Connects

[hoverlyn]

Why connects didn't refund when the job post is closed or expired? even the client did not hire anyone.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Damijan K wrote:

It is a good way to earn additional profit, but not really freelancer-friendly while the supposed solution is to even spend more by boosting the proposals which can also end up not being read. 

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Yes, the intention was to earn additional profits, so obviously they're not going to give refunds, since that would defeat the purpose. "Freelancer friendly" is not a priority. If a business has a lot of demand for their services, they can raise their prices and not care if some people leave. I do the same myself. And when my expenses go up, I also raise my prices, since that's the only way that I can stay in business.

Honestly, I don't know how so many people manage to be freelancers at all if their profits are so small that they can't afford marketing costs. My software subscriptions alone cost me nearly $100 per month, Internet another $30, I pay for a co-working space/networking club, an accountant to help with my taxes, bi-yearly computer upgrades, etc., and those costs go up every year, along with my rent and utilities and just about everything else that I buy. How are the rest of you paying for such things, if you're not raising your prices to cover your expenses?

[3831f3e0]

Hi

[08c7e44f]

Please, do Sir. We will be glad.

[dcapdevielle]

This is the solution for clients that do not close jobs
TIME LIMIT FOR THE HIRING PROCESS

There should be a limit  of time for the hiring process.( Any time, the client can select that limit) After that if no one is hired connects go back to Applicants.

[8e0d4752]

When Clients don't hire anyone in a job then its purely the wastage of our connects (money). Why don't Upwork returns our connects when there is no hiring in a job !! Why we'll pay for the jobs when there is no hiring ?

[LuiggiR]

Hi Subrata,

I'm very sorry to hear you feel this way. Connects are only returned if a project is canceled by the client without making a hire or if a job post has been removed due to a TOS violation. You may check this help article to learn more. 

Thank you.

[saifyfyfy]

Hey Upwork Support team, 

I hope you guys are having an awesome Monday. I got a few notification requests regarding jobs that I applied for but they were closed or archived. 

The jobs did not hire anyone and I have not received any connects refunded or credited to my account. 

Can someone please look into this and update me accordingly? I will appreciate it. 

Thank you!

Best Regards, 

Saif A. 

[JoanneP]

Hi Saif,

Sometimes, a project may get cancelled or a job may be removed from Upwork without a hire. In the following cases, these Connects will be returned:

• If a project is canceled by the client before a contract is made, Connects you used on that proposal will be returned. This does not apply to expired job posts.
• If we remove a project’s post because we believe it violates our Terms of Service, Connects you used on that proposal will be returned.

In these cases, Connects are credited back to your account for reuse -- not for a refund of their cash value. You can learn more about it here. 

[06a5f600]

My question was how to identify such jobs so that we can avoid applying to them in order to save the connects

[martina_plaschka]

By not applying when the hiring rate is below 80%, or maybe 90%, 

[ibrahimsaad25]

Hi, when I propose from my agency profile to a job, and then get interviewed, 10 connects is given back to me, my question is that, why the connects go to my individual profile and not to the agency profile?

I would like this connects return back to the agency , thanks

[JoanneP]

Hi Ibrahim,

Could you please share the job posts you're referring to so I can check this for you? You can send them to me via PM. 

[colettelewis]

Your connects are only refunded if the client him/herself closes the post, or if Upwork closes it when it is in violation of Upwork's ToS. Otherwise, your connects are renewed every month, or they are returned if you reply to an offer and get an interview (even if you don't get the job). 

[abaioumy]

 My Current Billing Cycle 

May 24, 2022 — Jun 23, 2022

[JoanneP]

Hi Ahmed,

Please allow for time for the Connects to be automatically added to your account. If after 24 hours the Connects are still reflected in your account, kindly let us know so we can look into this for you. 

[morrisonanele]

Every New month am being given 10 free connects from upwork to use and submit proposals but these month of july am quiet surprise that till now i havent recieve the monthly free 10 connects please can someone tell me what the problem is or is there any issues with my upwork account

[PradeepH]

Hi Morrison, 

Thank you for your message. I'll have one of our customer support agents reach out to you directly and assist you further.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[arsalan-m]

Hi,

I have 2 concerns regarding connects which i want to ask:

1- If client invites me on one of their jobs & i reply back, will i get 10 connects reward as i usually get to answer interviews on regular jobs?

2- I have applied to many jobs earlier but many clients left it open, neither hired someone nor closed the job, after a month the job expired & my proposal went to archive but i didn't receive any connect refund, i read the forum & they said connects will only be refunded when either client deletes the job without a hire or the upwork platform deletes it. That's unfair, not every client is aware of this, they are unintentionally wasting our connects if they change their mind & spammers are also at the peak posting fake jobs, if the job get expired without a hire freelancers should get their connects back. Platform should consider refunding the connects on job expiry.  Correct me if i'm wrong.

Thanks

[luqman_mak]

1. You only get connects for interviewing to a job that you submitted a proposal to. No connects for jobs you were invited to.
2. Yes, you only get connects back if the job post was against ToS or was closed by the client. 

[the-right-writer]

2. Why is it unfair? The clients don't care if you are spending .15 per connect. No one guarantees you a job, here or in the physical world. The last thing we need is more connects. The platform is swimming in them along with unqualified freelancers, which hurts all of us.

The client really doesn't care about your connects, and I doubt they are intentionally wasting them because they don't care.

There are far too many ways to get connects as it is on this platform! Upwork needs to make it more difficult to get connects, not easier. The more people applying for jobs they are not qualified for and will never be hired for hurts everyone. Many, many, many fewer connects is the answer.

[arsalan-m]

No one is asking client to care about our connect neither any of us asks for a guarantee. It's upto the skill, communication, cost & many other factors counted to win the job. Secondly, the word was "unintentional" not intentional. If you could see i am not questioning clients here but asking the platform to favor Freelancers "only" if the job gets expired.

When the posted job get expired, no one is benefitted. Every platform has both skilled & non-skilled workers but it doesn't mean that the ones who actually know their business should bear their load. It's upto to the client who they interview, test & hire. Your profile, skill & review plays an important role i believe.

You're in the same queue until client indentifies & approach you as their required & qualified resource. You never know how many "unqualified" proposals client has received. Decreasing connects for everyone or complexing the process doesn't guarantee that the skilled one will get the job. 

[the-right-writer]

You wrote, " 2- I have applied to many jobs earlier, but many clients left it open, neither hired someone nor closed the job, after a month the job expired & my proposal went to archive, but i didn't receive any connect refund"

That is correct.

"i read the forum & they said connects will only be refunded when either client deletes the job without a hire or the upwork platform deletes it."

That is correct.

"That's unfair,"

No, it is not. The requirements and rules cover all freelancers.

"not every client is aware of this"

As I said, the clients don't care about your connects or what you pay for them.

" they are unintentionally wasting our connects if they change their mind"

Again, they don't care about the connects and are not thinking about them.

"& spammers are also at the peak posting fake jobs,"

True

"if the job get expired without a hire freelancers should get their connects back. Platform should consider refunding the connects on job expiry. Correct me if i'm wrong."

Your logic is faulty. While you see more connects as helping you get a job, they are not because the platform is inundated with free connects. Therefore, many freelancers are using connects they have gamed from the platform by using fake jobs from their friends and getting more connects. This flood of free connects, and interview connects is destabilizing the marketplace.

You may like getting free connects, but that doesn't help you when everyone is getting free connects and can apply and apply for jobs they are not qualified for, clogging the system and angering clients who can't find a decent proposal in the swamp of applicants.

[arsalan-m]

Let client decide this who they think are qualified for their job. I see nowadays upto 50% jobs has invites on them, noticing this atleast in my category (genuine clients) & they prefer interviewing their invited resource first most of them get hired as well. So client has already made up their mind & they prefer them over the others, unless something goes other way with their invited resource. So i dont see the logic behind your approach.

I wouldn't disagree with you completely but you should see that Upwork has already taken a major to control proposal's overflow by increasing the no. of connects you need to send your proposal which is vary for each job. It's not about getting "Free Connects" but  "Refunding" it so we can re-utilize them.

I didn't ask to refund if we don't win the job that logic might be faulty as it doesn't make sense, but what I'm asking, does! atleast to me.

That's it!

[AveryO]

Thank you for reaching out, Arsalan. 

Submitting a proposal has a financial cost, just like the other expenses you incur as a freelancer running your own business. If a client never hires but doesn’t close the job, your Connects is not returned. In this situation, we continue to encourage the client to hire or close the job, but ask that you consider the cost of Connects as part of your business expenses.

[arsalan-m]

Hi Avery,

That's exactly what i do. But in my opinion platform should consider refunding the proposal as freelancers already bear much expense from wining the job till getting the cash in hand/bank. That's what i was saying.

Thanks!

[aranasroan24]

Hi - According to my membership connects, I should be receiving 10 free connects every month. But, as per checking Connects History, I am not receiving any. Is it because I still have available connects? Can you further explain this benefit? Thanks in advance!

[PradeepH]

Hi Roan,

Thank you for your message. I see that your monthly billing cycle starts on the 22nd of every month. You should receive your monthly Connects within 24-48 hours from the start of the monthly cycle. I can see that you have already received monthly Connects for the last 3 months. You can check your Connect History page for more information.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[d9265d82]

Hi Upwork,

Each month I got my free 10 connects but this month I didn't get my free connects nor I got any email for free connects.

Please help.

Thanks.

[PradeepH]

Hi Mehreen,

Thank you for your message. I checked and I see that your monthly billing cycle starts on the 10th of every month. That said, your free monthly Connects will be credited within 24-48 hours to your Upwork account. I see that free monthly Connects for the last month were credited on June 10th.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[cba5b04a]

Hi,

I am not recieving my monthly free connects. Can you please help out with the same?

Thanks.

[759e32fa]

Hi Krishnan,

Thank you for reaching out to us. I checked your account and can confirm that you are receiving your free monthly Connects. They are credited to your account every 20th of the month. You can check your Connects History on this page.

[27e8bd16]

I have upgraded my monthly plan, in the monthly update plan, I should get 80 connections and other benefits at $ 14.99. But after renewing the monthly plan it gave me 76 connects.

What's the problem, why did I get  4 connects less?

[martina_plaschka]

Because they are pro-rated depending on when in the billing cycle you upgrade.

[d3555f0b]

if I withdraw proposal , will I get back my connects. ?

because some clients aren't responsive. 

Advanced Thanks

[martina_plaschka]

No.

[10342110]

Hi! I am very new to Upwork and I don't understand what Connects means. Can someone explain please, thank you in advance.

[AndreaG]

Hi Geraldine,

As a freelancer or agency, you'll use Connects to reach out and let clients know you're interested in their projects. When you find a project you're interested in, you can use Connects to submit a proposal. You can learn all about Understanding and Using Connects here. 

[c25e08b7]

Hi All, 

I am new to Upwork, as the new roads are always bumpy. But one must always keep his head up to tackle the bottlenecks. 

Anyhow, my current billing cycle is as follows:

11-Jun-2022 to 10-July-2022, 

As today is 22-July-2022 and it is already 12 days past since I haven't received my Monthly Free Connects. 

It would really be a helping hand to sort out this mentioned problem. 

Regards,

[PradeepH]

Hi Muhammad,

Thank you for your message. I'll have one of our customer support agents reach out to you directly and assist you further.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[6688031f]

Do we get free connects at the start of the month, like August 1 or July 1?