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Tarek's avatar
Tarek R Community Member

Can't use connects while applying for jobs

In every job circular, it says I have 0 available credit and thus can't submit any proposal. Although there are 90 connects available in the connects history section. When I click the submit proposal button in a job the notice I receive is "To submit a proposal to this job, contact your manager about buying additional Connects". There's also a notice on top of connects history page which is "These Connects transactions are from your freelancer activity. Since you are now exclusively an agency contractor, you can only view them". My agency manager looked into the members' settings and it says that I can apply for jobs regardless of my member status.

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Pradeep's avatar
Pradeep H Retired Team Member

Hello Tarek,

 

If you are an Exclusive agency member, you can apply to jobs using agency connects only. Kindly request your agency owner to purchase connects to allow you to apply to jobs as Exclusive agency member. The 90 connects visible on your Connect history section are from your freelancer account which cannot be used by Exclusive agency members.

 

Thank you.

Pradeep H.

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8 REPLIES 8
Pradeep's avatar
Pradeep H Retired Team Member

Hello Tarek,

 

If you are an Exclusive agency member, you can apply to jobs using agency connects only. Kindly request your agency owner to purchase connects to allow you to apply to jobs as Exclusive agency member. The 90 connects visible on your Connect history section are from your freelancer account which cannot be used by Exclusive agency members.

 

Thank you.

Pradeep H.

Tarek's avatar
Tarek R Community Member

Pradeep H, Thanks for the solution.
Purchasing connects for an agency requires a premium subscription. I and my manager are thinking about changing my status from Exclusive Member. Could you please tell me the downsides if we do so?

Pradeep's avatar
Pradeep H Retired Team Member

Hello Tarek,

 

You can change from Exclusive Agency Relationship to Non-Exclusive Agency Relationships. This will allow you to work independently and as part of your agency. You can refer to the Non-Exclusive Agency Relationship section on this help article to know more. 

 

Thank you

Pradeep H

Michael's avatar
Michael S Community Member

Hello

Thanks so much Pradeep for sharing this information. Could you please let me know what will happen to the connects that are still available in the freelancer account? Do I get it back at some point? 
Thank you Tarek for bringing this similar query I had. 

Best Michael

Annie Jane's avatar
Annie Jane B Retired Team Member

Hi Michael,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. Unused Connects will expire after a year. Should you leave the agency or become a non-exclusive agency member before they expire, you should be able to use them to apply for jobs using your freelancer profile.


~ AJ
Upwork
Michael's avatar
Michael S Community Member

Hello Annie

Thanks so much for your reply. However, I do not wish to leave the agency or become a non-exclusive member. In this case, what else could be my options? 
The issue I am facing now is, I am unable to place bids from my Freelancer profile even though I have 180 connects left. My agency however do not have any connects. Everytime I am trying to place a bid from my profile, it takes me to the membership upgradation page as I am an exclusive member of the agency. 
For instance, if my agency goes ahead and purchsse the premium plan, will I be then able to use the connects that I have in my profile, in near future? 

Best
Michael

Nikola's avatar
Nikola S Retiring Moderator

Hi Michael,

 

I would like to clarify that if you purchase the Agency Plus plan it will allow you to purchase Connects for a rate of $0.15 (USD) each for your agency account. You can find more information here

To use Connects on your freelancer account you need to be a Non-exclusive member of an agency or work as an independent freelancer. 

~ Nikola
Michael's avatar
Michael S Community Member

Hello Nikola

Thank you for the clarification. I appreciate it. 

Best
Michael