Advice on getting back into Upwork

kaihecker · ‎07-29-2023

I took a year off from Upwork, and I've been trying to get back into it ever since, but I've had no luck. I wanted to ask for some tips and tricks and general advice on how to be more discoverable and receive some invites and feedback on proposals because I can tell that quite a lot has changed on Upwork (for example, boosting).

Any advice is welcome.

debi-f · ‎07-29-2023

Hello,

Upwork has changed in the last 1–2 years. There are fewer invitations and fewer jobs, a lot of new freelancers, more connects required to apply, a lot of SCAMMERS, and even when you flag them, Upwork is not helping.

It seems that Upwork is doing its business selling connects, that's why there are jobs that require 16 connects and they allow people to boost their bids with 50 connects or more (especially the new freelancers), and they keep the scam jobs until people post their bids…using connects, of course.

Some suggestions to find real jobs and avoid scammers:

Don't search jobs only directly at “Find Work”. Go to the “Search for job” space to apply “Filters”.
One of them is “Payment verified” (although today there are scammers with payment verified and Upwork is not checking it, it could help).
Other Filter is “Client history”. Check if he posted other jobs, if he hired other freelancers, feedbacks, etc.
Check the Date since the client is a member. Usually the scammers are members from the same day they post their jobs, and they didn't hire anyone.
DON'T BID for jobs that ask for +20, +40 languages translation, or they publish a list of 15 languages, or invitations too good to be true, even when they have their payment verified. They verify their payment from different countries every day.
APPLY TO JOBS THAT FIT YOUR SKILLS. Don't apply to 100 jobs, wasting connects and money.
ALWAYS CHECK THE CLIENT'S PROFILE before sending a proposal, even when it fits my skills.
DON'T APPLY and don't contact if they publish a link (telegram, mail, skype, etc.) outside Upwork.
DON'T start working or deliver any work if the contract didn't start for Upwork, and until the client has his payment verified and/or the money funded (specially if it's your first work with this client).
DON'T BOOST YOUR BIDS. If you do it, you are paying to Upwork for finding a job instead of earning money from your work. Serious clients will find the best options according to your skills and not according to the amount of bids you use.
I suggest not paying for a membership. Just use the 10 connects they give you for free and buy 10 more ($1.5) ONLY when you find a good job for you.
I suggest your Profile to be visible to Upwork members and not Public outside Upwork. This way you avoid people outside Upwork (for example, scammers) to find you and enter for posting a job or inviting you.

Maybe if Upwork will not earn extra-money from us, will decide to control the platform and check the clients before they post jobs. I'd like Upwork to rate the clients. For example, if a client posted 10 jobs and didn't hire anyone, or they didn't read the proposals, and, of course, if they are scammers, it's time to delete them and avoiding them to post new jobs.

kaihecker · ‎07-30-2023

Thanks for the detailed feedback, Débora, that is quite sobering.

Do you have any advice on improving my ranking so clients find me more easily? In the past, I got most of my upwork jobs by clients inviting me instead of me finding jobs. I assume that my ranking is really low and that clients looking for freelancers with my skill set only see me on page 10 or worse.

debi-f · ‎07-30-2023

There are not many invitations today.

And be careful if the invitations come from a scammer! Don't contact him!

spectralua · ‎07-30-2023

Your rating is good.

Clients gone so you need to send more proposals. Dont wait for invites.

celgins · ‎07-30-2023

As Débora and Mykola stated, invitations are hard to come by these days. Since you are Top-Rated, you will likely receive an invitation before a newbie, but even Top-Rated folks have seen a significant decrease in invites over the past year.

One thing you should review for discoverability is your skills list. Check your skill categories to ensure they are accurate and current. From time to time, Upwork will update the specialties and skills (i.e., rename them, merge them with similar skills, remove them, etc.), and freelancers rarely notice the changes. The last big update was on February 9, 2023.

Looking at your current skills list, UX Design is no longer a skill category; I think it was removed in favor of GUI Design (which you already have) and Mobile UI Design. Several UX and UI skill categories were moved around and merged, so you should look to add: User Experience Design, UX & UI, UI/UX Prototyping, UX Wireframe.

Also, you should add short job descriptions to each job in your employment history. Believe it or not, the job titles and descriptions--especially those highly relevant to your Upwork services--are additional relevant data for the algorithm to feed on.

Upwork's algorithms have always managed job matches and search placement, but there were a few algorithm updates during the past year, and it seems that anything "off" in your profile will disrupt your best matches and search positioning for specific skills (keywords). This is why I suggest reviewing and updating your skills list and employment history.

kaihecker · ‎07-31-2023

Thank you, more sobering feedback, sounds like Upwork is not in a good state ...