Have lower hire rates coincided with Boosted ...

bugsbyte · ‎03-06-2023

Freelancers, I have been keeping tabs on the forums here, particularly posts of Freelancers bashing the bid-boosting that was implemented end of 2022.

I wanted to share some of my quantitative expereinces since. If other freelancers were to share similar stats, perhaps we can crowd source some trends here, fill in for some of UpWorks lack of transparancy, and generate a foundation to support platform improvements.

Qualitatively, today I was going back through all my old proposals to see how they ended up. Anacdodaly, my experience as of late has been that I get very-very little work from proposals regardless of bosting. I get severl legitamate invitations and many scammy invites. Private messages are few and far between, and none have ever panned out. In summary, the only work I do get is from invites, so buying connects and boosting is irrelavant.

I began activly managing UpWork platform upwork about 20 months ago in 2021

I did acheive "Rising Talent" badge in 2022 and later in the year a "Top Talent" badge

Looking at my "Total Jobs" number on my pofile page, I have 39 jobs.

Adding up all the proposals, weather "Active", "Submitted", "Archived" or "Archived Interviews" counts up to 546 proposals.

That makes for about a 14% success rate for a proposal that turns into a accepted offer. Adjusting this for projects that are closed in advance of work start, this number would be lower. Anacdodally, considering that my offers have slowed near the end of 2022, the success rate might be trending towards 10% or lower.

Looking at my stats then Analytics I show that I am interviewed and hired "More often" (line looks to be about 70%) than Freelancers like me in the "IT & Networking" field.

The part that I found enlightening today was that the vast majority of the jobs i submitted for, have closed with out hires or the Freelance has not billed time against. I would like to go back on all my proposed jobs and check if they've been closed by hiring, expiring or not billed.

This is particularly upsetting when the UpWork platform restructures to sell more connects. Why focus on connects instead of matching legitamate projects for hire to talented and dedicated Freelancers.

Why are there so many scammy, low ball or generaly unrealistic projects out there getting dozens of proposals and dozens of Boosted bids?

Ironically the "Top Talent Plus" badge requires a job billing $10k or more - I have never seen an amount like that in a project post nor even in Freelancer billings when looking at feedback.

Please share you metrics and let us all know if you are tracking better than a 10% success rate in your field.

tlsanders · ‎03-06-2023

"Ironically the "Top Talent Plus" badge requires a job billing $10k or more - I have never seen an amount like that in a project post nor even in Freelancer billings when looking at feedback."

I don't know how it is in other fields, but the vast majority of my contracts that have exceeded $5,000 have started out as single orders and turned into either recurring monthly billings or a client who just comes back and adds a new milestone as needed over time.

bugsbyte · ‎03-06-2023

Hi Tiffinay! thank yolu for sharing your experience.

What have you ben seeing as your proposal success rate since the start of the Boosing process? better or worse?

tlsanders · ‎03-07-2023

It seems like it might be a bit lower, but my "rates" don't really have statistical significance over such a short period of time, since I rarely send more than five proposals in a month, and often send none.

celgins · ‎03-06-2023

Kevin,

I think a lot of folks here are trending in the same direction as you.

This is particularly upsetting when the UpWork platform restructures to sell more connects.

Upwork is a business with the same goals most businesses have: make more money than you spend and keep your shareholders, investors, and other stakeholders, happy. Even though Upwork has never formally stated that Connects are designed to extract more money out of freelancers, it's quite obvious.

Why focus on connects instead of matching legitamate projects for hire to talented and dedicated Freelancers.

I think Upwork focuses on Connects because it generates income, which might help Upwork minimize the pain they encounter when client-spend decreases. I think it is much easier for Upwork to squeeze more money from freelancers than to attract new clients.

Why are there so many scammy, low ball or generaly unrealistic projects out there getting dozens of proposals and dozens of Boosted bids?

Only Upwork can truly answer for the scammy jobs, but I think it's due to a low barrier for entry. Clients can post jobs without too many restrictions.

For those dozens of proposals submitted to scammy jobs, I think it includes a mix of three types of proposals:

Bots that automatically bid and boost for jobs based on keyword/skill
Unqualified freelancers who are bidding because they are desperate
Qualified freelancers who legitimately bid for jobs based on their experience

I have never seen an amount like that in a project post nor even in Freelancer billings when looking at feedback.

I have. There are plenty of high-powered gurus and experts who command that amount and higher, and they get it. They receive invites a lot and probably don't submit proposals as much anymore. And like Tiffany said, some of those jobs start out as a single contract and balloon into longer term deals.

To answer your overall question: Have lower hire rates coincided with Boosted bidding? I think the lower hire rates are due to several factors, and Boosting is just one of them. Consider these:

Upwork added more than 2 million freelancers over the past year or so. That means more competition, which could translate to lower hire rates.
Upwork lost $89.9 million dollars in 2022. I think that was driven, in part, by a loss of clientele. That means fewer jobs across the platform, which could mean lower hire rates.
Upwork noted in its recent Financial Results and Forecasts for 2023 that clients are taking longer to make purchasing decisions due to the macroeconomic conditions. That means fewer job postings, fewer hires, and lower hire rates.
Boosted bidding is crowding out many freelancers.

I do think hiring rates are lower, but I think it’s a combination of things—not just the Boosting feature.

bugsbyte · ‎03-07-2023

Of course I get that the UpWork platform is a business, and what that means.

What I am posing here is that UpWork is shooting itself in the foot and looking to Freelancers as a crutch. It realizes that it is failing to match clients with talent so it prioritizes policies on connects rather than commissions.

Furhter I get that the business follows the money - as it flows from Client to Freelancer, it is the Freelancer's pocket that is ripe for UpWork to pick. By ripe, I intend to infer the easy option.

in my orginal post where I said:
"This is particularly upsetting when the UpWork platform restructures to sell more connects. Why focus on connects instead of matching legitamate projects for hire to talented and dedicated Freelancers."

To the point of the platform being a business and the above preioritizing the focus...

Connects cost about $0.19 with the subscription and about $0.16 when purchased. The average jub requires 2-6 connects to submit a proposal. At the high end it may take 50-connects to win the Boosted bid. Thats about a worst case cost of $9.18 for a typical project in the "IT Networking & Administration" category.

If I were to win a project, and pay upworks lower commission for "Top Talent" badge at my rate, the platform would be getting $16 in the first hour billed. Thats 75% more profitable in the first hour.

So again, UpWork being a buisiness, motivated by profit, "Why focus on connects instead of matching legitamate projects for hire to talented and dedicated Freelancers."?

celgins · ‎03-07-2023

So again, UpWork being a buisiness, motivated by profit, "Why focus on connects instead of matching legitamate projects for hire to talented and dedicated Freelancers."?

I believe my previous response still holds: Upwork focuses on Connects because it generates income, which might help them minimize the pain they encounter when client-spend decreases. And I think the word “instead” is the issue here.

During its Financial Results and Forecasts for 2023, Upwork noted that it is focusing on generating more revenue from existing clients versus adding new clients in the first half of the year. So, it's not like Upwork has decreased its focus on client-spend to instead, focus on Connects; Upwork is focusing on generating income from clients and Connects. Client-spend is and will always be the most important income-generator for Upwork.

With regards to "...matching legitamate projects for hire to talented and dedicated Freelancers," It depends on what you mean by "matching." Upwork is a platform that facilitates the client/freelancer exchange, and Upwork collects fees in between. Most of the matching occurs between freelancers and clients:

freelancers match their skills/qualifications to jobs by searching and bidding
clients match their requirements to freelancers by reviewing bids and profiles, or reviewing profiles/histories and sending Invites.

I think Upwork’s matching endeavors are miminal--especially for freelancers that are not Top-Rated, Top-Rated Plus and Expert-Vetted. However, Upwork does some minimal work by matching freelancer’s to jobs for which they qualify (i.e., based on the freelancer’s profile settings). I receive those "Here are a new jobs you may be interested in" emails often. Outside of this, Upwork is a marketplace where we (freelancers and clients) do most of the matching (i.e., bidding, reviewing, vetting, and selling).

atreglia · ‎03-06-2023

Kevin B wrote:
The part that I found enlightening today was that the vast majority of the jobs i submitted for, have closed with out hires or the Freelance has not billed time against.

This is particularly upsetting when the UpWork platform restructures to sell more connects. Why focus on connects instead of matching legitamate projects for hire to talented and dedicated Freelancers.

Why are there so many scammy, low ball or generaly unrealistic projects out there getting dozens of proposals and dozens of Boosted bids?

Please share you metrics and let us all know if you are tracking better than a 10% success rate in your field.

Exactly, this has been my argument since boosting began. Around here, connects are dangled around like the begin-all, end-all to solving the incredulous freelancer bloat; except this time UW is making some booku bucks off our backs and they like it. Consequently, I don't hold out much hope for success of the current boosting binge because, to me, it's only a matter of time before people get tired of subsidizing insanity. They can call it an "advertising expense" till the cows come home, but it doesn't change what it really is.

In total, my conversion rate was around 10% prior to boosting. However, without going back and doing the math it would be safe to say that I had a much higher conversion after I my first year once I got the general idea of vetting clients. Currently it's zero.

Unlike you, I rarely get an invite and if I do its usually about testing an app for five bucks. I have had one profile view within the last few weeks and zero proposals have been viewed since the beginning of the year. Needless to say, I have half a foot out the door with the other one not far behind if things don't lighten up around here.

bugsbyte · ‎03-07-2023

Anna, I am interested in your metric on propsal views. I konw that profile views are shown under "My States" then "Analytics".

But where do you find views on your proposals?

atreglia · ‎03-07-2023

It says "Beta" on mine so not sure if everyone can see their proposal views. In any event, proposal views can be seen in the same area as profile views -- there is an arrow there that if you click on it proposal views will be an option. See screenshot below, and I hope that helps.

melaniekhenson · ‎03-12-2023

Anna T wrote:

Exactly, this has been my argument since boosting began. Around here, connects are dangled around like the begin-all, end-all to solving the incredulous freelancer bloat; except this time UW is making some booku bucks off our backs and they like it.

You know, I had a thought or two in this direction - whether it was sort of a cull. And while I don't believe it's any crime for a business that isn't non-profit to make money, sort of dangling that promise seems unnecessarily cruel. That sounds dramatic and I don't mean the powers that be were thinking along these lines from the beginning, but that's how it's turning out.

I almost feel like it would be kinder and more considerate to freelancers to give a limited time for people to land their first job or make a certain amount. I'm in the Amazon Associates program with a few of my websites, and they have that rule there. You need to make three sales within...I can't remember, it's been so long since I started. Maybe six months? If you don't, you're out of the program.

Yes, that opens up the possibility of fraud in various ways, but so does any system. And if the idea is thinning the herd and keeping quality people who can perform, it seems more honest to let them know in advance BEFORE they spend silly amounts on "boosting," that there is such a rule (if UW were to ever implement something like that).

Not doing UW's thinking for them, just saying what I think about how to find out relatively quickly - but with at least a fair amount of time to try - who won't be cutting it. Not everyone will. Life is like that. I haven't gotten everything I wanted either... 🙂 It is what it is.

d26d5d29 · ‎03-06-2023

While I have only been most active here for the past month, boosting seems to have zero effect on even getting my proposals viewed, or my profile, let alone leading to an interview. Applied for full range of graphic design/desktop publishing jobs, from small file conversions to larger long term postings. I have only done a couple of jobs, one that was actually nothing, and 1 client that I've done 2 small jobs for.
At this point, it feels like even gettting that first job was a complete random fluke, and due to undercutting my own rate.

I have a few proposals out there that are now a month old, no client activity, never interviewed anyone, never hired, never removed or closed job.

I'm probably getting more views from posting and replying in the forums.

williamtcooper · ‎03-06-2023

Kevin,

Boosting has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the change of the workflow on Upwork.

I have completed 50+ jobs with NEW clients in the past several months.

Upwork is a zero sum game. If you get the client project, another freelancer doesn't and vice versa. Fifty percent of the jobs end with a freelancer being hired.

Upwork's machine learning AI algorithm started in late 2022 and requires all freelancers to update their Profiles according to the posts I have made. I had to make the same modifications to my Profile and now receive 100 Invites per month.

The macroeconomy and generative AI have been affecting various job categories and will continue to. Many job categories will be in less demand especially Entry and Intermediate Skills. Expert Skills and in-demand skills freelancers will do very well.

bugsbyte · ‎03-07-2023

William, thank you for sharing your experience on the platform.

I am most curious as to these required profile updates you mention are needed to support UpWork's AI. You mention that you have posted on the matter, but I would expect that UpWork would notify Freelances of required actions or automate changes themselves. Please share guidance on these requirements.

However its quite aparant that you are very succesful on the platform, and have seen work as of late. However in your feedback, you have not addressed the correlation to boosting proposals realative to your hire rate? Making an assumption, if my (and some others here) applies in your circumstance, then I would expect that the vast majojority of you work comes from established clients (pre-q4'22), less from invites and none from boosting.

I would whole heartidly disagree that UpWork is a zero sum-game. The assumption is over simplified. It cannot be a wash between one freelancer and a dozen others when the job posted is never hired, boosted proposals are never viewed, and no one benefited except for the UpWork platform. If the jobs expiring without hires was the minority, than it might add creedance to the zero-sum notion. But when 80% of jobs end without payment, the statement holds zero water.

Thanks again for your feedback. Please do share details on profile updates and your recent rate of hire from boosted proposals.

williamtcooper · ‎03-07-2023

Kevin,

SECRETS to Growing Your Upwork Sales

I have been using Upwork for the last five years and have completed 340 Jobs and Earned $900,000 with 5-Star Reviews as a Marketing and Sales expert.

Upwork has changed their algorithm in 2023 and it's necessary to update your strategies accordingly especially if you want Invites and new clients. I had to change my strategy also and now have received 200 Invites / Talent Scouts / Consultations in the first two months of 2023.

PROFILE: Always complete your Upwork Profile before applying for Jobs. Create a synergized Title, Summary, and Skills to apply for Jobs to match what Clients are searching for. Use one or two of the Skill keywords in the Title to emphasize what you bring to the table for the Client. Create 4 short paragraphs in the Summary. If the Summary is too long, most Clients will not read the rest of the Summary; too short then there isn't enough information for a Client to hire. The first two sentences of the Summary are the most important because they are visible to the client as they search for a freelancer. Use all 15 Skills IF they apply. The Skills are used to assist a Client in locating your Profile via search. Add your Portfolio and always use a colorful image. Consider adding a Project Catalog if it applies. Use a short sentence description for each Employment entry. By the way, it goes without saying make sure that your Profile Settings are on Public not Private so others can view the Profile.

COVER LETTER: Create a flexible cover letter that is less than 100 words. Long cover letters rarely get read, but instead are ignored. Break the cover letter into four sections. Section 1 : Acknowledge the job that you are applying for such as "Looking forward to discussing your graphics design project". Section 2: Highlight your validations stamps IE skills that are brought to their project. Section 3 Explain how you will solve their problem and the final section request an Upwork Zoom call to discuss their project.

JOB SUBMISSIONS: Tips - Only apply to Jobs that you are highly qualified, don't Bid for the top 3 spots unless you are an exact match and have a high probability of getting the job, don't immediately apply for jobs, but instead wait at least a few hours so your bidding is more accurate, don't get into bidding wars because serious Clients will view most applicant's cover letters, don't apply for Jobs that have 20 - 50 applicants in less than 24 hours. If a Client gets 50 cover letters, there is only a 2% chance of being hired; bad odds. I set my freelancer sort to apply for jobs with less than 20 proposals.

OVER DELIVER: Always over-deliver based upon the Client's expectations. Do such outstanding work that the Client can't but help to give 5-Stars and a raving Review. Great Reviews have most Client's sold on hiring a Freelancer before even talking with them. I can't mention the number of Clients that started their interactions with me about how they couldn't wait to start working together on their project based upon my Reviews. After 320 Upwork Jobs, I have maintained 99% 5-Star Reviews and only 1% 4-Star Reviews which continues to draw in more clients.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Use your social media footprint to promote your Upwork Profile especially LinkedIn. Create a Post on LinkedIn highlighting your Upwork Profile containing a link back so prospects can review. Small businesses that I want to begin a business relationship with are better served on Upwork due to the Upwork's system and billing. I have 2.5 million very engaged LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Followers. They are a great source to promote my profile on Upwork.

HELP OTHERS: Always uplift, encourage and love other users on Upwork. Remember everyone has to start somewhere as you did. Others helped you along the way, so assist users that have questions.

THANKS UPWORK: Thanks Upwork for being a blessing to me on this site and I hope to do so for others!

d26d5d29 · ‎03-07-2023

William,

I can see from your profile that you are currently doing rather well on upwork, but I think you are disconnected from the average freelancer on Upwork. You don't have a $50/hr rate (I.E. Graphic designers) getting undercut by 20+ $5/hr offers.

MANY freelancers are expierincing this. While your suggestions are valid, it doesn't matter when only 2% of clients ever even make it to their profiles, or even get boosted proposals viewed in the first place.

I don't know what the proposal dashboard looks like on the clients side, but it certainly feels like they go right to the low bids first, even clients that have spent over $100k on Upwork projects.

I accept that I may be getting past over due to my miniscule number of completed jobs, I have only really been active here for a little over a month. I honestly think my first job was a complete fluke, only because I cut my rate 75% just to get that first job here.

I have about a 15% boosted proposal view rate, 20-30% jobs that I submitted proposals to that the client has not even interviewed anyone for, weeks after the job posting. I do not apply to clients that are not payment verified, or that have not had previous jobs completed on Upwork.

bugsbyte · ‎03-07-2023

Steven, where do you find the metric for your proposals' view rate?

d26d5d29 · ‎03-07-2023

I'm just doing a percentage from my boosted proposal submissions, and the recently added notification that your proposal has been viewed by the client. Also just a pecentage of all proposals against viewed proposals. I don't boost all my proposals.

bugsbyte · ‎03-07-2023

Hmmm... I would be very interested in this metric, however I do not see a single alert that a proposal has been viewed under either my Freelancer profile nor my Agencie's.

I guess it is quite possible that in the past 30-days not one of my 52-proposals has been viewed.

yofazza · ‎03-07-2023

The feature to actually see which proposals got the views is new, I don't have it yet, but this should help me in determining which "settings" or "properties" could lead to views. The greatness of our profile and/or proposals, should have little to no effect on views.

Views is the first metric to improve before interviews and hires. It usually goes 10-30% for most people.

I got mostly 0 views for months, 0%, since mid 2022 I think, and just got an increase. It's 22% now:

I don't buy connects nor boost.

bugsbyte · ‎03-07-2023

Ah-ha!! thank you. I see that I am pushing about a 22% profile view rate. Would be hard to get hired for 88% of the jobs I proposed for...

And stats say that I am doing better than most - and my results are dismal.

Hey UpWork - the machine is broken. Your Freelancers arent billing. How about an overhaul?

d26d5d29 · ‎03-07-2023

Kevin,

If you go to the drop down for 'Find Work' and go to Proposals, it displays your submitted proposals, and if they have been viewed in the right hand column. I find this gives more specific information than Proposal Analytics, which is under My Stats. I have also been getting notifications when a proposal has been viewed. Check your notification settings in your profile settings.

deborah-ponzio · ‎03-07-2023

I do not have such view in my list of submitted proposals.... I wonder why?

williamtcooper · ‎03-07-2023

Deborah,

It's a new Upwork feature in Beta.

yofazza · ‎03-07-2023

It's in the same place as ~~proposal~~ profile views, just change the dropdown.

williamtcooper · ‎03-07-2023

Steven,

Clients are pointed to the "Best Match" and the 3 Boosted posts which may or may not be the lowest cost.

I am $200 per hour and am frequently a "Best Match" because I ONLY submit to jobs that are a good match.

65% of my proposals have been viewed in the past week.

If a freelancer has a 2% Profile view rate, they are not following the instructions laid out above.

atreglia · ‎03-07-2023

Hi William,

Could you be so kind as to explain how you know you are frequently "Best Match"?

Also, kindly differentiate between "Best Match" and the three boosts. More specifically, I'm asking what if the "Best Match" is not one of the top three? Are you stating that "Best Match" is still labeled as such even if it is not one of the top three?

I ask because you make it seem like "Best Match" really matters anymore and that there is a way that we kind find out if we are "Best Match".

Thank You

williamtcooper · ‎03-07-2023

Anna,

Upwork allows freelancers to bid on the Top 3 positions if they choose. In addition, Upwork will pick 5 to 10 freelancers and tag them as "Best Match" which is shown directly below the top 3 and has the "Best Match" label. For a freelancer to be labeled as 'Best Match" by Upwork, their Profile, Cover Letter, and Submission needs to follow my listed above instructions.

If a freelancer isn't listed in the top 3 or Best Match, good luck in being viewed and picked by a client.

atreglia · ‎03-07-2023

Bill, to clarify, UW will list the top three AND tag 5-10 freelancers as "Best Match". Thank you for sharing that because I'm suspecting now that that pretty much defeats the purpose of boosting. I mean, what's the sense of boosting if further down the list are the "Best Matches". Like, what does that say about the boosters? If I were a client I'd be pretty put off by that.

That aside you did not answer my question which is: How do you know that you are "frequently a Best Match"?

williamtcooper · ‎03-07-2023

Yes Top 3 and 5 - 10 freelancers for "Best Match".

If you follow the instructions given, you will have the highest possibility of being Best Matched, however you can't view the clients screen. How do you know - you get client orders.

Basically make sure that your Profile and Cover Letter matches the client's request or don't bother submitting to a job.

atreglia · ‎03-07-2023

So, you don't actually know you are a best match, you're just assuming so since you get client orders. Fair enough, however, please don't state you're a best match as a fact because it could lead others to think this is something they can find out on their own - or worse, start bugging the clients if they were a best match.

Have you actually seen, as a client, the top 3 and "Best Match" in the same list? I ask because this kinda defeats the point of boosting. Know what I mean?

williamtcooper · ‎03-07-2023

If you aren't getting hired, you probably are rarely Best Match. If you are not Best Match or top 3, there is less than a 1% chance of getting hired. The math is very clear Top 3 or Best Match just not 100% of the time.

Freelancers can't bug or contact clients unless a client has messaged them.

The Top 3 and Best Match are separate - they can't be on the same list. It's one or the other.

tlsanders · ‎03-10-2023

Do you have any data at all to support these declarations you keep making, or are these just things that seem intuitive to you so you're announcing them as facts?

williamtcooper · ‎03-12-2023

Facts - public information.

melaniekhenson · ‎03-12-2023

William T C wrote:
Facts - public information.

It is not correct. Can you provide a link? You may be misunderstanding.

melaniekhenson · ‎03-12-2023

William T C wrote:
If you aren't getting hired, you probably are rarely Best Match. If you are not Best Match or top 3, there is less than a 1% chance of getting hired. The math is very clear Top 3 or Best Match just not 100% of the time.

Freelancers can't bug or contact clients unless a client has messaged them.

The Top 3 and Best Match are separate - they can't be on the same list. It's one or the other.

I'm sorry, but this isn't true. It just isn't, period.

melaniekhenson · ‎03-11-2023

Anna T wrote:
Hi William,

Could you be so kind as to explain how you know you are frequently "Best Match"?
Also, kindly differentiate between "Best Match" and the three boosts. More specifically, I'm asking what if the "Best Match" is not one of the top three? Are you stating that "Best Match" is still labeled as such even if it is not one of the top three?

I ask because you make it seem like "Best Match" really matters anymore and that there is a way that we kind find out if we are "Best Match".

Thank You

I know I'm not the person you asked, but as a freelancer who is occasionally a client (when I want artwork done, for instance), I rarely pick a Best Match. That's because they never are. 😆 (Apologies, Upwork, but it's true.)

I would estimate I choose a Best Match for the job about 1-3% of the time. I mean...it is that rare.

atreglia · ‎03-12-2023

Melanie H wrote:
Anna T wrote:
Hi William,

Could you be so kind as to explain how you know you are frequently "Best Match"?
Also, kindly differentiate between "Best Match" and the three boosts. More specifically, I'm asking what if the "Best Match" is not one of the top three? Are you stating that "Best Match" is still labeled as such even if it is not one of the top three?

I ask because you make it seem like "Best Match" really matters anymore and that there is a way that we kind find out if we are "Best Match".

Thank You
I know I'm not the person you asked, but as a freelancer who is occasionally a client (when I want artwork done, for instance), I rarely pick a Best Match. That's because they never are. 😆 (Apologies, Upwork, but it's true.)

I would estimate I choose a Best Match for the job about 1-3% of the time. I mean...it is that rare.

Hi Melanie,

Not a problem.

I have long figured Best Match went bye-bye with boosting and was very surprised to see that, according to William, Upwork still identifies them seperately. I mean, that doesn't say much for the Boosters if the Best Matches are listed too. If I were a Booster I'd be outright P-O'd that Best Matches show up too-it's kind of undermining. I wonder if it's possible to be a Boosted Best Match.

d26d5d29 · ‎03-07-2023

I am not applying to jobs I am not fully qualified for. I am getting underbid, usually by freelancers outside of the US. You can see it in the average client with Graphic Design needs prior jobs, HIGH percentage of jobs being completed overseas.

When I don't even get my proposal viewed, it doesn't lead to a profile view.

I believe you are out of touch with the average feelancer experience on Upwork.

I have a decent overview statement on my profile, and a clean portfolio website of my work.

There are post ALL over the forums with people addressing their DRAMATIC drop of jobs, proposal views, and profile views.

williamtcooper · ‎03-07-2023

Steven,

Your Title and Summary are not following the above instructions. Please review your Profile.

It's one paragraph long, missing the Project Catalog, "3d" in the Tilte instead of "3D", the first sentence doesn't have your two skills which is what clients view when searching for a freelancer.

Upwork is a zero sum game. For every freelancer that didn't obtain a job, a different freelancer did.

You are in a job category that generative AI is creating a lesser demand for in 2023 especially for Entry and Intermediate skills. Google Upwork's in-demand skills for 2023 to adjust and prosper.

Why not adapt to Upwork's algo changes and the job market?