No jobs and full of spam

[kevincostel]

Hi,

I've working on Upwork since 2016, as a side hustle, everything went well until 2020-2021 and then I took a pause because of personal issues. Recently I've tried getting back to it but it seems impossible to get another project. But the biggest problem is that 9 out of 10 jobs on my feed are scams. I keep getting projects with descriptions like this: 

"Convert jpg. to pdf. " or other "simple" tasks. All these jobs (that are clearly violating the rules) have a budget of thousands of dollars (unverified of course) and the "employer" has no other jobs posted.

Once I've accidentally applied to one of these jobs and I was asked to message that person via telegram "for more details". 

I keep reporting these jobs and it seems impossible to get rid of.....it seems that nowadays everyone can do anything on upwork.

I really loved this platform but it looks like Upwork went downhill. It's really frustrating that all the jobs are just spam and the few real jobs I find and apply for are impossible to get, even with those new "boosters".

[jendraiss]

Agreed, it is awful. I've been on Upwork for many years and really valued the platform but with all of the spam postings over the last 6-8 months, the number of jobs I have gotten has declined drastically (from 10-20 interviews a week to maybe one or two), despite being top rated. It is incredibly frustrating.

[kevincostel]

Yep, exactly. It's like everyone stopped caring.

[the-right-writer]

You are not alone. I have never had to spend so many connects on jobs that never hire anyone. I know some people like to test the system and see what kind of talent they find for an amount of money. However, I don't believe it's the majority. The dearth of decent-paying jobs is critical. They simply are not there. The same filters I have been using for years are now turning up a drizzle of jobs.

I believe the scams from both sides are to blame, at least in part. Even during the lockdowns, there were better jobs.

[kevincostel]

Spot on! I remember getting 2-3 interviews in the same time and now there's barely anything to apply for. Whenever I finish digging through all the spam and manage to find any job, it already has 50+ proposals. I just opened the app this morning and yet again, the whole feed was full of "convert images to pdf." all with budgets of thousands of dollars.

[pgiambalvo]

"But the biggest problem is that 9 out of 10 jobs on my feed are scams." Sadly, you are not alone in experiencing this.

[04d222f7]

Hello. I am new to this platform, and I almost get into the trap. They offer some "simple typing jobs" and that I need to contact a certain person at Telegram app. I did it and found out it was sort of a scam because I needed to pay them a registration fee before to get the real job. It is very frustrating for a beginner like me. I had high hopes in getting my first real job here. 

[pgiambalvo]

Sorry this happened to you. But yes, there are many scams here and that is one of the most common. Read this to help keep yourself safe. And NEVER communicate off of Upwork using things like Telegram until after a contract is in place. You shouldn;t have done that but at least now you know better, Anyone who wants you to to that for any type of job is almost certainly trying to scam you.

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

[e2d49697]

Hey fellow Upworkers, I'm still new to this and am grateful for the sharing. It puts me in the right perspective now at least. I look forward to making this my main income one day but now it seems that thought may be far-fetched. For months I've tried to make my profile more professional and I even lowered my asking per hour but there is just no client response. Only recently realized that by being unavailable, my profile is literally invisible to clients for months, so my question to Upwork would be, "Why do the freelance community needs you when even the basic costs money, like oxygen to a human?". Shouldn't Upwork at least make it fair so profiles get viewed by clients at the very basic, it is only when a deal is struck then Upwork can get their share. That is common sense I would think. I am turning it on for a test to see if it works at all.  Knowing your stories now, I doubt it will.

Are any peers willing to share with me how I can earn a decent job here? I'm giving up soon.

[martina_plaschka]

There are tens of millions of freelancers on upwork, and a large number of those are inactive. It would be a terrible client experience if he/she invited a bunch of freelancers that never respond.

I believe it makes a lot of sense to not show all freelancers to clients, only the active ones. 

[roberty1y]

It would take about six months to go through all the freelancer profiles, even for one particular skill. But while you're checking each one, two new ones would be added. You'd be trapped forever on Upwork, with no escape.

[kevincostel]

It's only fair to make these things public and openly speak about this. Having worked for quite some time on Upwork I do understand how frustrating it can get to land a job as a beginner (on the platform). I do still have some hope as I've had a really nice time here but lately everything looks like a mess.

[k_pitman]

Yeah, there's no jobs hardly. It might be the recession combined with too many freelancers. My feed is ALL spam and fake jobs. There are some I can't tell are real or not. The ones I do apply to get closed out etc. I used to apply mainly to high paying fixed pay jobs but there hasn't been a real one in a while.

[930d2896]

I just recently signed up with Upwork, and I hope to not see scams like that.  But hey, maybe Upwork can hire somebody to filter out and eliminate those scam jobs?  I'm up for the task.

[PradeepH]

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your message. While I am unable to share our internal process here on the public forum, I would like to assure you that our team is already working hard to rid our marketplace of all inappropriate jobs and profiles. We sometimes need to rely on your assistance to report any suspicious activities on our platform. You can use the 'Flag as inappropriate' button or use the Get Support option to report a job or user for review. Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

We do appreciate the effort and time you take to help us in keeping the integrity, safety, and quality of the Upwork Marketplace. Feel free to message us if you need further assistance.
 

Thank you,

Pradeep

[pgiambalvo]

I hope that they do hire you because what they are doing, ain'tworking. At all. Or else you wouldn't have posted this iin the first place. If actual humans are looking at the offers before they are allowed to be posted, they would easily see the scams and block them.

[930d2896]

Thank you for your support!  I agree wholeheartedly.

[lisaannburke]

I hardly visit the discussion boards but I've been an Upwork member for a number of years, obtained some very good projects during this time but, for the past year or so, the site has continued its downward trajectory.  The number of spam job posts has increased signifcantly, and I receive invites that have nothing to do with recruiting (e.g. mechanic!) I'll continue to apply to legitmate recruiting and writing projects but will be very picky and spend much less time here by using other resources.  

[3956e956]

Its extremely discouraging especially for new members here.Been applying for jobs for the past two months without success.I think upwork needs to get a grip on this!