Is this Upwork's Idea of a Better Site?

[iaabraham]

The quality of invites I've received has gotten steadily worse in the past year, but this is the most ludicrous I've seen in a while. We're charged 20% fees, we have to pay for connects, clients are now on membership plans ... yet I'm still getting invites like the one below? So is this where the site is heading?

(And how **Edited for Community Guidelines**  has this client managed to send hundreds of **Edited for Community Guidelines** invites? Are they on the so-called Business plan? I find it hard to believe that this kind of client is paying Upwork $500 a month...)

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[rolludesig]

things are really going bad sadly..the designing jobs are going down like anything:( 

[sergio-soria]

What kind of structures? Do I have to buy a roller, paint, thinner and carry my staircase?

Yes, I can't believe those people pay $500 to publish something like that. I consider it spam.

[dzadza]

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Rahul V wrote:

things are really going bad sadly..the designing jobs are going down like anything:( 

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of course - because you have freelancers here who are selling copyrighted stock art as their  own for less than miserable price (well, since they didn't actually do anything - price is fair, lol)
I flagged one profile today - and it's still there , happilly advertising someone else's art...

[vigus]

I am not able to understand what type of changes there have been. Is it algorithm or technologies are changing abruptly or increased vast in number that is making it very difficult to connect with the clients. 

I remember some years ago the staff used to invite and connect with the client looking for freelancers. That stopped for some reasons. After that atleast there used to be one or more lead or invite in atleast 1 or 2 days. No matter it lead to job or not, but clients used to talk. That too seems to have got stopped.  Now upwork is charging for connects, which is fine. But the result has gone worst than ever before, such that most of the clients who publish the job don't even care to reply back or enquire anything. Even if I am the only applicant I see. And that is happening with almost 90% of jobs I apply for. I don't understand why, it never happened like this in the last 9 years I had started with upwork. I sometimes doubt if they are even seeing the application or not. I am completely clueless. As per the new changes on upwork, aren't client too paying for publishing the job nowadays?

[denise-hombs]

Agreed.  Since the changes, I have had the worst string of clients who are angry and giving lower reviews. Since Upwork is charging clients $500 per month and also took away some payment method perks...the clients are angry and may be taking it out on freelanceers.

I also have more clients who think that data analysis of large datasets with dashboard is like a 30 minute job for someone advanced in Excel. I get complaints now for the length of time jobs take me -- I'm very fast and never had any issues about time in my 1 year+ full-time work with Upwork. I am top-rated, but since these Upwork changes, my score has lowered 8%

[rolludesig]

and is it seriously $500 a month ??????  what for such a big amount is being charged???

[researchediting]

While it's not clear, this RFP might describe coloring work in traditional 2-D animation. If so, or if anything like that work, the pay would be consistent with what Disney, for example, has offered for years on Upwork and its predecessor companies.

[sergio-soria]

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Douglas Michael M wrote:

While it's not clear, this RFP might describe coloring work in traditional 2-D animation.

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Yeah, I was just being silly. I wonder why they sent that invitation to Isabelle when she's a proofreader. That's why I said the other day that it looks like they send invites randomly without actually reading the profiles.

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Isabelle Anne,

While clients can choose to invite any freelancer to apply to their job, I understand your frustration. It looks like the client may have selected a wrong category for their job. I'll also check why they were able to send so many invites for one job.

Also just to note, you'll see a Plus or Business badge on the job posting if the client is a member of those plans. 

[mtngigi]

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Valeria K wrote:

Hi Isabelle Anne,

While clients can choose to invite any freelancer to apply to their job, I understand your frustration. It looks like the client may have selected a wrong category for their job. I'll also check why they were able to send so many invites for one job.

Also just to note, you'll see a Plus or Business badge on the job posting if the client is a member of those plans. 

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I received an invite to be a project manager (yeah, that's close to what I do  ) - budget: $5. This person has sent 122 invites and his RFP borders on the ridiculous. He has 14 open jobs, all the same as this current listing, all from 2018. He has spent a grand total of $100. He keeps renewing this listing. Please explain the value this client brings to the site.

[tlsanders]

It seems like there's been a big split, and some good freelancers ended up on the wrong side of it. People seem either to be saying what OP is saying here, or saying that they're getting more great invitations than ever.

[iaabraham]

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Valeria K wrote:

Hi Isabelle Anne,

While clients can choose to invite any freelancer to apply to their job, I understand your frustration. It looks like the client may have selected a wrong category for their job. I'll also check why they were able to send so many invites for one job.

Also just to note, you'll see a Plus or Business badge on the job posting if the client is a member of those plans. 

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Thanks Valeria. Please do update this thread when you find out -- I'd really like to know how this can continue to go on. Obviously this is just one of the worse ones I've received lately, which prompted me to post here, but this has been going on for a while now.

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Tiffany S wrote:

It seems like there's been a big split, and some good freelancers ended up on the wrong side of it. People seem either to be saying what OP is saying here, or saying that they're getting more great invitations than ever.

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To be honest, I'm flabbergasted by how well some freelancers here have reacted to Upwork's recent changes. I have truly not seen any of the so-called benefits of increased fees, connects fees, and client membership plans. More than 90% of my workload comes from repeat/long-term clients, some of whom I've worked with for years. But otherwise, this platform is steadily getting worse for me.

I don't know at what point people will stop praising Upwork for its recent craziness ... when they start charging us 50% fees? Charging us to edit our profiles? Charging us to register on the site? 

It's not fun continually complaining here, especially since oDesk really helped me get into freelancing, but at this point, I'm not sure where this company is headed with all this bull.

[rolludesig]

exactly same here it is just the repeat/long term clients which are moving the things here..and again to mention the alogrithrm need to be taken off and screening of freelancers by upwork to help the clients also need to be stopped..

i guess clients are good enough to choose who is the best...

[wendy_writes]

Isabelle,  I found that creating a second profile boosted the quality of invites - both client initiated and invite only as these are the ones that fit what I do on a consistent basis.

Much as I know you don't want to --- there is a way to separate out your areas of expertize.  PM me and I'll run through how I did it + what I did.  You can too.  And it will help -

[dzadza]

problem with so called specialized profiles is - they don't cover everything. Apart from branding and logo design, I specialize in print design - and there's no such a thing. So - I can  create my specialized profile only for logo design - and I bet there's  quite a few thousand freelancers doing that - not all of them deal with print and work in indesign...

[wendy_writes]

Sanja, it becomes a case of letting words do what the system can't.  I know this isn't the ideal but it can be accomplshed.

[dzadza]

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Wendy C wrote:

Sanja, it becomes a case of letting words do what the system can't.  I know this isn't the ideal but it can be accomplshed.

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I know - but it would be kind of confusing if I created a specialized profile for - let's say 2d design (that one does exist) and start with "well,  I don't really do this much - but take a look at some examples of my booklet designs" 😉

[sergio-soria]

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Sanja D wrote:

problem with so called specialized profiles is - they don't cover everything. Apart from branding and logo design, I specialize in print design - and there's no such a thing. So - I can  create my specialized profile only for logo design - and I bet there's  quite a few thousand freelancers doing that - not all of them deal with print and work in indesign...

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Hey, Sanja, use "Editorial Design", that is the wording Upwork use which would include "Print Design", Indesign, QuarkXPress, etc.

[dzadza]

missed that one - thanks so much!

[mtngigi]

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Sergio S wrote:

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Sanja D wrote:

problem with so called specialized profiles is - they don't cover everything. Apart from branding and logo design, I specialize in print design - and there's no such a thing. So - I can  create my specialized profile only for logo design - and I bet there's  quite a few thousand freelancers doing that - not all of them deal with print and work in indesign...

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Hey, Sanja, use "Editorial Design", that is the wording Upwork use which would include "Print Design", Indesign, QuarkXPress, etc.

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Editorial design pretty much refers to magazine, books and newspapers, and refers mostly to text-heavy layouts. It most certainly does not describe what I do. That print design isn't even in that list points up how very little Upwork knows about what many us do, and how very clueless they are. When I'm designing for print, I'm also "image editing/retouching" the photos clients send me to place in their layouts. I'm also being a creative director. I've also created logos for use in the trade show banner I'm designing for a client (yes, exhibiit design is print design). Just about everything in that list, except cartoonist and fashion design, falls under ONE umbrella.

This is why I do not need a specialized profile.

As I said ... clueless.

[mtngigi · Accepted solution]

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Sanja D wrote:

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Wendy C wrote:

Sanja, it becomes a case of letting words do what the system can't.  I know this isn't the ideal but it can be accomplshed.

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I know - but it would be kind of confusing if I created a specialized profile for - let's say 2d design (that one does exist) and start with "well,  I don't really do this much - but take a look at some examples of my booklet designs" 😉

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Especially when most clients wouldn't think (or know) to call their print jobs 2D. All I do is design for print, but within that very broad catagory, lies everything from business cards to trade show banners, from simple flyers to catalogs and posters and event programs and ads and on and on. In the end, print design is a specialized category in and of itself. I do not need, nor want, to separate it out into all the many things I have experience doing. Clients have found me and I have found them, all without a "special" profile.

But mostly, I don't like the fact that we are once again being forced into something, that Upwork is once again inserting itself into our personal business, making decisions that we very well know are never based on any actual knowledge of what will work for us, or what we do.

Give people the option to say no, I don't need or want that. That we can no longer edit our portfolios because we will then be forced into a specialized profile is BS of the highest degree.

[dzadza]

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But mostly, I don't like the fact that we are once again being forced into something, that Upwork is once again inserting itself into our personal business, making decisions that we very well know are never based on any actual knowledge of what will work for us, or what we do.

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...not to mention flying rockets, fires and stars placed on our "professional" profile pages

[mtngigi]

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Sanja D wrote:

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But mostly, I don't like the fact that we are once again being forced into something, that Upwork is once again inserting itself into our personal business, making decisions that we very well know are never based on any actual knowledge of what will work for us, or what we do.

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...not to mention flying rockets, fires and stars placed on our "professional" profile pages

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Yes ... flying rockets - and maps showing where we live, and ... have you all see the new graphic for when a profile gets locked for lack of earning in 30 days? Some shady character wearing a slouch hat and sunglasses. I suppose Upwork finds it amusing, but I am not laughling.

I've been waiting to find one, and here it is. I don't really know what clients see if a profile is set to private, but hopefully it's not this.

[sergio-soria]

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Virginia F wrote:

That we can no longer edit our portfolios because we will then be forced into a specialized profile is BS of the highest degree.

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Really? Are they now forcing us to create a specialized profile if we try to update the portfolio? **bleep**, I didn't know that. I was going to add some items but I have been reluctant to create a specialized profile. I think it adds confusion to the client really.

As for the maps, long time I haven't seen one now. I used to see them all the time in freelancers' profiles from US but not now. Are they still showing maps and I don't see them because I am outside of US maybe?

[mtngigi]

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Sergio S wrote:

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Virginia F wrote:

That we can no longer edit our portfolios because we will then be forced into a specialized profile is BS of the highest degree.

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Really? Are they now forcing us to create a specialized profile if we try to update the portfolio? **bleep**, I didn't know that. I was going to add some items but I have been reluctant to create a specialized profile. I think it adds confusion to the client really.

Yes, they're really doing that ...see Avery's post on page 2 of this thread: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/I-am-trying-to-update-my-portfolio-with-a-new-folder-but...

As for the maps, long time I haven't seen one now. I used to see them all the time in freelancers' profiles from US but not now. Are they still showing maps and I don't see them because I am outside of US maybe?

I don't know ... but I have a map.

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[dzadza]

very professional

no wonder why clients are offering $3 per hour...

[gilbert-phyllis]

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Virginia F wrote:

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Sanja D wrote:

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But mostly, I don't like the fact that we are once again being forced into something, that Upwork is once again inserting itself into our personal business, making decisions that we very well know are never based on any actual knowledge of what will work for us, or what we do.

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...not to mention flying rockets, fires and stars placed on our "professional" profile pages

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Yes ... flying rockets - and maps showing where we live, and ... have you all see the new graphic for when a profile gets locked for lack of earning in 30 days? Some shady character wearing a slouch hat and sunglasses. I suppose Upwork finds it amusing, but I am not laughling.

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**Edited for Community Guidelines**??? OK, now  I'm really angry. My profile got set to private a few days ago, ostensibly for lack of earning in 30 days, except that it had only been 25 days since I received a payment. Am I to assume that cartoon was on my profile in the interval before they switched me back to visibility? So, if a former client went looking for me, that is what they'd see? I've already asked in another thread, WHY my profile was locked to private on the basis of 25 days since a payment. Just crickets, so far. These cartoons they're using on our profiles constitute an outrageous interference in our business and to what end????

[dzadza]

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Phyllis G wrote:

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Virginia F wrote:

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Sanja D wrote:

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But mostly, I don't like the fact that we are once again being forced into something, that Upwork is once again inserting itself into our personal business, making decisions that we very well know are never based on any actual knowledge of what will work for us, or what we do.

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...not to mention flying rockets, fires and stars placed on our "professional" profile pages

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Yes ... flying rockets - and maps showing where we live, and ... have you all see the new graphic for when a profile gets locked for lack of earning in 30 days? Some shady character wearing a slouch hat and sunglasses. I suppose Upwork finds it amusing, but I am not laughling.

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WTF??? OK, now  I'm really angry. My profile got set to private a few days ago, ostensibly for lack of earning in 30 days, except that it had only been 25 days since I received a payment. Am I to assume that cartoon was on my profile in the interval before they switched me back to visibility? So, if a former client went looking for me, that is what they'd see? I've already asked in another thread, WHY my profile was locked to private on the basis of 25 days since a payment. Just crickets, so far. These cartoons they're using on our profiles constitute an outrageous interference in our business and to what end????

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the only thing I can think of is - they want you to pay for premium membership 😉

[gilbert-phyllis]

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Sanja D wrote:

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the only thing I can think of is - they want you to pay for premium membership 😉

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In that case, they've seriously mis-read my motivations & priorities as a customer!

[gilbert-phyllis]

UPDATE: I submitted a ticket to find out why my profile was locked to private 25 days after my most recent payment. Received a prompt response that told me (among a bunch of copy-and-paste standard language) that they start the 30-day clock when the client initiates payment, not when the FL receives it. So, the 5-day security period counts. 

OK, that's a reason. I have no problem with it except they are so opaque about it. Go to Reports and look at your payments "within the last 30 days" and it shows payments received--not payments initiated by clients. I don't think UW is willfully confusing issues like this, but they couldn't do a better job if they set out to do it intentionally.

I'm still disgusted by the "shady character" icon and all the others they're appending to profiles. That's blatant and material interference in our communications to clients and prospects.

[calicocopy]

I agree. Most of us don't need  a specialized profile. In fact it can hurt. I tried a separate file for "content creation." The problem was, the decision to classify a job as "content creation" or "copywriting" is pretty arbitrary. So it looks like I have no jobs for content creation! 

[thebookdoc]

Catherine,

I believe the idea behind separate profiles would be the opportunity to highlight specific and distinct talents. For example, I have many years of experience as a development editor (25+). I also happen to have extensive skills using Photoshop (author of nine books on the topic). I've made money doing both through Upwork. I had to jam both of these profiles into one description in the past, and I think it highlighted neither because of length limitations. At one point, I decided to concentrate on editing, which made up the better part of the number of jobs I got. I stopped applying for Photoshop work at all.

While I have yet to do it, I will be taking advantage of the additional profiles to be able to apply to higher-end Photoshop work. I might also separate out development editing from tech writing for software as these are distinct skills.

"Content creation" and "copywriting" really are not that distinct and should likely not require a much different profile. I think that's the difference.

[calicocopy]

No.... some clients categorize website copywriting as "copywriting" and others as "content creation." Not enough differentiation for writers.

I've also seen a deterioration of client postings ... asking for a brilliant freelancer and paying peanuts. 

[florydev]

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Wendy C wrote:

Isabelle,  I found that creating a second profile boosted the quality of invites - both client initiated and invite only as these are the ones that fit what I do on a consistent basis.

Much as I know you don't want to --- there is a way to separate out your areas of expertize.  PM me and I'll run through how I did it + what I did.  You can too.  And it will help -

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Wendy, 

What an incredibly gracious offer!

[wendy_writes]

Mark, I've 'known' Isabelle a long time. She's talented, works her b*** off, cares about her clients ... and is a professional.   I'm all for helping those who help themselves ... and I know she is as well.  🙂

[m_terrazas]

Wendy C wrote:

Mark, I've 'known' Isabelle a long time. She's talented, works her b*** off, cares about her clients ... and is a professional.   I'm all for helping those who help themselves ... and I know she is as well.  

Mark, I can confirm it. Wendy likes to help.

I already told you but, Gracias guapa!

Edited to add: I forgot to say it. She gave me her help without asking her 

[wendy_writes]

da nada, mi amiga.

For everyone else ... I do not give help when asked other than in general postings in the forums. if you want help, hire me.

[florydev]

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Maria T wrote:

Wendy C wrote:

Mark, I've 'known' Isabelle a long time. She's talented, works her b*** off, cares about her clients ... and is a professional.   I'm all for helping those who help themselves ... and I know she is as well.  

Mark, I can confirm it. Wendy likes to help.

I already told you but, Gracias guapa!

Edited to add: I forgot to say it. She gave me her help without asking her 

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None of this makes a less gracious offer to me.  I think everyone should choose who they can help the best.

[thebookdoc]

Wendy,
It is very nice to see a positive, helpful reply. Not just from you. So many established people on this forum create so much negativity I am on the verge of just ignoring it. I thank you for not taking the common route and actually supporting the community.