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a_golubovic
Community Member

Job description changed

Job description changed after my proposal. Client reformulated description and added some new terms which not match my skillset anymore. How is this possible?
13 REPLIES 13
prestonhunter
Community Member

Clients can edit job descriptions.

 

Don't worry about this.

 

If the client contacts you, it is still up to you what you will and will not do. Job postings and proposals are not contracts. They are the beginning of a conversation.

Of course it's up to me - I don't have to accept the job. But problem here is that I spent Connects I paid for applying for a job I could finish, and suddenly I'm not competent for the job, which means that I just throw away my Connects. That's not ok at all, from my point of view.


Aleksandar G wrote:
Of course it's up to me - I don't have to accept the job. But problem here is that I spent Connects I paid for applying for a job I could finish, and suddenly I'm not competent for the job, which means that I just throw away my Connects. That's not ok at all, from my point of view.

Were you actually contacted by the client?

 

No. In the case that client not contact me at all, that's ok. But if he does, job description changed and I can not accept job, which means my Connects goes away, because Upwork won't refund it in that case.


Aleksandar G wrote:
No. In the case that client not contact me at all, that's ok.

So, in other words, as of now you're neither in the running for the job you could do, or the job you can't, so the connects are gone and you're not hired either way.

 

Would that be a fair summary?

 


Aleksandar G wrote:
 But if he does, job description changed and I can not accept job, which means my Connects goes away.

The connects have already gone away.

 

I don't ever look at job posts I have submitted a proposal to again, unless and until a client contacts me.

Send a proposal, forget about it.

If job description were as it is now, I wouldn't apply at all and save my Connects which are not free anymore. It's not ok that client can change the job description in the way of asking for some additional job or additional skillset. It would be fair that client can cancel the job, Upwork refund connects to freelancers who sent proposal and client can set a new job with new description, so people with different skilleset could apply. So, Upwork allow clients to change description and doesn't allow freelancer to cancel the proposal and get Connects back. Why?


Aleksandar G wrote:
If job description were as it is now, I wouldn't apply at all and save my Connects which are not free anymore. It's not ok that client can change the job description in the way of asking for some additional job or additional skillset. It would be fair that client can cancel the job, Upwork refund connects to freelancers who sent proposal and client can set a new job with new description, so people with different skilleset could apply. So, Upwork allow clients to change description and doesn't allow freelancer to cancel the proposal and get Connects back. Why?

It's best to think of connects as the price to submit a proposal, and don't expect to get them back. If you made a job application by post, you wouldn't expect to get the price of the stamp back if the employer doesn't hire. (And here in the UK a first class stamp costs more than 4 connects.)

It's ok not to get connects back when client do not respond or for some smiliar reason. In this situation I'm applying for one job and spending my Connects and after 2hrs client change job description and I'm not relevant for that job, so my applying doesn't make sense and I'm practically throwing away Connects for nothing. Even in the case client respond, that's not the same iob I wanted to do and same job I spend my Connects for. Somewhere in the world $0.15 have much bigger value than in UK or US, but this is not about money value. I think it's kind of unfair from Upwork to freelancers. I paid for it, I risked it, and it's not my fault if someone change job description I initially applied and suddenly I am not relevant for that job, but my Connects not get refunded.

Hi Aleksandar,

 

I understand your frustration with this and thank you for your feedback, I will share it with our team. 

~ Goran
Upwork

Thank you Goran.

If a client changes a job description, it does not mean that he can't hire me.


It is true that I can not do Task B, but I can still do Task A.

 

The client knows that he changed the job description. If he contacts me, I will offer to do a great job on Task A, while working with the other team members who do Task B.

This is not good concept for multiple reasons. One of them is that I applied for one job and after job description changed, maybe I am not good fit for client anymore or maybe I do not like new requirements, so we are in situation where I have proposal on job I do not want to do anymore or I have very small changes to get, because my skills are not matching with new description.
My point is that I have spent my Connects on job that can be changed by client anytime. That is not fair concept to freelancers, at all.
From my point of view, it would be fair that Client can only cancel the job and create a new one, while Upwork should refund all freelancers which sent proposals.

@Preston H I think that your opinion is consistent only when the client had updated the initial version of job description. The problem is that the client can change the whole idea of initial job description when task A is not the same anymore and the freelancer could not be able to do the new version of completely changed task A but the freelancer had spent his Connects on proposal for the initial job description. Also, client has absolute right to change the whole idea of the first version of job description which is not fair toward the freelancers that had spent their irreversible Connects.

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