this feature as another way to market your business and display availability to clients. If you feel that the badge is not adding value to your business at any time, you can always feel free to turn it off.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[moolardevar]

🙏

[moolardevar]

Hi Pradeep, thank you for your thoughtful answer, however, I think you misinterpreted my statement.

It was in continued conversation about the unreliability of the Beta stats, in general.

Actually, if you read again, you will see, I did say it looks pretty. That's nice, because, my job is to make things look pretty!!

and that it works great to show how many freelancers and/or moderators have looked at my profile, while also stating that it is paid. How do I know that? Because only today when I entered this forum did it rocket up from 0-2 views to over 10 views in 2 days. The last time that happened, was a month ago, the first time I used this forum to complain about the Boost system. That day, it also went up sharpely to around 20 views, and quickly within two days later, time for freelancers arouind the world to read my forum posts and click on my profile and hadn't gone above 2-2 again until a month laterwith my posts in this thread. On my last visit to this forum a month ago, I learned then about the Beta stats, and have looked at them everyday since. And also after previously boosting every proposal for over a month, I did a test, and stopped using the boost system all-together over the last month, and noticed zero change in my hires or opened proposals.

Having worked on UpWork for almost 10 years, at it's formation and porting me over from eLance, I can see a dramatic shift in it's benfit to me just in the last 3 months. I don't know precisely what is going on there behind the curtain, but the stats certainly do not explain anything of value.

Hence, what you probably meant to say, is if I don't find benefit in the stats, or UpWork in general, It is up to me to stop using it. And I thank you warmely for your feedback.

While I thank you for the benefits you've provided me in the past, I can see the platform has past it's prime and on the decline. While I saw the great customer service and attention to detail in the past, I see the great attention UpWork is giving to it's own revenue now, and not much else, beyond fluffy meaningless features. While in the past, I felt my hard work, dedication to perfection, and commisions to UpWork were appreciated, I feel now, UpWork is greatly disregarding both client and freelancers who helped to make them a giant.

No surprise, just a disapointment. And that should come as no surprise to you. At the beginning of the day you have a job to do, and at the end of the day, I assume you're happy to leave that job. For me, as a freelancer, I have the same dedication to my first contract client 30 years ago, today, as I did then.

[michelles44]

Oooooh! This will be super handy!

[AveryO]

Hi everyone, 

We have removed some posts because it violates our Community Guidelines. While we'll continue to allow criticism, we want to remind everyone that the Upwork Community is a professional forum and encourage everyone to provide feedback constructively. Posts that come without constructive feedback or are disparaging won't be allowed. Forums, like the Community, are at their best when participants treat each other with respect and courtesy

Please keep the feedback coming and remember, we are a community of professionals. We appreciate the passion, but we should all use a professional, respectful approach when posting in the forums. 

[jonilead]

Hi Shannon, 

This is a nice feature; we're always excited about these improvements.  But as a US-based freelancer since Elance days, there are a couple of other features that would positively increase the engagement of clients and freelancers, generating increased revenue from Marketplace jobs.

Should Upwork create a focus group for this reason to get more valuable input from freelancers like myself? Of course, and please contact me to participate and help facilitate if needed.

One of the issues -- although not my top concern -- is that freelancers need more visibility into the client posting a job, which is not currently available in the job post. This is because Upwork masks the client's name and does not require a company name or any information about the company, organization, or person posting the job. Drawing from real-world experience, where does a professional candidate ever apply for a job where all the details about the company and poster are masked? Judging fit before applying or gauging legitimacy (if this is a new client on the platform) or knowing the industry or other vital details is very difficult. Is this a fast-growing startup, a Fortune 1,500, a full-time employee with a 'business concept,' or a recognizable brand?

I have long wished Upwork would consider (1) first, verifying all job posters through their accounts much like freelancers are name and ID verified, and at a minimum, (2) revealing the poster's name or company name (perhaps allow the job poster to choose which) when posting a job. Instead, we don't even see their "username," which would be more valuable than seeing nothing.

I know Upwork wants to protect clients from being contacted outside of Upwork. And this is likely a strategy to prevent clients and freelancers from connecting outside the platform. But is this really the best way to address that particular issue?

Best-case scenario, Upwork should include a business page with each job post, showing a client-written summary about the company or organization, or if a freelancer is posting the job, the freelancer's profile page. At a minimum, allow the client to select to display either (1) the poster's name, (2) the company name, or (the poster's username). If an Upwork talent sourcer posts the job, then the company name or some standard designation along with a client summary page.

*** At least consider adding this as additional insight for Top Rated freelancers who have demonstrated sustained professionalism with clients of all types on the platform. 

[hamdyahmed90]

Thats a game changer Feature because at least by that we can figure out if the proposal was decent enough to get viewed 

[6bfcdaf8]

Today i've sent some proposals and received "viewed" notification for some of them. It's such a better experience, completes the feedback loop. Made me feel better throughout the proposal process. Thanks upwork team!

[kelly_e]

It's an interesting feature... I'm finding it pretty annoying under the Notifications bell, tbh, but since going to My Proposals is a choice, it's not annoying there, just of questionable utility.

I mean, what do you do with that data point? Just seems to indicate to me, that a lot of job-listers must get soooo many proposals that they throw their hands in the air and don't view everything that comes in over the transom. Which I already assumed. Meh?

It doesn't give me anything I can make use of, because until they've viewed a proposal they're not judging what I wrote, right? And we can't make 'em view something if they've become overwhelmed, no matter how clearly awesome the ones they haven't viewed are.   🙂

But since it's related, I'll put in my 2¢ a second time, wishing that the My Proposals page had a way to filter by Jobs that have made a hire versus still unhired, and so potentially might still be considering making a hire. Also of questionable utility in the long run, I suppose... but if I'm on that page wondering what I have outstanding, I'd rather just flip through the still-without-a-hire jobs.

[moolardevar]

At best the feature is "nifty." On the other hand, as I'm also a client.. seems a bit awkward from that side. Client's don't know that freelancer's are having bidding wars to be seen, and now they also don't know that freelancers are notified that they've looked at a proposal and then ignored them. What's more polite at that point? Decline the proposal or just let it hang ambiguous forever... ? 😂

As a freelancer, I've recently gotten 3 different messages from clients who did open my proposal, but said they decided to do the task themselves, in-house, some other way, not on UpWork... but thanked me for my proposal.. well.. that's nice. More polite. I say thank you and "best wishes. 🙏"

[moolardevar]

well at least 2 said that.. i think another 1 or 2 said they were talking to others but were "impressed with my credentials" and to that effect

but it is a little odd... Though I'm sure it happens often unspoken, i've never encountered that actual deliberate statement in almost 10 years on here and suddenly i got two of them within a couple days (I've gotten "we're going with another selection" several times over the years, of course).. 

[a_lipsey]

So if this is a notification, is there any way to turn it off? The only time I care about what a client is doing is if they are messaging me. 

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Kelly and Amanda,

Thanks for sharing your feedback about having the Proposal Views under the Notifications bell. At this time, there isn't a way to turn those notifications off. That said, I've shared this feedback with the product team for their review. 

[jeffreymorris26]

On my proposals page I don't have a category that says "sent" only one that says "submitted"

[moolardevar]

Hi Jeffrey, just a testing curiosity -the job, "Magazine Print Ad," -was that viewed? I got a notification that my proposal to that job was viewed, but I don't do boosting. And, the notification was in the last 8 hours or less.. not sure...

[priyankajpursani]

I am unable to see who viewed my proposals. It gets updated in stats but not in submitted proposals.

[moolardevar]

Anyway, the feature doesn't work in a reliable manner. I have spoken to clients who viewed my proposal, but it doesn't say viewed.

[priyankajpursani]

Hi,

I am unable to view who viewed my proposals in the submitted proposals section. In Stats, it shows that the new proposal is viewed as the count is incremented. 

[celgins]

Priyanka,

You might be referring to the new Proposal Views feature Upwork launched in late February. The test was available to only 50% of freelancers, so you may not have seen it for that reason.

[moolardevar]

to be clear, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't... since I see the notification sometimes, but not always, even after having the interview.. i know it's not reliable.

[1997amin]

I can't see "Viewed by Client" on my account. How can I make it visible?

[srajeeevs616]

Hello All,

I hope all are doing well. Upwork has recently launched a new feature - "Viewed By Client" for your proposal.

Please let me know how many are able to see this feature under My Proposal section. for your reference I have attached an image screenshot.

Regards

[babarsuhail92]

Is this feature still being tested? And is their a timeframe for when it will be rolled out for everyone?

[aanuhope]

Hello Shannon, please when will this feature be made available for all freelancers. I can see that the testing period has ended. Thanks!

[alex-nemchyn]

Please, when this feature becomes available to all.
I would like to do some analysis as well.

Thank you.

[ddb4a074]

Unable to view this update. is there something we can do view this update

[yofazza]

This three-week test

It's a little over three weeks already. Any updates?