🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » How many proposals til your first job?
Page options
e3d4ca8c
Community Member

How many proposals til your first job?

Hi! Im new to Upwork and have sumbitted 8 proposals. I took time making sure my cover letter was the best it could be, but I still have yet to get hired. I have enough credits to do one last proposal before I will need to buy more. 

For experienced people here, how many proposals did you sumbit before you got your first job? And on average how many proposals do you sumbit to get one job?

Just wondering since I'm not sure if I want to invest in this if its hard to get jobs. I already get freelancing jobs outside of Upwork.

17 REPLIES 17
engrzunuran
Community Member

I still remeber that I had my last 2 connects available to bid and I got my 1st job from those last connects. And rest is a memorable and amazing journey of mine at upwork. So dont loose hope. Try to write every proposal according the job you are applying for. Copy paste proposals are not worth here. You can also add your past work in job posts in form of files. That can also help in some cases. Good luck

Thank you! I just sumbitted my last proposal and I'm hoping for the best

jeremiah-brown
Community Member

If you're having doubts about spending connects right now, you probably won't like this site going forward, especially as a new freelancer.  This isn't an absolute, though.  Your profile and your proposals could be spectacular and draw instant client interest, no two experiences are the same.

 

I would, however, point out that since you're new and just starting out, you can expect to spend more connects than someone with a longer freelance history filled with reviews, portfolio items, and account longevity.  

 

 

Thanks! I knew it would take a lot since I'm starting out, and I just felt a little discouraged today especially with the bidding system. I am considering buying some more connects now, but I'll see what happens.

You can pretty safely ignore Boosting - the stats Upwork has posted regarding their effectiveness are pretty small. Learn more on Placebo Boosts? . But if you do boost and get outbid for the top 3 slots, you will get those Connects back.

796a95d8
Community Member

It takes me forever to get an interview. I've used up too many connects these past few days in a desperate bid for finding at least one job. I ended up getting one, but I'm hungry for more work! It's a huge gamble. Really difficult for me to find consistent work here.

 

I recommend looking at more experienced Upwork freelancers' profiles and model your profile off of theirs. See what makes their profiles stand out. I think you can write way more on your profile to make yourself stand out.

tlsanders
Community Member

36, and I had 25+ years of experience in my field and a graduate degree in my niche.

williamtcooper
Community Member

Hey Jadalena, I usually have to post around 5+ Jobs to get an Interview, however few of the Connects convert for me. My best converting are Invites and Consultations that come my way organically from Upwork search. So far I have had 320 Jobs during the past five years and that has been my experience. Have a great Friday!

That's an amazing statistic! I don't think that I would be able to keep 320 straight without it eventually becoming somewhat fuzzy in memory.

dad5e9dc
Community Member

I have submitted at least 30 proposals in last two month! but still struggling to get the golden first job

Your category is highly competitive. Your sub-category is close to (if not already) saturated with freelancers. My advice:

  • include a link to your profile in each proposal
  • change your availability from "As needed - open to offers" to "More than..." or "Less than..."
  • include portfolio examples when you submit proposals
ashrafkhan81
Community Member

Just 8 proposals? That's not enough...but I am sure there are a few freelancers here who got their first contract soon enough after a few proposals....but a majority of the freelancers probably sent a lot of proposals to get their first job.

 

I was already an established freelancer on other platforms when I signed up on Upwork in late 2019...sent a few "hundred" proposals without getting any reply...then I gave up...came back after a few months and sent out another few hundred proposals without any success...except for 2 very small projects. 

 

Those two projects gave me some hope so I sent out more proposals without any success then I noticed the rising talent badge and made changes to my profile to get the badge...after that there was no looking back this was around the end of 2020 and since then I have had regular work..but since last 6 months I did not get any response to any of my proposals most of my work is coming from either job invitations or old clients! 

 

There is huge potential for good money to be made here, but the competition has increased many folds recently so if you believe in your skills keep trying don't worry about the connects you have to invest in connects you cant rely only on the free monthly connects! 

 

852f7826
Community Member

My last two connections were available for me to bid on and I got my first job from those last connections. My journey at Upwork has been memorable and amazing. Don't give up. Always tailor your proposals to the job you are applying for. It is not worth it to copy and paste proposals here. Additionally, you can upload files of your past work in job posts. Some cases can also benefit from that. Wishing you all the best

sajal36
Community Member

No thumb rule. Every freelancer will have unique experience / outcome on the platform. However enure that you have all your experience, project and skills correctly reflected in the upwork profile. I will say to compete with other established freelancer in your field on the platform put a competitive quote to the bid relative to your experience. 

bryan0sm
Community Member

This post has been idle for some time, but I'd like to refresh it. Re: How many proposals til your first job? 

Jadalena, how is the job search going by now?
To answer your question, I have been working on UpWork for 3 years and it has been a great experience. I have sent a total of 118 proposals throughout this time from which I've gotten 7 succesful contracts.

*This means I have sent an average of 16 proposals to land each job.*

However, I remember at the beginning it took me 23 proposals for my first job ever, which came from an invitation and not any one of my submissions.

My best advice is to stay active and search, try to get some additonal connects and be strategic about it. Upload an intro video, send audio recordings, make a graphic resume and make your profile based on a role model that's doing very well.

I'm open to helping anyone that needs some insights about how to get more interviews, here's my profile: https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01c1d42917b03756bc

Best!

This is very informative. It would be interesting to see statistics on the average amount of proposals needed, and also the industry. I was a luckier one that got my first interview within the first 10 bids, I believe, but this was a long time ago on oDesk, which was merged with Upwork (unfortunately). I later got my first gig within a year or two after the merger. Which is still a very long time ago. I do not use Upwork often, but am considering to use it a little more because I'd like to get smaller gigs rather than ones that go on for months (which is usually what I'm doing). I was considering buying connects, and I wondered how many proposals are too much to start worrying about one's own profile, or not to worry because business as usual for everyone. I think I might consider your statistic (although you work in a different industry) and buy that many connects to see how it goes. Based on that I can make an ROI estimate. Thanks for the info!

brycejungquist
Community Member

I think mine was about a 100 when I first started and to be honest, they were pretty bad proposals lol.
There's a lot of tips on that in Upwork forums here and the unoffical Reddit community. Check this out. 
https://www.reddit.com/r/Upwork/comments/14xs2ll/heres_what_clients_see_on_upwork/

This has been really helpful for me. 
Cheers! 

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths