Bring Value to Your Proposals

[#1]

Sincerely submitting dedicated proposals for the projects is an important aspect of Upwork. However, my recommendation is that Freelancers should withdraw their proposals if there is no feedback after a few weeks. I believe this brings value back to the effort and hope Freelancer has put in its proposal. 

Waiting for constructive feedback from the Upwork community. 

[#2]

How will that add any value? If the client didn't reply then are most likely not interested.

[#3]

Please withdraw one of your proposals and you will find options from work to justify your withdrawal. It's about opting to withdraw your sincere effort instead of waiting for it's expiration.  

[#4]

Indeed, I have been wondering about the necessity of withdrawing one's proposals. Whether it has technical importance or not because I feel so reluctant to pull back my proposals.

Funnily, I often hope the client would still get back to me until Upwork sends me a message that the job I applied for has expired.

That's so ridiculous. 

[#5]

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Lokesh J wrote:

However, my recommendation is that Freelancers should withdraw their proposals if there is no feedback after a few weeks. I believe this brings value back to the effort and hope Freelancer has put in its proposal. 

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I see no possible benefit in doing this. You don't get any connects back, if that's what you're thinking.

Many clients will take longer than 'a few weeks' to recruit; I've been recruited months after sending a proposal. If you withdraw your proposal then you miss out on potential future jobs. 

[#6]

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Lokesh J wrote:

It's not about the connects. Please withdraw one of your proposals and you will find options from work to justify your withdrawal. It's about opting to withdraw your sincere effort instead of waiting for it's expiration.  

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Complete waste of time. The client does not benefit from you withdrawing your proposal. You don't benefit from withdrawing your proposal. 

[#7]

Hello Lokesh!

I like your thinking.

I place more value on my time, not the proposal.

Do I lose connects? No! 

That purchase showed me that this client isn't ready to conduct business. 

If they are not ready to conduct business, we are not a match.

Please note: In defense of the client. Some cannot conduct business immediately because of a process they have in place. And I find no fault with them. 

For those who don't want to withdraw their proposal, then don't. Do what fits your business model.

[#8]

If we start withdrawing our proposals then we are allowing other freelancers to have a better chance to negotiate or else the client gets a free hand over the freelancers.

Please withdraw one of your proposals and you will find options from work to justify your withdrawal. It's about opting to withdraw your sincere effort instead of waiting for its expiration.  

[#9]

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Lokesh J wrote:

If we start withdrawing our proposals then we are allowing other freelancers to have a better chance to negotiate

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Why would I want to do that? If I apply for a job, it obviously means I want the job myself. 

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Lokesh J wrote:

or else the client gets a free hand over the freelancers.

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Eh?

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Lokesh J wrote:

Please withdraw one of your proposals and you will find options from work to justify your withdrawal. 

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I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but I can find options to work without withdrawing my proposals. 

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Lokesh J wrote:

It's about opting to withdraw your sincere effort instead of waiting for its expiration.  

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Why? 

Why opt to withdraw my 'sincere effort'? What do you mean by wait for its expiration? Job posts expire but proposals never do. And what's the harm in waiting for it to expire anyway? 

I'd rather leave it in case a client does want to give me a job weeks, even months down the line (It has happened a few times)

[#10]

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Jamie F wrote:

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I'd rather leave it in case a client does want to give me a job weeks, even months down the line (It has happened a few times)

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I signed a client a couple of weeks ago that had initially contacted me about something else maybe 6 months ago? It's going to be a $20,000 contract. But yes, I should have withdrawn my proposal...

[#11]

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Lokesh J wrote:

If we start withdrawing our proposals then we are allowing other freelancers to have a better chance to negotiate or else the client gets a free hand over the freelancers.

Please withdraw one of your proposals and you will find options from work to justify your withdrawal. It's about opting to withdraw your sincere effort instead of waiting for its expiration.  

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I have numerous clients who respond to my proposals a month or more after submission. They are prepping well ahead of time and then taking their time to make a decision. I do not find this to be a waste of my time. As a client myself, I would be pleased if you withdraw your proposal if you are such a short-sighted freelancer that you think me not immediately responding to your proposal means you wasted your time applying. 

By all means, withdraw your proposals and limit your options. I hope other freelancers will listen to common sense and not take your advice. 

[#12]

I think he's trying to suggest that we should withdraw proposals after a while to try to get clients to recruit quicker.

Which also doesn't make much sense. 

[#13]

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Jamie F wrote:

I think he's trying to suggest that we should withdraw proposals after a while to try to get clients to recruit quicker.

Which also doesn't make much sense. 

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In which case, I have to agree. Please everybody else withdraw your proposals, preferably immediately after sending, so that I'm the only one left. If this is OP's twisted goal, his logic is starting to make sense. Not much, though. A tiny little bit. 

[#14]

I believe the OP has withdrawn his proposal to withdraw proposals, as there's no more activity on his side 😉

[#15]

I started this as a thought-provoking exercise and I was evaluating the sentiments of the other freelancers on this aspect. I got the message from my fellow freelancers that we should continue to let the proposal be there until the job expires. 

However, I am still wondering what is the reason Upwork has given an option to withdraw the proposal?

[#16]

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Lokesh J wrote:

I started this as a thought-provoking exercise and I was evaluating the sentiments of the other freelancers on this aspect. I got the message from my fellow freelancers that we should continue to let the proposal be there until the job expires. 

However, I am still wondering what is the reason Upwork has given an option to withdraw the proposal?

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Sometimes, a freelancer will send propsals during a period when they have free time. Once someone hires them, they withdraw the remaining proposals because they no longer have time. Other times, the freelancer may reconsider the job or learn something via the interview process that makes them no longer want to work with the client. Some freelancers like to tidy up their proposal list by withdrawing proposals that have languished for weeks or months. It is also possible that a proposal sent weeks ago reflects a lower rate than what the freelancer is currently charging. 

[#17 · Accepted solution]

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Lokesh J wrote:

I started this as a thought-provoking exercise and I was evaluating the sentiments of the other freelancers on this aspect. I got the message from my fellow freelancers that we should continue to let the proposal be there until the job expires. 

However, I am still wondering what is the reason Upwork has given an option to withdraw the proposal?

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Well, you succeeded in that goal. You got a number of responses from people that were genuinely puzzled by what you could possibly achieve by withdrawing proposals, and some even found a somewhat logical answer. So, some grey cells were exercised, always a good thing. 

[#18]

It was a thought-provoking exercise and I was evaluating the sentiments of the other freelancers on this aspect. I got the message from my fellow freelancers that we should continue to let the proposal be there until the job expires. 

However, I am still wondering what is the reason Upwork has given an option to withdraw the proposal?

[#19]

"However, I am still wondering what is the reason Upwork has given an option to withdraw the proposal?"

In case you make a mistake and would like to resubmit with a corrected proposal.  Maybe so you can withdraw your other proposals if you get a job that will keep you busy?  Though when that happens I usually just tell them that if I get an interview. Or you have decided you don't want to work with the client, though you should vet them before ever sending the proposal.

There are really no other reasons I can think of.  Like others have mentioned, I have been hired a month later, or contacted for a different job the client has later which would NOT have happened had I withdrawn my proposal.

I have no idea how withdrawing a proposal brings any kind of value, I actually does the opposite, once the proposal is withdrawn it's of no value at all.

[#20]

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Lokesh J wrote:

It was a thought-provoking exercise and I was evaluating the sentiments of the other freelancers on this aspect. I got the message from my fellow freelancers that we should continue to let the proposal be there until the job expires. 

However, I am still wondering what is the reason Upwork has given an option to withdraw the proposal?

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When you discover a client is a nut job and don't want them to have access to you anymore...

[#21]

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Lokesh J wrote:

However, I am still wondering what is the reason Upwork has given an option to withdraw the proposal?

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Seriously? It's there so you can withdraw those proposals you are no longer interested in.

I usually withdraw proposals when, after initial communication with the client, I no longer want to do the project.

[#22]

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Lokesh J wrote:

If we start withdrawing our proposals then we are allowing other freelancers to have a better chance to negotiate or else the client gets a free hand over the freelancers.

Please withdraw one of your proposals and you will find options from work to justify your withdrawal. It's about opting to withdraw your sincere effort instead of waiting for its expiration.  

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They are not interested and they don't care why you withdrawn. There is only a value if you talked with the client, and they did something bad, so you block them and withdraw the proposal.