Clients not moving forward with proposals

irieislandgirl · ‎07-21-2019

I have three pages of proposals dating back twenty days ago. I did have seven pages but cleaned it up because there were jobs from a month to two months ago. I have checked on those proposals and the client has looked at their proposals three days ago or four days ago, says interviewing two or six invites sent but doesn't say they hired anyone, so I assume the job is still open. That being written, WHY are the clients sitting on the job postings the NOT not moving forward to the hiring process? It was my impression they are here to find someone for the position at hand.

Any thoughts, experience, or knowledge of this is appreciated.

lysis10 · ‎07-21-2019

Most freelancers on upwork are awful, but clients are now restricted on invites so they are forced to go into the open marketplace instead if finding good freelancers using invites. The $50/month is ridiculous. A one-time $30 is more reasonable but they seem to be pushing a monthly subscription which is crazy. So here we are. Clients stuck in a sea of effluvium that is the open marketplace of freelancers.

Not sure if Upwork realizes that their moneymakers avoid that place like the plague. That whole place is terrible for freelancers and clients.

irieislandgirl · ‎07-21-2019

Thank you for your response, but can you expound on that more? I don't see how your answer is relevent to my question/puzzlement as to why clients post a job, I submit a porposal, and they don't do anything with the job postion at all, letting it sit for days or even weeks without even going to look at the progress of there posting of who applied.

tlsanders · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda, there are a great many possible reasons. Here are just a few that I have personally experienced as either a client or a freelancer:

-The hiring person requires approval from someone above, who wants to get a good pool and review all at once rather than checking the applicants every day

-The project isn't a top priority for the company, and hiring gets stalled until they're ready to move forward

-The client isn't in love with any of the proposals received and so lets the job sit hoping for additional/better applicants

-The client is interviewing someone they think they want to hire, but there's some delay on one end or the other and they don't want to close the job until they're sure it's going to work out

-The client isn't really hiring, but is asking those he's "interviewing" to do pieces of the work for free as test samples

I've had some really great clients hire me several weeks after I sent my proposal. They're running businesses and often the project they're hiring a freelancer for is a very low priority compared with keeping the day-to-day business running.

lysis10 · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
I submit a porposal, and they don't do anything with the job postion at all, letting it sit for days or even weeks without even going to look at the progress of there posting of who applied.

Umm, well, there are always those people that just dip, but there are also those people who don't find any proposal they like, including yours. If you see people repost the job without hiring someone, I would assume they didn't like anyone. Lemme tell you most freelancers on Upwork are terrible, so they might not even get to yours before they throw in the towel.

And also, the payment required to invite more than 3 freelancers. I've read mods say it's more now but who knows anymore. It needs to be 10 at least. Ain't nobody wanna pay $50/month to post a few jobs here and there. I wish they would push the $30 featured and then maybe give it back to the client once they hire someone as an incentive. But I just talk into the void as a way to rant on Recovery Sunday.

irieislandgirl · ‎07-21-2019

Does Upwork Corporate office know about these terrible freelancers that make it impossible for us good honest people. In my case I have been out of a job for almost 2 months and that has never happen to me before. I have bills and rent to pay and have not gotten hired yet. I have ranted about the $3.00 bids in the Expert catagory, the JSS and Rising Talnet BS, and now this. Does Upwork give a **bleep** that this kind of stuff is hurting the honest people that are truly looking to get a long term position and work hard at it. Why don't they weed out these horrible people.

tlsanders · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
Does Upwork Corporate office know about these terrible freelancers that make it impossible for us good honest people. In my case I have been out of a job for almost 2 months and that has never happen to me before. I have bills and rent to pay and have not gotten hired yet. I have ranted about the $3.00 bids in the Expert catagory, the JSS and Rising Talnet BS, and now this. Does Upwork give a **bleep** that this kind of stuff is hurting the honest people that are truly looking to get a long term position and work hard at it. Why don't they weed out these horrible people.

Melinda M wrote:
Does Upwork Corporate office know about these terrible freelancers that make it impossible for us good honest people. In my case I have been out of a job for almost 2 months and that has never happen to me before. I have bills and rent to pay and have not gotten hired yet. I have ranted about the $3.00 bids in the Expert catagory, the JSS and Rising Talnet BS, and now this. Does Upwork give a **bleep** that this kind of stuff is hurting the honest people that are truly looking to get a long term position and work hard at it. Why don't they weed out these horrible people.

No, Upwork probably doesn't give a bleep about honest people getting hurt or whatever--that's not it's function as a for-profit company. However, it certainly cares that those bad freelancers are driving clients away, meaning Upwork isn't collecting fees. Isn't that the whole purpose of the pay-for-connects system?

irieislandgirl · ‎07-21-2019

I agree with your points, but what can be done about it? Is there ANYTHING we, as frelancers, can do?

lysis10 · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
I agree with your points, but what can be done about it? Is there ANYTHING we, as frelancers, can do?

You can only express your opinion and hope the numbers align in your favor and Upwork makes changes but I wouldn't hold my breath. I haven't been pushed to do anything about it yet and I still go into that god awful open marketplace at times.

I'm just gonna do me and that's it.

bvrealism · ‎07-21-2019

I think this site is a scam, and they only shows posts and clients to members that pay for membership. I'm not paying for a membership unless the site is fruitful.

I have a degree in my field and still haven't gotten get any replys to my proposals, ecept one person who wanted to pay 50cents and hour. haha.

lysis10 · ‎07-21-2019

Bret V wrote:
I think this site is a scam, and they only shows posts and clients to members that pay for membership. I'm not paying for a membership unless the site is fruitful.
I have a degree in my field and still haven't gotten get any replys to my proposals, ecept one person who wanted to pay 50cents and hour. haha.

They must be scamming my bank account perrrty well then for the last 4 years. Nobody tell them!

tlsanders · ‎07-21-2019

Bret V wrote:
I think this site is a scam, and they only shows posts and clients to members that pay for membership.

Where on earth did you get this idea?

joansands · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda - Unfortunately, there are some potential clients who are just not good potential clients. The fact that they don't close their job postings if they don't intend to hire should tell you something about the kind of client they would be. On the other hand, some potential clients just take an awfully long time to make up their minds, often because they are busy with other things. I recently had someone offer to hire me even after his posting had been closed by Upwork. So, don't give up on all those proposals, especially because twenty days is not really such a long time in the overall scheme of things.

chris_bannu · ‎07-21-2019

I noticed that too recently. I'm finishing some projects so I have more time on my hands, but I can't seem to find any new clients, it's like my applications don't even get sent. Until recently I would get lots of invites, but unfortunately I was busy with other clients, now it seems that nobody wants to work with me 😞

In the past I used to find jobs a lot faster, this is starting to worry me a bit, if things go like this for 2-3 more months, I'll have to get a job and quit Upwork, altthough the idea doesn't appeal to me at all...

lysis10 · ‎07-21-2019

Cristian B wrote:
I noticed that too recently. I'm finishing some projects so I have more time on my hands, but I can't seem to find any new clients, it's like my applications don't even get sent. Until recently I would get lots of invites, but unfortunately I was busy with other clients, now it seems that nobody wants to work with me 😞

In the past I used to find jobs a lot faster, this is starting to worry me a bit, if things go like this for 2-3 more months, I'll have to get a job and quit Upwork, altthough the idea doesn't appeal to me at all...

I lived off of invites too, but I just have to assume the new "pay to invite more than three people" has killed that nice moneymaker.

irieislandgirl · ‎07-21-2019

That really sucks. So is Corporate Upwork more about the money as all corporate america is, or do they think they are helping the Freellancer by changing things to make it difficult for us to land a job.

m_sharman · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
That really sucks. So is Corporate Upwork more about the money as all corporate america is, or do they think they are helping the Freellancer by changing things to make it difficult for us to land a job.

Upwork is a public company and yes, they are seeking to maximize revenue and profit. That isn't a bad thing. What we are seeing right now is their efforts to succeed, and in theory their success will improve the marketplace for professional freelancers.

Right now, things appear to be slow (at least for me and some others). It could be summer, it could be the changes Upwork introduced, it could be the weather. Ultimately the reasons don't really matter (although I acknowledge many of the changes are frustrating), what matters is how you move forward with your business. That may require branching out to other platforms, I know I've been exploring that. I've also changed my approach in the brick and mortar world.

Overall, I believe the nature of work is changing and Upwork is just one aspect of that. The best you can do is zig and zag as needed to ensure you have what you need to survive.

tlbp · ‎07-21-2019

Miriam H wrote:
Melinda M wrote:
That really sucks. So is Corporate Upwork more about the money as all corporate america is, or do they think they are helping the Freellancer by changing things to make it difficult for us to land a job.
Upwork is a public company and yes, they are seeking to maximize revenue and profit. That isn't a bad thing. What we are seeing right now is their efforts to succeed, and in theory their success will improve the marketplace for professional freelancers.

Right now, things appear to be slow (at least for me and some others). It could be summer, it could be the changes Upwork introduced, it could be the weather. Ultimately the reasons don't really matter (although I acknowledge many of the changes are frustrating), what matters is how you move forward with your business. That may require branching out to other platforms, I know I've been exploring that. I've also changed my approach in the brick and mortar world.

Overall, I believe the nature of work is changing and Upwork is just one aspect of that. The best you can do is zig and zag as needed to ensure you have what you need to survive.

This is very true. Every aspect of life is changing at a faster rate than it has for previous generations. Industry shifts are taking place faster. Plus, when your competition is global, you must navigate shifts in not only your own country's culture and economy but those of other countries as well.

So, in the US it is summertime, we're engaged in a trade war, Google's algorithm just changed again...

When I first started freelancing, I made it a habit to browse the job listings on several sites even when I was fully booked. This helped me stay informed about what skills clients were seeking and how much they were paying. I could then use this information to be strategic about what skills I wanted to highlight in my profile and choosing which new skills to develop.

Always be prepared to pivot.

tlbp · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
That really sucks. So is Corporate Upwork more about the money as all corporate america is, or do they think they are helping the Freellancer by changing things to make it difficult for us to land a job.

Yes. American corporations are for-profit enterprises. Charities and government agencies are where people go for help.

melaniekhenson · ‎07-21-2019

"So is UW just here to make money..." So that's not why we freelancers are here???

Yes, UW wants to maximize profits. So do I. So does every freelancer I've ever met. Every businessperson, for that matter. Or anyone who holds down a non-volunteer job.

irieislandgirl · ‎07-21-2019

Same here. I used to get invites, but I was working 40 hours already for another client for 5 months and could not take on another job so I had to refuse those. That was from Jan. 2019 to May 2019. I don't get invites any longer.

tlbp · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
Same here. I used to get invites, but I was working 40 hours already for another client for 5 months and could not take on another job so I had to refuse those. That was from Jan. 2019 to May 2019. I don't get invites any longer.

I cannot verify, but I suspect that you are more likely to receive invites if you are actively sending proposals. It is possible that I am just paying more attention to my invite rate when I am actively looking though. Are you sending a few proposals each week?

petra_r · ‎07-21-2019

Tonya P wrote:
Melinda M wrote:
Same here. I used to get invites, but I was working 40 hours already for another client for 5 months and could not take on another job so I had to refuse those. That was from Jan. 2019 to May 2019. I don't get invites any longer.
I cannot verify, but I suspect that you are more likely to receive invites if you are actively sending proposals.

That is a fact, especially if you hadn't applied for a while.

The algorithm much reckon that when you apply, you must want work.

martina_plaschka · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
I have three pages of proposals dating back twenty days ago. I did have seven pages but cleaned it up because there were jobs from a month to two months ago. I have checked on those proposals and the client has looked at their proposals three days ago or four days ago, says interviewing two or six invites sent but doesn't say they hired anyone, so I assume the job is still open. That being written, WHY are the clients sitting on the job postings the NOT not moving forward to the hiring process? It was my impression they are here to find someone for the position at hand.

Any thoughts, experience, or knowledge of this is appreciated.

You can really weed out those clients by only applying to jobs with: a very high hiring rate, a reasonable history with good feedback both ways, a good clear job description, and whatever other criteria you might apply. After a short time you will be able to read between the lines, and the client that never hires will be in the 1% range of your proposals.

sergio-soria · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote:
Does Upwork Corporate office know about these terrible freelancers that make it impossible for us good honest people... Does Upwork give a **bleep** that this kind of stuff is hurting the honest people that are truly looking to get a long term position and work hard at it. Why don't they weed out these horrible people.

I don't think they care. However, if clients find that invitation limit as an obstacle to get their job done and get proposals only from those terrible freelancers Upwork may think some more about it and may go back with that decision of charging for invitations. They are starting to harm clients and that's worrisome. If clients go somewhere else Upwork will need to take some other actions, not only to charge.

kat303 · ‎07-21-2019

Melinda M wrote -I did have seven pages but cleaned it up because there were jobs from a month to two months ago.

Has something changed? It wasn't too long ago that jobs with no activity were automatically closed after 30 days. Now after sending proposals I see jobs open 1, 2 and even 3 months with no activity.

erinvega2016 · ‎07-21-2019

What I've heard from a couple of my clients is that they have gone to other freelancing sites for cheaper rates. They were not satisfied with the work and so they didn't have to repost the project they already had a pool of proposals or in my case, they had interviewed with me and just left without a word. An example is a client had interviewed me, left me hanging. I left proposal sit and followed up twice with the client. Not hearing back from the client, I still let the proposal sit. 2 months later the client out of the blue contacted me. He had gone to another site for a cheaper rate but the worker didn't know what they claimed they knew.

But I can tell you that I have had up to 10 pages of proposals and have been frustrated because I feel that if a client is posting for the project then they must need it done rather quickly. So why sit on the proposal? Or hey better yet, how about Upwork figure out how to add a quick response for clients that if not interested they just send a quick message.

tlbp · ‎07-21-2019

Erin V wrote:
What I've heard from a couple of my clients is that they have gone to other freelancing sites for cheaper rates. They were not satisfied with the work and so they didn't have to repost the project they already had a pool of proposals or in my case, they had interviewed with me and just left without a word. An example is a client had interviewed me, left me hanging. I left proposal sit and followed up twice with the client. Not hearing back from the client, I still let the proposal sit. 2 months later the client out of the blue contacted me. He had gone to another site for a cheaper rate but the worker didn't know what they claimed they knew.
But I can tell you that I have had up to 10 pages of proposals and have been frustrated because I feel that if a client is posting for the project then they must need it done rather quickly. So why sit on the proposal? Or hey better yet, how about Upwork figure out how to add a quick response for clients that if not interested they just send a quick message.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your feature suggestions, but I believe Upwork already gives clients the option to send rejected candidates a message--they can even check a box indicating one of several reasons for the rejection.