Solved: Need Advice.

salima-noorani · ‎01-08-2021

Hello,

I offer two services on Upwork

1- Accounting services

2- Content writing.

I am a professional accountant with more than 6 years of experience. And writing is my hobby. So far the jobs I have completed are related to Content writing. Out of the interviews I have got only one of them was related to accounting but I had to refuse the job because of the low pay.

What could be the possible reason for not being successful in my field of expertise?

I am wondering if my profile has to do something with it. I have two profiles

1- General - for accounting services

2- Specialized- for content writing

I have recently learned you can edit your work history and portfolio in a specialized profile but not in a general one. This makes it easy for sorting relevant jobs and samples to their respective profiles. So Should I make a specialized profile for my accounting services and completely alter my general profile? or it doesn't make any difference? Any tips on what to include in a general profile?

kinector · ‎01-08-2021

Salima, short answer: Freelancing is an expert's game. Experts get the best clients, experts get paid much better than "normal" workers in companies, experts are always needed for the demanding jobs they've spent years or decades in learning to do really well and fast at the same time.

If your profile looks like that of a non-expert, particularly if you have two completely different fields as your claimed specialties, you might unintentionally make an inconsistent impression.

So, what are you REALLY good at? Accounting or writing?

This platform works best if you have one clearly defined specialty. Once you have built a long work history, you can slowly expand the offering when you don't need to worry about the review and earning stats so much anymore.

I have specialized profiles too but there is a big common nominator in the general field of expertise.

I do have many other services that are nothing to do with my primary field, but I'd never highlight them on my Upwork profile as that might make an inconsistent first impression.

View solution in original post

salima-noorani · ‎01-08-2021

Salima N wrote:
Hello,

I offer two services on Upwork

1- Accounting services
2- Content writing.

I am a professional accountant with more than 6 years of experience. And writing is my hobby. So far the jobs I have completed are related to Content writing. Out of the interviews I have got only one of them was related to accounting but I had to refuse the job because of the low pay.

What could be the possible reason for not being successful in my field of expertise?

I am wondering if my profile has to do something with it. I have two profiles

1- General - for accounting services
2- Specialized- for content writing

I have recently learned you can edit your work history and portfolio in a specialized profile but not in a general one. This makes it easy for sorting relevant jobs and samples to their respective profiles. So Should I make a specialized profile for my accounting services and completely alter my general profile? or it doesn't make any difference? Any tips on what to include in a general profile?

To The Upwork Support Team who moved my post here,

The first part of this post is not related to feedback on profiles. With due respect, how am I am going to get an answer? Should I make another post for resolving the first question I asked?

g_vasilevski · ‎01-08-2021

Hi Salima,

Unfortunately, I can't advise you why clients are not inviting you to jobs for your main experience. You can try to update your general profile to reflect more your account experience or set up an accounting specialized profile.
I would also like to clarify that freelancers in search results are shown on a rotating basis so that everyone gets a fair chance to be discovered. Thank you.

~ Goran

salima-noorani · ‎01-08-2021

Goran V wrote:
Hi Salima,

Unfortunately, I can't advise you why clients are not inviting you to jobs for your main experience. You can try to update your general profile to reflect more your account experience or set up an accounting specialized profile.
I would also like to clarify that freelancers in search results are shown on a rotating basis so that everyone gets a fair chance to be discovered. Thank you.

Goran, Thank you for your response. But my question to you was should I make another post asking the first questions to get the views of experienced freelancers? Or my post will be moved again somewhere.

My point is I think this is not a relevant thread to move my post in. Some time ago I requested feedback on my profile here which I got and I am grateful for it. But today my question has a different context.

g_vasilevski · ‎01-08-2021

Hi Salima,

I just moved your post back so that your fellow freelancers can share their feedback and thoughts with you. Thank you.

~ Goran

salima-noorani · ‎01-08-2021

Goran V wrote:
Hi Salima,

I just moved your post back so that your fellow freelancers can share their feedback and thoughts with you. Thank you.

Goran, can the solution status be removed. The matter has not been resolved.

kinector · ‎01-08-2021

Salima, short answer: Freelancing is an expert's game. Experts get the best clients, experts get paid much better than "normal" workers in companies, experts are always needed for the demanding jobs they've spent years or decades in learning to do really well and fast at the same time.

If your profile looks like that of a non-expert, particularly if you have two completely different fields as your claimed specialties, you might unintentionally make an inconsistent impression.

So, what are you REALLY good at? Accounting or writing?

This platform works best if you have one clearly defined specialty. Once you have built a long work history, you can slowly expand the offering when you don't need to worry about the review and earning stats so much anymore.

I have specialized profiles too but there is a big common nominator in the general field of expertise.

I do have many other services that are nothing to do with my primary field, but I'd never highlight them on my Upwork profile as that might make an inconsistent first impression.

salima-noorani · ‎01-08-2021

Mikko R wrote:
So, what are you REALLY good at? Accounting or writing?

Thank you, Mikko for your valuable insight.

To be a professional accountant or passionate writer that is the question.

tlbp · ‎01-08-2021

Salima N wrote:
Hello,

I offer two services on Upwork

1- Accounting services
2- Content writing.

I am a professional accountant with more than 6 years of experience. And writing is my hobby. So far the jobs I have completed are related to Content writing. Out of the interviews I have got only one of them was related to accounting but I had to refuse the job because of the low pay.

What could be the possible reason for not being successful in my field of expertise?

I am wondering if my profile has to do something with it. I have two profiles

1- General - for accounting services
2- Specialized- for content writing

I have recently learned you can edit your work history and portfolio in a specialized profile but not in a general one. This makes it easy for sorting relevant jobs and samples to their respective profiles. So Should I make a specialized profile for my accounting services and completely alter my general profile? or it doesn't make any difference? Any tips on what to include in a general profile?

An accountant from any jurisdiction probably knows enough about the topic to write an article about it. At the very least, they would be ahead of generalists who don't understand basic accounting principles or terminology. So, as a writer with niche expertise, you are highly marketable. And, hiring a writer isn't exactly a high-risk decision. Hiring an accountant, especially one from a different jurisdiction, is a more serious matter.
It is very hard to find smart writers willing to create content at low prices. Keep increasing your content writing prices until you consistently get rejected--then take those prices down about 10% and grab those writing jobs. 😉

salima-noorani · ‎01-09-2021

Tonya P wrote:

An accountant from any jurisdiction probably knows enough about the topic to write an article about it. At the very least, they would be ahead of generalists who don't understand basic accounting principles or terminology. So, as a writer with niche expertise, you are highly marketable.

And, hiring a writer isn't exactly a high-risk decision. Hiring an accountant, especially one from a different jurisdiction, is a more serious matter.

Excellent points. I need to learn some marketing skills.

Thank you Tonya for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.