Is my proposal viewed or not? New feature.

[lancruso]

A question for Upwork developers. Why don’t you build possibility to see if my proposal is viewed or not. When I send proposal I have no idea does client ignore me or he is offline. He doesn’t like my proposal? Or he can’t reply for some reason? That’s a problem because I don’t know should I wait for some time or look for next client.
I think it’s excellent idea to let me know if my proposal is viewed.
What do you think?

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

re: "That’s a problem because I don’t know should I wait for some time or look for next client."

You shouldn't wait.

There. Problem solved.

[lancruso]

You’re genius. Thanks.

[19ea94d6]

I think there's some insights can be taken beyond "should i wait?"
Like,
- Did the client look at my proposal then not hire me? (Maybe this mean my proposal/portfolio suck)
- Did the client not even open my proposal? (Then maybe it means I propose at the bad timing, so it got buried)
Etc etc.

I mean, we get to know where did we do wrong.

[9b660019]

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Darwin D wrote:
I think there's some insights can be taken beyond "should i wait?"
Like,
- Did the client look at my proposal then not hire me? (Maybe this mean my proposal/portfolio suck)
- Did the client not even open my proposal? (Then maybe it means I propose at the bad timing, so it got buried)
Etc etc.

I mean, we get to know where did we do wrong.

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Ok - so Upwork shows the client viewed your proposal, but you weren't hired. How is that information by itself helpful in determining where you went wrong?

It doesn't tell you whether your bid was too high or too low, the client preferred someone fluent in their native language, your past feedback raised a concern, or another freelancer's recent work history appeared more relevant to the client's requirements - and those are just a few possible reasons you were passed over.

The only way you would have useful feedback on where you went wrong is if the client spelled it out in a specific reply to you. This would be a major time sink for any job with more than a few proposals - clients have no incentive to do so, and would largely abandon the platform if Upwork tried to require it.

[thalitamilan]

Preston's comment doesn't the question at all and was written in a rude way!

[martina_plaschka]

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Thalita M wrote:

Preston's comment doesn't the question at all and was written in a rude way!

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But he is a guru! He can do that kind of thing. 

[kariminasser]

1- When I reject an invitation from my client there are multiple options that I can choose, Like I'm busy, or not interstred or it is low price. So when you created these for our freelancers why you didn't do that for the clients? It wouldn't take the client to choose an option from the list and then we know what is the reason, like hight rate, less avalilbilty, languge matching and anything else.

2- If I don't reply to an invtation my repsonse rate would affect, and I'm sure its important for my profile. So we can have an insiths that shows does the client worth our time to send a proposal, or the client just post a job and never check that, our connects matters as we spent even we can boost the proposal but what happen if they never check the proposal and it looks like waste time.

3- When the client choose the person and hire it, then we can be notified that they hired some one and we don't need to wait for client response.

Totally I think the truth is everytime the client have a preference than freelancers, upwork doesn't want to disturbe the client but yes freelancers have many time to do anything that you need.

[wlyonsatl]

Artem V.,

Keep in mind that we have been told that for each job posting Upwork presents all submitted freelancer proposals to the client based on an algorithmic ranking of how well each freelancer fits with the project's requirements.

If you are not near the top of that list the client might not even see your proposal before they have decided to hire a freelancer that Upwork's algorithm has ranked higher than you for that project.

Preston is right. Submit proposals on new projects you think match up well with your skills and experience and then give each proposal no more thought unless the client responds.

If you are getting less responses and are awarded far fewer jobs than you need to justify using Upwork, then you need to focus on improving your work samples, resume/CV, etc. Or maybe just decide that Upwork is not the right platform for you.

There is absolutely no possibility Upwork will ever introduce a functionality that allows clients to provide feedback to freelancers they choose not to hire on a project.

Good luck!

[moonraker]

I didn't think Preston's reply was rude - more succinct.

I don't know of a single successful freelancer who doesn't agree you should just fire and forget. Worrying about whether or not your proposal has been read will get you nowhere - there's nothing useful you can do with that information. It sometimes takes weeks for a client to hire somebody. 

You shouldn't wait. Just move on to the next proposal.

[asif8208]

yes. I am also in doubt whether my proposal reaching to clients or not. 

[navidzafar]

Its a very fair demand. Freelancer at least should know if his prosal was viewd or not. There is no harm in introducing this feature.

[markzolotoy]

I think what we are questioning here is this. If I fit perfectly into one job after another then that means two things: either the Upwork algorithm is not sending my proposals to clients or clients don't like me. Knowing the later is important since it can stimulate better work on proposals and portfolios.

[a_lipsey]

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Mark G wrote:

I think what we are questioning here is this. If I fit perfectly into one job after another then that means two things: either the Upwork algorithm is not sending my proposals to clients or clients don't like me. Knowing the later is important since it can stimulate better work on proposals and portfolios.

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Clients receive your proposals. It doesn't mean they don't like you. It means they liked someone else better. 

[markzolotoy]

That's ok. As long as they get my proposals I am fine.