Clients Not Closing Jobs

[emmamclaren]

Seriously, it can't be that hard to close a job when you have hired someone/the relevant amount of people can it? Do clients know that as freelancers we get charged for each bid we do? I don't care that I haven't got the jobs, but I do care that every single bid we do costs us money and a client can't even take a minute or two to close a job! Currently, I have 11 proposals either sitting there as active or submitted, 5 have hired someone and 4 seem to have been walked away from. 

It's just getting so obvious that Upwork see this change as a further cash grab from freelancers. Surely something can be done to make clients close jobs they have either hired someone for or walked away from instead of "encouraging them to". 

[tlsanders]

If some magical shift does take place and all of those clients suddenly start closing their unfilled jobs, it is virtually guaranteed that connects will stop being returned in that situation. If Upwork wanted freelancers to get their connects back every time a client didn't hire, they could easily implement that. They haven't, which is no surprise, since the very last thing they would ever want to happen would be for freelancers to keep getting most of their connects returned to use over and over again.

[emmamclaren]

Or they could just stop charging us. If we were applying for normal jobs, we wouldn't be asked to send in what is technically an application fee when we apply. I'm still not seeing the benefits of having to pay for connects. The jobs are still, mostly crappy and low paying which makes buying connects pointless.  

[melaniekhenson]

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Emma M wrote:

Or they could just stop charging us. If we were applying for normal jobs, we wouldn't be asked to send in what is technically an application fee when we apply. I'm still not seeing the benefits of having to pay for connects. The jobs are still, mostly crappy and low paying which makes buying connects pointless.  

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Well, but we really aren't applying for jobs in that sense. UW isn't an employer, it's basically a leads generator, so it charges fees. 

I think the benefit is meant to be a reduction in clients being spammed with dozens of proposals (much easier for freelancers to do when they aren't paying), so freelancers who are making more of an effort in finding a good match are less likely to be lost in the sea of applicants.

And the jobs I take aren't crappy...you don't have to apply for jobs you don't want.

[emmamclaren]

Obviously you don't have to apply for jobs you don't want. Bit hard however when people are still putting up jobs essentially at less than $5/hr. There are so many where the pay rate is just that low that everyone is applying for the ones with decent pay so really charging for connects hasnt made a difference.

We already pay up to 30% of our income to upwork (we have to pay GST as an Australian freelancer) that to pay for connects to apply for jobs and to lose money because a client can't spend 2 mins closing the job is pathetic. And they can do this over and over and over because nothing is being done about it