HELP!!!!

[#1]

I have submitted over 20+ proposals without an interview or job offer, can someone please provide me with pointers? Or even review my profile? I'm frustrated! 

[#2]

Brian, just from glancing at your profile my guess would be that you are not getting expressions of interest from clients because you have no work history on Upwork (you are a new freelancer), yet your rate is set at $150/hr. Perhaps this is standard rate in your industry, but without a history of positive reviews it might be hard to get started at that level.

[#3]

Thank you for the response! The reason for a higher rate is due to 20+
years of work experience, I can make a reduction rate hopefully that will
help.

[#4]

Brian, first of all it usually takes a lot more than 20 proposals to land an initial job on Upwork and, with your hourly rate, it could take a lot longer. But - why on earth is your profile written in the third person? And why does it talk all about yourself instead of what you can do for a client? In addition, I have no idea if there is a big need on Upwork for the work you do.

[#5]

Thank you for the suggestion, yes there are a lot of work on upwork! And I
made changes in my profile that you recommended. Thank you again!

[#6]

Are you applying to fixed rate or hourly jobs? When I first started I think I did my first gig for 25 bucks and my second for 300 just to get a couple of jobs on my profile because even though I had 20 years experience, clients seem to like to see Upwork experience and a Job Success Score before they start sending invitations and hiring.

 I would try to land some fixed rate contracts if I were you and be creative and selective with your proposals. I always explained that although I didn't have much Upwork experience I had tons of real world experience.

[#7]

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Brian B wrote:
Thank you for the suggestion, yes there are a lot of work on upwork! And I
made changes in my profile that you recommended.

---

You need to take another look at your overview. Even leaving the glaring English mistakes aside, it really doesn't help clients understand what it is you are offering, let alone why they should pay $ 100 an hour for it.

[#8]

To be constructive, I don't see much in your profile that states what you have accomplished, no real achievements. Tell a one (or two) paragraph story of the impact you made on clients, how you were succesful and specifically how it benefited the client. Is it possible to put $ to your claims of greatness, like "I saved the client $14 billion in lost revenue by finding a missing firewall setting"? Try to stay away from what a politicion would promise and tell how you made clients successful in the past. Supposedly, "past behavior is a predictor of future success".

My $.03 worth.

[#9]

Thank you! Please tell me where I can put this type of information?

[#10]

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Brian B wrote:
Thank you! Please tell me where I can put this type of information?

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Robert is absolutely right.

The place to put that is to replace your current overview with something client-centric, which describes how hiring you will benefit the clients.

[#11]

In your profile, as close to the beginning as possible. You will probably only get about 1 paragraph read by clients at first glance.

[#12]

Perfect, thank you so much!

[#13]

Hello Brian.  I see you hail from Frisco, Tx.  I am a Texas Aggie.  Talk about a disadvantage.  (lol...)

I noticed your work history: Lockheed Martin.  My brother worked in the Ft. plant for 20 years.  Know the company.  Nine years of experience at a company like Lockheed is hard to translate into Upwork-styled credentials.  As is your private industry work.   I see a power-packed resume.  A lot of hiring clients might not get it.  There are tactics to fix this.

I offer this.  Rather than do this blog-chat stuff.  Which has value, yet it is limited.  Please send me a private email.  From there, I will establish a personal dialog with you, and provide my best counsel and guidance through a working relationship.   I do this for a new contractor or two each year, as a thank-you back to Upwork.  Why?  Because no one did this for me.

Let's take a holistic look at your profile, how you present yourself.  I'd like to see your letters of application and let's talk about building up a portfolio.  We can make this a one-month project.  Next year, when you are strong and producing vital wins on the platform.  Pass it on.

I'll share my profile with you when I get the private email.

John.

[#14]

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John B wrote:

   I do this for a new contractor or two each year, as a thank-you back to Upwork.  Why?  Because no one did this for me.

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You must not have come to the forums and asked for help--in three years, I've never seen anyone do that and not get assistance from several established freelancers. 

[#15]

I have attended all informational sessions by upwork and got nothing... I
just want this work out.

[#16]

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Brian B wrote:
I have attended all informational sessions by upwork and got nothing... I
just want this work out.

---

Upwork's advice is not intended for established professionals. Honestly, some of it is counterproductive for beginners, but it definitely doesn't apply to someone with a strong background in his/her field.

One clear example: Upwork repeatedly advises freelancers to open their proposals with a greeting. However, when the client sees the list of proposals, only the first two lines of the proposal are displayed. So,those who waste that space with pleasantries miss the opportunity to open with a hook, and their proposals may never be opened.

[#17]

Thank you so much! You can contact me at **Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#18]

He has an IT firm in nyc. I’m sure this will turn out well.

[#19]

Thank you very much! I really would like this to be a place for me to ongoing engagements. 

[#20 · Accepted solution]

Brian, Upwork will not allow the exchange of personal emails or phone numbers.   I believe there is a facility within here where one can send a private message.  That comes into our Forum email box.  If you will figure out how to do this -- I will get your message -- and we can connect from there.  It would be a thrill to work with you through your start up time frame on Upwork.

Here are a couple key pieces of information.

One your rate:  $150 - it was.  I think you just changed it to $100 based on forum advice.  That is certainly one's discretion.  Here's a good path to take.  Upwork provides a 'premium' service (or something of that name).  It is $15 a month or so.   With it, we get some extra connections, but the key value is this.  For each proposal sent -- Upwork will display the competing contractor's highest bid (rate), the average bid (rate) and lowest bid (rate).  With this service, you can check what is being bid on the work you want, and not so very much guess at rate.

Also, and this is key.  The first step I would recommend you take:  distill down, from your past career, eight to ten projects or work efforts with specific deliverables.   From this, you can literally build up your profile portfolio.  There is no rule from Upwork that indicates our portfolio work has to be delivered solely on the Upwork platform.  As long as the work is true-and-done, it is fair game for portfolio listing.  With your decades-class experience and about 20 hours of time, you can deploy a portfolio of past work that provides a crushing competitive advantage.

Just a couple tricks of the trade. There are more.

[#21]

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John B wrote:

One your rate:  $150 - it was.  I think you just changed it to $100 based on forum advice.  That is certainly one's discretion.  Here's a good path to take.  Upwork provides a 'premium' service (or something of that name).  It is $15 a month or so.   With it, we get some extra connections, but the key value is this.  For each proposal sent -- Upwork will display the competing contractor's highest bid (rate), the average bid (rate) and lowest bid (rate).  With this service, you can check what is being bid on the work you want, and not so very much guess at rate.

Then again, as a seasoned professional, being influenced by bit rates without knowing the credentials of those bidding may be the very last thing you want to do. Most jobs get low-ballers and people desperate to get jobs on the board, and a lot of those bids are from people who are not qualified, or who may have some qualifications but not be on the same level as someone with your years of experience.

Presumably you want clients who are more interested in quality than the best price, so why compete on price? Many of my Upwork clients tell me mine was the highest bid they received, and I've heard the same from other successful freelancers here. If you have a service to sell and know its value, price it appropriately and let clients decide whether it's worth the price. The ones who recognize that it is are the ones you want to work with.

[#22]

I went back and forth on my rate and felt like $150 was high but $100 was
too low given 20+ years of experience that I have. LOL! so I changed it to
$120.

[#23]

One other technique.  Upwork has a past work history (employment in your circumstance), but it not particularly well suited to explain, in concise format, the exact depth and responsibilities of your work.

As a quick step, develop a professional resume.  Yours can carry two pages, easily.  Then, using your portfolio, you can install it for clients to easily see.  Also, it will be handy to include in your proposals, as an attachment.

For people rolling in from industry or corporate work -- having an 'old school' resume specifically prepared for inclusion in the portfolio and as proposal attachments -- creates significant competitive advantage.

Resume, have it prepared professionally, have it read and at hand for the competitions you can surely win if you position yourself correctly.  And that is all this is.  Just position yourself correctly.  Quirky-different doing that online through this platform than in the corporate lives from which we hail.

[#24]

I have provided potential clients with a copy of my resume as part of my proposal.  I will condense it down to two pages maybe that will help as well.  

[#25]

I am going to disagree to some extent of the idea of the resume. I am not a client so I really don't know what makes them choose a freelancer, but, my general experience is that a formatted resume that lists your your work experience, like dates and positions, isn't that helpful. That doesn't say anything how you have skills or how you can help a client. Don't get me wrong, I do have a resume type listing, but it is just as part of my profile and I would never include it in a proposal.

As serveral have said, focus on what you can do and how you have done it before that showed success that is a benefit. No platitudes, "just the facts, ma'am"

I am up to $.04 worth of advice now.