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Mary's avatar
Mary W Community Member

Connects application rates -- Thoughts

My Upwork acct has just rolled over into the new "pay to play" connects system. While I am unconvinced of Upwork's statements on why these will be "improvements", I am trying to give things a chance. While I complete some jobs, I am looking through my job stream and seeing what kind of rates (of the connects) are being applied to what kinds of jobs. 

 

As suspected, Im definitely seeing some ads that still are getting bombarded with 20-50 applications within a short time.  These same jobs, before the new connect system, definitely gave advantage to the freelancers in countries with a lower cost of living.  Definitely goes against the result that Upwork staff purported during its town hall and explanation of the new system.  While I am taking a more conservative stance on what jobs I apply for, I have felt more liberal in marking more ads as "Budget Too Low" when compared to how often I would do that in the old connects system.  Unfortunatley, between the available flags the "Budget Too Low" designation is the closest choice to apply to this situation.  Really, I figure that for a while, there are going to be mistakes in the connect rate that Upwork staff assesses for jobs.  It would be nice to have a more direct flag to just say "hey, this advert might be requiring an incorrect number of connects for the circumstances and description of this ad" . Again, trying to be patient here and see how things look a month from now.

 

Update: Here is a rundown of the types of sectors my job search and skill set fall into

 

  • 3D Modeling (and some crossover into CAD)
  • Web Design (and specifics to E-commerce websites)
  • Content Management (and related, Data Entry)
  •  *** Between those types of searches and concentration, I also get a bit of product copy writing, and customer service falling into my feed (even If I dont take too many of these jobs on)

One respondant to this thread was correct in that "what I am seeing" may highly depend on what Upwork job categories Im working in.

 

Simply put, I dont think that the analysis of "how many connects to charge" is effective.  Still seeing the same amount of low ball jobs, and the same amount of jobs submitted by those who havent verified payment. I already was disinclined to apply for those before this new system, but Ill tell you... how can they charge 4 connects for such low pay jobs, or for the jobs that have no guarantee of follow through (because payment is not verified).  If there was a "Charging Too Many Connects" flag for ads, I would use that instead.

141 REPLIES 141
Anna's avatar
Anna T Community Member


Rene K wrote:

Anna T wrote:

>Are you saying clients must not be allowed to leave their job posts open if they hire someone even if they want to?

 

For the purpose of this particular conversation, yes. T


Since the client is asked if they want to keep their job open and they said yes, Upwork has no right to close it. The client is the only one who decides if they want to hire more that one person and nobody else. It is up to applicants to decide if they want to send a proposal or not. Is that so hard? Man, many here seem to need babysitters to take them by the hand and help them make life and business decisions.

 


If a client is unable or unwilling to manage their own job posting and Upwork has to make it easy for them, who is babysitting who?

Maria's avatar
Maria T Community Member

Hi Anna,

We have all had to learn how Upwork works, with its failures and successes.
Some have learned in the worst way and others, I am among them, thanks to the forums and people like Petra and Rene (and many others, I do not forget) who, for our benefit, have experience from both sides, freelancer and client.

Kristine's avatar
Kristine S Community Member

No, Maria, it is not about learning, but what is a fair business and what is not. Probably, and just probably, the management of Upwork has to analyze why their stocks are going down and down... What if another reason for this is the way how this business is practised. There are too many unsatisfied parties with Upwork. Too many. And it will definitely sooner or later will influencer even more negatively the business. 

 

And then there is a human factor that seems not to be working in this forum. We SHOULD be helpful, we SHOULD be understanding, we SHOULD be compassionate towards those who find it unfair, who seek for help, who think that the system should be changed. We SHOULD listen to them and not offend them for what they feel and how they perceive it!

Maria's avatar
Maria T Community Member


Kristine S wrote:

No, Maria, it is not about learning, but what is a fair business and what is not. Probably, and just probably, the management of Upwork has to analyze why their stocks are going down and down... What if another reason for this is the way how this business is practised. There are too many unsatisfied parties with Upwork. Too many. And it will definitely sooner or later will influencer even more negatively the business. 

 

And then there is a human factor that seems not to be working in this forum. We SHOULD be helpful, we SHOULD be understanding, we SHOULD be compassionate towards those who find it unfair, who seek for help, who think that the system should be changed. We SHOULD listen to them and not offend them for what they feel and how they perceive it!


Others have answered you, I do it also because you have addressed to me.

You say that human factor is missing?
Precisely that is what there is, and a lot. And precisely the "sarcasm" of Petra is precisely that.
As Rene says, I do not know how all these people who are here trying to help have not "exploited" more often.

So many people who arrive crying (no asking) because they have NOT read the help, they have NOT bothered to look in the forum, NOTHING
OF NOTHING! and then they get offended when what is answered does not coincide with what they expect or is answered with "sarcasm" or "boredom".

 

And by the way, do you have any fixation with Petra? There are some more of the "inhuman" around here Robot Happy

Kristine's avatar
Kristine S Community Member

And I will repeat it again, though my comment is deleted already 3 times. 

 

I am "fixated" with bullies. As a homosexual person, I have experienced a lot of bullying and I will fight against it also in this forum. 

 

You said that it is ok to use sarcasm here. "A sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain?" why, just because of the boredom, just because of impatience? 

Vladimir's avatar
Vladimir G Community Manager

Hi Kristine,

 

I'm sorry you feel this way and I can assure you we do not tolerate any abusive language in the Community. As you can see, a number of posts have been removed and edited in this thread, and participants notified privately about the reasons for addressing their posts. 

 

I understand your frustration but please do note that our team reviews all comments posted in the forums and will address those which are in violation of our Community Guidelines. Additionally, you can flag any comment you feel might be in violation of the mentioned Guidelines and our team will review it and take action if the violation is confirmed. Lastly, I understand that some of the comments on this thread might come across as being direct but unless they violate the Community Guidelines they will be allowed to remain public.

 

Feel free to send me a private message if you have any concerns you'd like to discuss further and I'll be more than happy to provide more information.

As a reminder for all participants, please keep in mind our Community Guidelines when posting in the forums and refrain from making personal attacks, duplicate or irrelevant/off topic comments. Be respectful and courteous in your discussions and your manner. Thank you.

~ Vladimir
Upwork
Kristine's avatar
Kristine S Community Member

Thank you for sending this. It was and is important to feel the support of Upwork team. 

 

Kind regards,

Kristine

Kelly's avatar
Kelly B Community Member

As far as our personalities go, the U.S. is a very big place and some people have a brusque New England style and others have Southern charm while still others have a relaxed West Coast vibe. The motto in my own little community is "Be Kind."

Roberto's avatar
Roberto S Community Member

Lately I started worring about my proposals more and more since we have to pay for it. I noticed that a lot of offers have these statistics:

  • Proposals: 20-50/50+
  • Interviewing: 0 (when it says so, sometimes it doesn't even appear)
  • Invites sent: 2,3,4, x
  • Hired: 0 or x number

I'm not talking about small numbers, at the moment I found at least 30/100+ (just because I checked only 50) in my archived proposals. I mean, it's perfectly natural for a client to hire whoever they want, but we should not be able to send a paid proposal to somebody who's going not to interview a single person picked out from a pool of 50+, especially if they just decided to hire nobod or just the ones they sent the invitation to. If it was a small number of archived proposals it wouldn't have been a problem, but for the moment my personal number is alarming.

And the worst situation is about the submitted proposals, here you can see an example:

 

  • Proposals: 20-50/50+
  • Interviewing: 0 (when it says so, sometimes it doesn't even appear)
  • Invites sent: 0 or x number
  • Hired: 0
  • Last viewed by the client: 25+ days ago

By 25+ days ago I mean that if they decided to post on May 1st, they forgot about their post on May 2nd. On a pool of 20 submitted proposal this happened to me in more than 10 occasions. Still, the clients have the right not to hire anybody, obviously, but the rate at which they don't even care about their jobs have to mean something.
I mean, I accept that I may suck at sending proposals, but here we are talking about jobs with 50+ proposals and 0 interviewed, and clients who clearly don't want to hire anybody or they just want to hire the people they decide to invite. Is this still our fault as some people suggested or is there something a little bit deep? Mind that 99% of the clients I sent proposals to are verified clients with reviews.


Edit: please notice that those jobs which are ignored by the client expire and they don't refund your connects. Like it's our fault if the client decided not to even look at our proposals.


Maria's avatar
Maria T Community Member

Hi Roberto,

I think you'll have to wait to do your statistics again when ALL of us have switched to paid connections.
There are many who still have free connections and, I suppose they will be making their last attempts to "catch" something before they start paying.
Regarding what you say about clients who have not reviewed the job post many days ago, it is annoying, but I have learned not to look at the works once I have submitted the proposal. I forget so much that, when a client contacted me more than a month after I submitted a proposal, I had to quickly review the work because I did not remember anything about it Woman Happy
So, you better relax on this, and let's take some time for this new implementation to stabilize. Afterwards we will discuss what is happening (about two months?), Which we will surely have to discuss Woman Wink
Keep doing it so well!

Roberto's avatar
Roberto S Community Member


Maria T wrote:

Hi Roberto,

I think you'll have to wait to do your statistics again when ALL of us have switched to paid connections.
There are many who still have free connections and, I suppose they will be making their last attempts to "catch" something before they start paying.
Regarding what you say about clients who have not reviewed the job post many days ago, it is annoying, but I have learned not to look at the works once I have submitted the proposal. I forget so much that, when a client contacted me more than a month after I submitted a proposal, I had to quickly review the work because I did not remember anything about it Woman Happy
So, you better relax on this, and let's take some time for this new implementation to stabilize. Afterwards we will discuss what is happening (about two months?), Which we will surely have to discuss Woman Wink
Keep doing it so well!


It's still diffcult for me to navigate this forum, it's incredibly confusional, so I do apologize in advance if you were not answering to me.

That's exactly what I did until yesterday, it all started with one of my submitted proposal sent 1 year ago. I contacted the support and they promptly answered that the job was cancelled and it expired, but the statistics 0,0,0 (it's what I like to call them) startled me. Basically I sent a proposal more than 1 year ago, the client didn't bother to answer anybody and my connects were not refunded, since they don't refund anything if the job expires. But why is it? It's not our fault (50+ proposals) if the client didn't bother to look at the proposal.

Maria's avatar
Maria T Community Member

Well, I really would not review a proposal sent a year ago!
You know the rules and, from what I see in your profile, you know how to use them.
So, do not go crazy, be glad when, suddenly 2, 5 or 6 connections appear in your account. In the meantime, I'm afraid you will not be able to do anything.
Upwork does not seem to intend to change this.

Kholleras's avatar
Kholleras I Community Member


Roberto S wrote:

Basically I sent a proposal more than 1 year ago, the client didn't bother to answer anybody and my connects were not refunded, since they don't refund anything if the job expires. But why is it?

Probably because Upwork wants fewer proposals sent (fewer returned connects leads to fewer proposals sent).

Jennifer's avatar
Jennifer M Community Member

I have no idea if Upwork is still reading this stuff, but if I may make a suggestion since we're now paying for connects and the goal is to limit proposals.

 

Just came across a job today that I *think* I applied to before but I'm not sure. Sometimes when you stick to a certain section, a lot of jobs look similar. I think it's a repost of the same job the guy already hired another freelancer for and apparently is looking for someone else. But if I already applied, I don't want to apply again because he obviously is not interested in me for whatever reason. It would be nice to know if you've bid on a client's job before (with a reference to the job I applied to) so that I can avoid wasting connects on the same client that is obviously not interest.

 

Didn't really care before because I pay for premium, but I don't want to blow a couple dozen connects on a guy who is obviously not interested in me if he keeps posting the same job at different times.

Roberto's avatar
Roberto S Community Member


Heaven H wrote:

Roberto S wrote:

Basically I sent a proposal more than 1 year ago, the client didn't bother to answer anybody and my connects were not refunded, since they don't refund anything if the job expires. But why is it?

Probably because Upwork wants fewer proposals sent (fewer returned connects leads to fewer proposals sent).


It was of a rhetorical question Smiley Frustrated
Still, from what I see analyzing my proposals, is that it doesn't really matter what I write in it or even if I offer to work for free. What it really matters is if the client has the initial intention of hiring somebody through proposals or through invites (or not hire at all). 
And this is something freelancers could see only after 1-2 weeks after the job offer has been made.

There are many things Upwork should be more clear about. I know that the client is always right but since we pay Upwork we are their clients too.

I'm in no position to suggest any ideas and I'm really not good at it, but how about a "Proposals read by the client: X" like a "read" message that any instant messaging platforms has out there. If I see that there are more than 50 prosals on a job and the client read only 2 in 1 day that's gonna help a lot in deciding if I should send a proposal or not.

Phyllis's avatar
Phyllis G Community Member


Anna T wrote:

Rene K wrote:

Anna T wrote:

>Are you saying clients must not be allowed to leave their job posts open if they hire someone even if they want to?

 

For the purpose of this particular conversation, yes. T


Since the client is asked if they want to keep their job open and they said yes, Upwork has no right to close it. The client is the only one who decides if they want to hire more that one person and nobody else. It is up to applicants to decide if they want to send a proposal or not. Is that so hard? Man, many here seem to need babysitters to take them by the hand and help them make life and business decisions.

 


If a client is unable or unwilling to manage their own job posting and Upwork has to make it easy for them, who is babysitting who?


The client IS managing their own job posting by deciding when and whether to close it or keep it open. It's absurd to force clients to manage their posts in a way to accommodate FLs who can't be bothered to pay attention to all of the details on the screen.

 

Frankly, anyone who can't take responsbility for attention to detail is not going to have long-term (or, probably, short-term) success as a FL and the platform is better off not trying to cater to those people.

Petra's avatar
Petra R Community Member


Anna T wrote:

It’s pretty easy to say this when you’re sitting on the other side of the fence and it’s not your time, effort or money-


What "other side?" Of what fence? Which "side of the fence" are you trying to declare me to be on?

 

Do you think I've not wasted connects by not paying attention?

I've even accepted jobs without paying attention. And paid for it. I just don't bleat about suffering the consequences of my mistakes.

 

Whenever I make a mistake like that I pay more attention for a while.

 


Anna T wrote:

I have to consider the source on this remark and respectfully leave it there.

And what is that supposed to mean?

 

I have to agree with Rene. This isn't kindergarten where we need a nanny to hold our hands so we don't click on a button without thinking.

 

Kristine's avatar
Kristine S Community Member

I do understand that all of you have passionate opinions. Come on, but keep these offences to yourself! What are all these expressions "babysitting", this and that? 

You know, Petra, let me tell you honestly, even if you might be brilliant at your job, I would never hire you after seeing how you go through this forum like a tornado, sweeping people away and out.. 

Pat's avatar
Pat M Community Member

Kristine, I sincerely do understand where you're coming from. In fact when I was newly active to the forum; after reading/viewing for quite sometime prior, I posted regarding rudeness...of FL's here.

 

Needless to say, as the years have passed I understand it much better.  IMO Rene has provided you with an excellent explanation of why it occurs.

 

We're all individuals and as such have different personalities; as in the brick and mortar world. There are a few here with personalities you're referring to. However, most of them are professionals and have an abundance of knowledge to share. If people overlook the personalities, much can be learned.

Rene's avatar
Rene K Community Member


Kristine S wrote:

**Edited for Community Guidelines**


In all honesty, one can do that only so much before going nuts here. Petra spends a lot of time guiding newbies and answering questions and there are so many people who just can't handle their business. They need Upwork to hold them by the hand and when they become argumentative, I can understand how regulars can be POed. Me included.

 

Sometimes I feel like telling some people to just get the **Edited for Community Guidelines** out of here if they don't like Upwork and to find another place to work. And to moan. And then, I shut my big mouth because I know that others may genuinely need some help and that people who already made all kinds of mistakes, like me, can share their experience so it helps others avoid them. But FLers who are demonstrating a total lack of business management skills and who come here to moan makes it hard not to lose one's temper.

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless
Reinier's avatar
Reinier B Community Member

I must say that I am confused by Kristine's problem.

 

For instance, and judging by most of the excellent feed back she had received from clients, she had no problem making tough decisions for these clients, **Edited for Community Guidelines**

Kristine's avatar
Kristine S Community Member

Dear Rene,

 

Let me also answer in all honestly. I guess certain people were nuts already 5 years ago when as a newbie I appeared here, on this portal, and they were as horrible as today. Not more, not less. I think that I would definitely be better than without her comments, as she wrote me then (and I remember it so well) that with my approach to what is fair and what is not, I will definitely not be able to be a freelancer and I should better leave this platform. 

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Kristine's avatar
Kristine S Community Member

Weak and pathetic...

Reinier's avatar
Reinier B Community Member


Kristine S wrote:

Weak and pathetic...


What is? 

Samuel's avatar
Samuel C Community Member

I understand where you're coming from Kristine, but it's almost always the case that people who are frequently mean or sarcastic to others in comments are actually acting out frustrations for their own problems or issues of self-worth in life, try not to think of it as a reflection on you, I usually feel sorry for them, and hope one day they manage to solve their personal issues. We've only got one life, it's not good to waste it on being mean to others or on worrying about what others say about us.