I am not getting any response to my proposals!

[jubair83]

Hello! I used to be a regular freelancer in Upwok till 2017. After that, I was busy with my full-time job and other responsibilities and was inactive in Upwork since then. Now, I have started getting into Upwrok again recently. I have rearranged my profile as per the requirements and sent customized proposals along with samples to the relevant jobs. But unfortunately, I am not getting any response (no invitation, no interview, no offer, nothing) from the clients, even though I fulfilled all the job requirements and outbid in some proposals. Why is it happening? Is it because I am here after a long break and there is no earnings or jobs recently?

[00137e0a]

I'm not sure how long it will take Upwork to recognize and take action on this problem... I see people complaining about the same thing every day.

Just a few weeks ago, I was speaking with a seasoned freelancer who has earned over $400k on Upwork, and he mentioned that he wasn't getting any responses to his proposals too, which is obviously unusual given his platform history.

Please, Upwork, do something about it. Many people have raised this issue, including, as previously stated, freelancers who have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars on the platform.

Something is definitely going on. Period.

[roberty1y]

There isn't much Upwork can do if the clients just aren't there. There are ups and downs in demand. We can only hope this isn't permanent.

[00137e0a]

I believe Upwork can do a lot to help mitigate this issue.

First, I believe it has something to do with the "boost" feature implementation. This alarming decline in the proposal/reply ratio began after its implementation, as I've noticed (and many others have as well). So there could be something going on under the hood.

Also, taking steps to prevent job postings from being inundated with 50+ spammy and copy/paste proposals in minutes would be extremely beneficial. There are an incredible number of jobs that are closed without hiring anyone, which is most likely due to clients becoming overwhelmed with low-quality proposals, which discourages them from making any hiring decision.

[moonraker]

---

Rafael M wrote:

First, I believe it has something to do with the "boost" feature implementation. 

---

Unless the feature is driving clients away in significant numbers, which I doubt, I don't see how it can be at fault.

I  think it's more likely to be case of supply and demand. Not helped by Upwork's policy of leaving the floodgates open for new freelancers to enter an already satuarated market. I suspect there's just as many contracts being opened as usual, albeit spread among a significantly larger than usual pool of freelancers.

I would like to see the stats, but I doubt that will be forthcoming any time soon.

[00137e0a]

I don't think it's unlikely that the boost feature is driving away clients.

Clients, in my opinion, would benefit from being able to see proposals ranked in order of qualification, rather than who cheated to rank first.

This, combined with a flood of spammy proposals that follow the first boosted ones, may be responsible for clients simply abandoning their job postings and looking for qualified freelancers elsewhere.

Consider the following:

When a client posts a job on a freelance platform, what do they expect to see?

a) a few posts by people who cheated to have their proposals ranked first, followed by a swarm of spam, with the most qualified proposals likely lost in the shuffle?

b) proposals sorted by qualification and reputation, with all noise removed?

When it comes to user experience, which option would make it easier for the client to make an efficient and smooth hiring decision, and most importantly, which option would make them want to continue using the platform for their future needs? A or B?

[sparkesusan]

Yup, that's what I thought too. I'm top-rated but getting outbid by others who are spending money on large amounts of connects to use to get the jobs. It's a good way to make money, but not by us.

[00137e0a]

That boost feature is unethical. It's cheating. That's all there is to it.

It provides no benefits to freelancers or clients. In fact, it only adds more friction to the platform's user experience and makes hiring decisions more difficult.