I am trying to update my portfolio with a new folder but cant

[breece-page-gary]

I am trying to update my portfolio with a new folder but when i click on the plus symbol all i get is create a specialized profile, when i click not yet it just returns to my profil page so i can't seem to just add new work?

[dantehoroiwa]

Hi,

I've noticed that the portfolio have changed, every time I try to create a new portfolio post, upwork asks me to make an specialized profile.  I don't want to create this specialized profile though, is there any way to just create an portfolio using the main profile?

Also I've noticed that on this specialized profile the image has to be inside within the rectangular format, which it's very boring because if the image is not retangular it's automatically cropped,  and this change did not happen on the main profile,  only on the specialized profile.

What is the reason for this change?

I really prefer to keep only the main profile, so how can I add an portfolio section without having to create an specialized profile?

Thanks

[yitwail]

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Dante H wrote:

I really prefer to keep only the main profile, so how can I add an portfolio section without having to create an specialized profile?

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Dante, you can't, unless Upwork decides to allow everyone to change their portfolio without creating a specialized profile.

[john_murdock]

I have to agree with all of the complaints above. It is ridiculous that I cannot add portfolio items to my main portfolio. What happens if I DO create a specialized portfolio? Do all the items automatically migrate to my main portfolio? What if a client is just browsing freelancers and looks at my main portfolio and there's nothing there.

When I hear the statement that this is "working as designed" I want to know who did the UI/UX research on this "feature" and what methodology they used. They certainly didn't ask any users.

[researchediting]

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John M wrote:

...When I hear the statement that this is "working as designed" I want to know who did the UI/UX research on this "feature" and what methodology they used. They certainly didn't ask any users.

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Upwork introduced this feature for IT workers. When they saw an increase in either hiring or revenue in that segment, they made one of their infamously unsupported extrapolations, and made it a stridently and insistently promoted "option" across the board. Despite clamor from users reporting a poorly-executed implementation and users for whom specialized profiles make no sense, Upwork has now resorted to coercion for this "option."

[ko1967]

This is a big problem.  I echo the setiments of everyone above that forcing freelancers to add a specialized profile just so they can add portfolio items is ridiculous.  And while I hear "specialized proflies are better for searching and connecting freelancers to clients" it should be our decision to use them if it fits within our business.  A specialized profile doesn't fit within what I do so now I'm stuck not being able to add more portfolio items.

Portfolio items should be optionally tied to specialized profiles.  Not required.

Your limitation is hurting our business.

[jgubler]

I find the specialized portfolio too restrictive and the UI a bit clunky and tedious. I'd like to keep a general profile. Am I missing something with regard to adding new portfolio projects, without making a specialized profile? I can't upload any new projects without making a specialized profile first, then deleting the specialized profile after upload. See attached portfolio upload loop.

A note on specialized profiles - the skill options aren't open-ended enough and result in a pigeonholing that doesn't describe what I do. There's also overlap between specialization that I can't seem to display correctly given the UI - being forced to select one specialized portfolio for a project when in certain cases both apply, and in other cases neither specialization really applies but I'm forced to select between the limited two when uploading new projects. Also, aren't the skill tags supposed to cover specialization - why add this feature?

Old portfolio categories appear to be hanging around but I can't modify them or add applicable projects.

Is this a known issue being worked through? Been inactive for a while. Thanks ahead of time for any feedback.

[sam-sly]

I had the same issue, I had to make a specialized profile based on my general profile just to add a new writing sample. The skills in my field were pretty limited, as well. I think my old profile was actually better than the new duplicate specialized profile. 

I am a little grouchy about some of the changes since I had three annoying notifications today and then discovered this "new feature."  I didn't know about the option of deleting the specialized profile afterward. 

[jgubler]

Everything appears to be fine on my end but not advising anyone else do so. Not sure how it impacts the algos... assuming poorly given the 30% exposure add advertised for specialized profiles.

[AveryO]

Hi Jacob, 

I merged your post to this masterthread as this is being monitored by the team. Regarding your question about adding portolio items to your general profile, please know that this is working as designed. This is to encourage users to create specialized profiles as this allow freelancers to better customize their skills and experience. You may read more about it here through this announcement post. 

Regarding your second question, I will have to check this with the team, and I'll get back to you once I have more information. Could you please confirm the specific skills tag you were referring to on your post so that I can share this with the team? 

[jgubler]

I understand that is the intention, but it's just re-tagging the same skills already tagged to my profile, and creating organizational issues. When adding a new project, I have to select a specialized portfolio that it applies to. Not all projects are applicable to either (or poorly described as such), and some are applicable to both categories, but I have to choose one to display it under. The issue isn't tied to one particular skill category, but universal, present wherever fields overlap and are not adequately described by forced specialization.

[kristine_madden]

I feel the same way. While I did create specialized profiles, some of the work I have done on Upwork does not fall into either category. I would prefer the option to just add items to my general profile.

[jgubler]

It occured to me that this is an attempt by Upwork to pull the signal from the noise, to find specialists more easily, to increase client satisfaction. Instead of creating bloat on the profile, why not create a tiered skill list. 1-slot for a freelancer's strongest skill-grouping, 3-slots for their secondary skill-groupings, etc., with the same 10 skill limit, and weighted by their overall rating - wouldn't this achieve the same thing, more efficiently, and with a better user experience for freelancers?

[mystudiomke]

Today, I was trying to post a portfolio on my profile and turns out you can no longer do that without being forced to create specialized profiles.  Word directly from the Upwork support team.

I currently don't need to create specialized profiles for the type of work I do.

However, what I need is to keep my portfolio updated. As an architect, what makes me stand out is my portfolio. Very inefficient move from Upwork to its freelancers who use this feature. I figured I asked the community and see if there is any work around this? Have you tried posting a portfolio on your Upwork page a different way?

It is not the end of the world since I also have my website. But if there is a workaround here would love to hear them as I would also like to keep my profile updated.

Thanks!

**edited for Community Guidelines**

[AveryO]

Hi Lila, 

I would like to confirm the information that was shared to you by the Customer Support Agent who handled your ticket. Please know that this is working as designed to encourage users to create specialized profiles as this allow freelancers to better customize their skills and experience. You may read more about it here through this announcement post. 

[michelle-trevino]

I don't need a specialized profile for what I do either. Clients like to see all my skills in one place. Many have changed the job description or given me an additional contract based on all the things listed in my profile. No need for me to separate it.

[mystudiomke]

Exactly. 

[durchanek]

Hi Avery,

this "encouragment" forces specialised profiles even on freelancers who really do not need them like myself. Please understand that freelancers are responsible adults (mostly) who are perfectly qualified to decide if they need a specialised profile or not.

If you believe you have built a great feature, explain it and see how it goes but forcing it on everyone is a teribble way how to promote it.

Ladislav

[bzstudio]

I agree, Ladislav. I would be interested to see how many customers Upwork has lost because of the frustration with being forced to use a portfolio system that doesn't work. They're probably hemmorrhaging customers and have no idea why. Yes, they say over and over in pasted comments that it's working as designed, but it is not. Even after adding a specialized profile that I didn't need, I still can't add anything to my general profile. There are things that NEED to be in my general profile that absolutely do not belong on the specialized profile. But it's impossible to add them and customer support said they would make a suggestion for consideration to their team. This shouldn't even be a suggestion, or a consideration. It should be FIXED. It was suggested to them in early July, and still has not been fixed.

[mtngigi]

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Avery O wrote:

Hi Lila, 

I would like to confirm the information that was shared to you by the Customer Support Agent who handled your ticket. Please know that this is working as designed to encourage users to create specialized profiles as this allow freelancers to better customize their skills and experience. You may read more about it here through this announcement post. 

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Please stop stating "to better customize their skills and experience". It does nothing of the sort.

I customize my skills and experience with every bid I write, as do most experienced freelancers. Please stop shoving things we don't need or want down our throats. Upwork. The only portfolios that are any of your business are all the ones belonging to scammers, filled with stolen work.

Please do let me know when I'll be able to edit my portfolio without your intrusion.

[artselena]

Hello Upwork Community!

I would like to add some fresh works to my portfolio, but it keeps redirecting me to a specialized profile page.

I would not mind using it, however, there is no available option to choose from the list, that represents the skills I would like to represent (embroidery digitizing).

Maybe somebody can advise me how to solve it or which option will be correct to choose if I wish to add portfolio item related to embroidery digitizing?

Thank you in advance! And a good day to all!

[BojanS]

Hi Elena,

If you're not seeing your skills, you can go ahead and suggest skills that suit your Specialized profile's category. If you start typing something that isn't in our list, we save it as a suggestion and review those suggestions to add to the ontology.

The new process of adding new Portfolio items should encourage users to create specialized profiles as this allows freelancers to better customize their skills and experience. You may read more about it here through this announcement post. 

Thank you.

[artselena]

Hi Bojan!

Thank you for your reply! 

Did some suggestions, hopefully at least some of the skills that refer to embroidery digitizing will be in the list soon 🙂 

Best wishes,

Elena 

[eelliot]

This is really frustrating.

I just went through and deleted some old work in anticipation of adding some newer projects. Now I can not do so, without going through the hassle of a specialized profile, which is more limited and has a clunky UI.

I work across design and development, and many of projects include both types of work. I can't post a project under both! This is a really poor user experience and decision by Upwork.

If I had known you were taking away this ability, I would have just updated the old projects with the newer work and info and saved them. Now I'm just stuck with less work in my portfolio. 

[durchanek]

Super-frustrating. There is a workaround, sort-of ... Just create a specialised profile but do not publish it. You will be able to add new projects and they will appear in your general profile.

Not perfect at all, and yes, the new interface is clunky and has some funny issues like the list of programming languages for front-end development missing some crucial ones. But better than nothing.

[bzstudio]

Eric that is the same exact issue I am dealing with. It needs to be FIXED.

[helensmith1978]

When I click on + portfolio to add previous work all I see is a spinning circle - is this because there is an error with the site? I don't have the right package? any suggestions how to upload example work? N.B. I am looking to upload examples not complete as part of Upwork

[igor-kol]

Hello! I'm trying to add a project to my portfolio, but Upwork offers me to create a specialized profile. I don't need a specialized profile, I just want to add a project to my portfolio from the general profile. How can I do this?

[durchanek]

You can create a specialised profile without publishing, which will allow you to add projects and they will appear in your general profile. Unfortunately, unless Upwork changes this “feature”, there is no other way at the moment.

[dzadza]

same here - looks like (yet another) bug

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Sanja and Virginia,

Currently by design in order add items to their portfolio the freelancer will need to create a Specialized Profile if they don't have any. We do appreciate feedback and will take it into consideration when making future updates to the feature.

[researchediting]

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Valeria K wrote:

Hi Sanja and Virginia,

Currently by design in order add items to their portfolio the freelancer will need to create a Specialized Profile if they don't have any. We do appreciate feedback and will take it into consideration when making future updates to the feature.

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Thanks, Valeria, for confirming that this is an existing operational necessity, that it is under review, and that one can answer this longstanding question without mentioning "encouragement."

[mtngigi]

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Valeria K wrote:

Hi Sanja and Virginia,

Currently by design in order add items to their portfolio the freelancer will need to create a Specialized Profile if they don't have any. We do appreciate feedback and will take it into consideration when making future updates to the feature.

---

Wow ... just wow. I know you don't have anything to do with this, but this is just one more way Upwork keeps inserting itself into our personal business and how we want to sell ourselves. What right do they have? I thought I was an independent freelancer, but apparently that's not the case. Upwork is my boss, my clueless boss.

When was the last time Upwork took anything we have to say into consideration? The answer to that is never. Nor does anyone appreciate our feedback.It's laughable to even suggest that.

I do not want, nor do I need, to be "specialized". Nice, Upwork, I'll have an aging portfolio that doesn't include recent projects I've gotten permission to use, because you people can't see the forest for the trees.

[dzadza]

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Virginia F wrote:

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Valeria K wrote:

Hi Sanja and Virginia,

Currently by design in order add items to their portfolio the freelancer will need to create a Specialized Profile if they don't have any. We do appreciate feedback and will take it into consideration when making future updates to the feature.

---

Wow ... just wow. I know you don't have anything to do with this, but this is just one more way Upwork keeps inserting itself into our personal business and how we want to sell ourselves. What right do they have? I thought I was an independent freelancer, but apparently that's not the case. Upwork is my boss, my clueless boss.

When was the last time Upwork took anything we have to say into consideration? The answer to that is never. Nor does anyone appreciate our feedback.It's laughable to even suggest that.

I do not want, nor do I need, to be "specialized". Nice, Upwork, I'll have an aging portfolio that doesn't include recent projects I've gotten permission to use, because you people can't see the forest for the trees.

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I will just add one sentence to the beginning of my UW profile - "Upwork disabled adding projects to portfolio so here are dropbox links" - I see no other way to present my work...

[dzadza]

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Valeria K wrote:

Hi Sanja and Virginia,

Currently by design in order add items to their portfolio the freelancer will need to create a Specialized Profile if they don't have any. We do appreciate feedback and will take it into consideration when making future updates to the feature.

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And if I don't want to mess around with buggy specialized profile? What then?   

So - to clarify - we can't add items to our general portfolio and we are forced to create specialized portfolios, right? And we are not allowed to put any links to external portfolio sites (like Behance)? Why  not deleting the general portfolio altogether?

Print design (or design for print) is not on the list - so  I don't need the specialized profile - and I can't add new samples to my portfolio. So - what's your suggestion? To create specialized portfolio for something I don't do?

[ko1967]

All - I think I just figured out what is happening and why Upwork is trying to force us to have specialized profiles.  It hit me when I tried to add a portfolio to bogus specialized profile and Upwork forced me to add a picture for the portfolio (which is ridiculous in and of itself).

Upwork is trying to push mobile (less scrolling, more pictures, etc).

Well, newsflash Upwork, most business is not done on the mobile platform.  Do you also want me to code on a mobile device.  Maybe you should limit proposals to 500 characters so that users don't have to scroll to read the proposal on their mobile device.  Maybe remove the website all together and force users to  mobile apps.

Please allow freelancers to use your tool as it best suits them.  If a user wants 25 porfolio items on a general profile let them make that decision and it hurts their business because mobile users don't scroll to read them all then that's the freelancers choice.  But don't restrict our ability as freelancers to make a living because you are mobile centric.

Forcing specialized profiles in order to have more portfolios is the worst thing I've seen on Upwork to date.

[dzadza]

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Kevin O wrote:

All - I think I just figured out what is happening and why Upwork is trying to force us to have specialized profiles.  It hit me when I tried to add a portfolio to bogus specialized profile and Upwork forced me to add a picture for the portfolio (which is ridiculous in and of itself).

Upwork is trying to push mobile (less scrolling, more pictures, etc).

Well, newsflash Upwork, most business is not done on the mobile platform.  Do you also want me to code on a mobile device.  Maybe you should limit proposals to 500 characters so that users don't have to scroll to read the proposal on their mobile device.  Maybe remove the website all together and force users to  mobile apps.

Please allow freelancers to use your tool as it best suits them.  If a user wants 25 porfolio items on a general profile let them make that decision and it hurts their business because mobile users don't scroll to read them all then that's the freelancers choice.  But don't restrict our ability as freelancers to make a living because you are mobile centric.

Forcing specialized profiles in order to have more portfolios is the worst thing I've seen on Upwork to date.

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oh, that's just grand, isn't it!
we'll also get more  of those "need tre logo"s" job postings with obligatory "this job was posted from a mobile device, so pardon any errors..." 
at least we know who UW target clients are - subway riders   

[iaabraham]

Seriously, Upwork, please roll back this requirement. It's not cool forcing us into specialized profiles. While you're at it, please remove the bloody popup that's been festering at the top of my profile -- I'm NOT going to split my profile up just because you think it will help my business (it won't).

If you're going to eventually make it mandatory for all freelancers to have specialized profiles, do it now instead of playing all these weird, coercive games.

[joduxbury]

Posting here to add to the requests for making specialist profiles OPTIONAL please.

I do not need specialist profiles.

It's ridiculous to force this on us in order to keep our portfolio up to date and add  links and images to Upwork projects we've completed. 

[jongordon_ca]

I have a sneaking suspicion the move to forcing Specialized Portfolios is because at some point in the near future they are going to start charging us to host portfolios.

[mtngigi]

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Jon G wrote:

I have a sneaking suspicion the move to forcing Specialized Portfolios is because at some point in the near future they are going to start charging us to host portfolios.

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It's best not to give U any ideas, Jon.