Is anyone else receiving no attention from clients without explanation?

[larar4444]

I've been using Upwork for years, and, suddenly, no clients are responding to my job proposals.

I'm top rated. 96%. I was using the same techniques I've used for some time when the problem started. When I realized I wasn't getting noticed, I tried changing my skills because I saw the jobs I was applying to referenced the skills I had but they were worded differently, and I've tried a new approach to cover letters based on Upwork approved tips online.

I have received a few invitations. So, I'm not completely blacklisted. Unfortunately, most of them are not worth pursuing.

It's been since May 20th that I've gotten a reply back from anyone. I worked that short job, and haven't gotten a reply from any job proposal since.

It says I'm not getting viewed as often as my peers, but I'm more often interviewed than my peers. So my profile isn't bad, it isn't opened.

Is anyone else noticing a difference recently? Are there just too many people trying to apply? Has something changed I don't know about?

[feed_my_eyes]

Many people have been laid off and have joined Upwork hoping to become freelancers, so there's more competition than ever before. But there's no reason to think that Upwork would "blacklist" you - if they had reason to suspect you of anything, then you'd know about it, because you'd be suspended or banned and unable to place any further proposals. 

The only thing that you can do in a situation like this is to figure out what kind of businesses are most likely to hire these days and what type of services they need most, and then go after them with all guns blazing. And don't forget to leverage your existing clients for referrals and repeat business. It seems like many freelancers make the mistake of always trying to go after new clients, instead of trying to maintain and improve relationships with the clients they've already got.

[larar4444]

Thank you for your input. I know that's true about reaching out to previous clients. That's often helped me in the past.