Is it beneficial to show Upwork earnings

[mehran1013]

Hello Everyone,

I hope all is Good. I just have a query that is it beneficial to show Upwork earnings and it gives some advantage on getting hired in some circumstances. Thank You

Regards

[marc_compte]

It doesn't make a difference in your proposals.

"[...] will hide them from the general public and the marketplace, but not from your proposals"

Source: https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211063168-Earnings-on-Your-Profile

So, clients will not see your earnings in the marketplace and you may notice a difference in invites. I'm not sure if that client can see your earnings after you accepted an invite, though.

[pgiambalvo]

I don't show mine because it allows me to be more flexible when bidding on jobs.

[petra_r]

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Peter G wrote:

I don't show mine because it allows me to be more flexible when bidding on jobs.

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It does no such thing because clients you send your proposals to can see your entire earnings history as if you were not hiding your earnings.

All you do by hiding your earnings is to exclude yourself from some search results and have clients who find you in other searches wonder what you're trying to hide.

[a5a1715a]

My two cents on your question:

Clients use different criteria when deciding whom to invite to bid on a project. Everything else equal, personally, I gravitate toward transparent individuals. Hidden information on a profile leaves questions on my mind that I will not be able to find the answers to unless I interview the person. When the number of qualified individuals is more than the number of freelancers that I wish to invite for a job (usually 5 or so people), that missing info could become disadvantageous with regard to getting an invite.

[hglewis]

Hello Mehran,

In my 30 years of being a business owner and a freelancer, clients never ask me or inquire about how much I make. 

Only my competitors do.

Also, I've been selling online since 1997, and not once has a client, customer, or repeat account asked how much I make.

You're going to hear countless reasons why you should show your earnings, and you will listen to a myriad of reasons why you shouldn't show your earnings.

Each group will have a set of trigger words that define what they believe. And you will see it in their explanations.

Take no offense to what each side says. Observe and decide your next steps.

You do what's best for your business. If you want to show your earnings, show them; if not, then don't.

The choice is yours!

[a5a1715a]

It is interesting to see the various mindsets that freelancers and clients bring to this space.

In light of the above comments and suggestions, and for the benefit of new freelancers trying to get a foothold in this workspace, I would like to elaborate a bit more on this topic.

I’ve been using Elance/Upwork for more than 20 years; I have worked with more than 200 freelancers from across the globe. On occasions, a freelancer I’ve worked with asks for advice on how best to position herself/himself in this marketplace. Aside from specific suggestions, my general advice has been: (1) Make sure your profile is complete; don’t leave pertinent information out. (2) On the technical side, highlight your background, experience, and strengths truthfully. (3) On the non-technical side, be authentic, transparent, flexible, accommodating, and nice. I cannot over-emphasize the significance of authenticity. In a highly competitive marketplace, canned letters and generic responses generally don’t give one a competitive edge.

You want to get an interview and be given serious consideration for a job that interests you. Of course, afterward, you can decline the offer and walk away if the job is not for you or if the chemistry is not right. But getting that interview and successfully executing it is more of an art than science. Undoubtedly, be yourself. But making rigid assumptions generally doesn’t work in your favor.

[pgiambalvo]

From the freelancer side, I agree with most of what you've said. But I have been hired many times because the client said that my profile was succint, that my proposal was the most brief and to the point of all the ones they received, and they appreciated not having to read a novel about me promoting myself. And a big yes to being authentic, transparent, flexible, accommodating, and nice. I'm not trying to fool anyone, hire me based on my experience and portfolio or don't.

[a5a1715a]

Hi Peter,

Yes, your profile is concise; it effectively communicates your professional story. Your solid academic background and employment history paint a clear picture of your qualifications. Your profile can easily get the potential client’s attention.

You have a niche area of expertise. I suspect there are not many qualified individuals competing in this area, unlike the IT industry. At least that has been my observation. I had a pet project a while back that kind of crossed into your area of expertise. I had difficulty locating freelancers for writing a script for a short animated movie based on an old book on bridge structures. Perhaps the somewhat technical nature of the topic (bridges) made finding the right person a challenge.

Most of the IT-related freelancers face fierce competition in this workspace. For a typical project, it is not unusual to get 40-50 unsolicited proposals. Interestingly, most of these individuals seem to have sufficient technical ability to do the work; however, the way they present themselves puts them at a competitive disadvantage, at least in my view. 

[melaniekhenson]

I show my earnings. All jobs are different, the lengths of time are different, etc., etc. and I don't think most clients weed through every single job and do the math to find out whether previous fixed-price jobs fell at exactly the same fee per hour.

As for hourly jobs, I just bid my hourly rate and the client wants to hire me based on that and my skills, or s/he doesn't.

[roberty1y]

I think Sivand is right, it's better to be as transparent as possible. Even if you aren't being devious or deceitful by hiding something, clients may not see it that way. 

If a freelancer hides their earnings, there's always the suspicion that they're doing jobs at way below their advertised rate, which raises the possibility that their work is of low quality.