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Hidemi's avatar
Hidemi T Community Member

🤔 Non-Upwork Client Testimonials

This topic is meant to be sent to other freelancers but if anyone from Upwork has an opinion - I would love to hear it.

I received a top-rated freelancer status about 3 years ago and managed to keep it for the past few years since and today I received Upwork "Strengthen your profile with non-Upwork client testimonials" mail which I assume quite a lot of freelancers gets now as the feature rolls out and you can see this option in your profile.

I have mixed feelings about it and wanted to hear what other freelancers think about this feature.

 

On the good side, I totally agree that it is a cool feature to have on your profile as I work very hard to help my clients get Google feedbacks to their businesses and I know the value of such feedbacks but the difference here is that I have to "ask" one of my clients to create a feedback via email invitation (which of course, I can soften the issue with a chat with the client prior to that mail to let them know about it) but I do feel a bit strange to "ask" clients to do such a thing from one important issue which is my client privacy since I have no ideas what do Upwork will request from my client to "verify" -- since the mail states "The testimonial will display on your profile once it’s verified by Upwork."

 

Besides the fact that it might be a bit troublesome to a client to write a feedback -- but that might not be too hard to do, I am worried that Upwork process of "verification" of that feedback might invade my client privacy or maybe they will be requested to "prove" something which will also might invade their personal or business privacy.

Does anyone know in detail what kind of information Upwork will require from a non-upwork client for the verification process and what kind of "hoops" the client has to go through in terms of back and forth communication with Upwork verification team?  

I deal with my clients always with care about their feelings and pay a lot of attention to make sure their privacy is well kept, and I never before asked a client for  "assistance" to help me in my career - therefore, before I do any move such as request them to enroll in some verification process, I want to make sure it will not be "painful" or even bothersome in any way and most of all, will not invade their privacy (personal or business).  

Any thoughts about this or did anyone went through the process and know what did their client has to go through to get that testimonial process complete?

lastly - I am wondering if anyone knows if this is now a "mandatory" requirement to keep a top-rated status or it is just an extra feature and a top-rated status is relying solely on Upwork clients feedbacks?


 

 

335 REPLIES 335
Andrew's avatar
Andrew C Community Member

That’s such a joke lol
Mikko's avatar
Mikko R Community Member

Andrew, like Petra said it has to go through the client.

Only clients with a LinkedIn account qualify. Someone from Upwork will contact them and verify your story, that's the whole point. Otherwise every single freelancer's profile would be full of super good testimonials... from their mothers. 😉
Aleksandar's avatar
Aleksandar D Community Manager

Hi Andrew,

 

There is no option to add the pre-existing testimonial from LinkedIn, you'll need to request it from a client directly from your Upwork profile. I'll go ahead and share your feedback with our team for review.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork
Chaitanya's avatar
Chaitanya P Community Member

What are the exact terms to publish testimonial from a non-Upwork client? I have sent 3 requests to my previous clients and they did write a testimonial for me but when I checked my email after 2min, I found not approved by the Upwork team. Why so?

 

Can you please help me to understand more about your terms?

Vladimir's avatar
Vladimir G Community Manager

Hi Chaitanya,

 

I'm sorry the testimonials you requested weren't approved. If we aren't able to validate a review from a non-Upwork client, it won't be published. We do have tools and a system in place to review and check the validity of the testimonials. To better ensure the integrity of our review, we do not share the details of our process. Thanks for your understanding.

~ Vladimir
Upwork
Konstantin's avatar
Konstantin M Community Member

Hi there,
I am new to upwork, currently I am building and tuning my freelancer profile.

 

I am asking my clients for testimonials/endorsements, and there is an issue with one person, his linkedin profile URL contains Russian letters(. The testimonial request form does not allow to input these... The encoded URL format (the one with%%) does not work either. The screenshot is attached.

 

Is there any way/workaround for this technical issue with linkedin URL? Please let me know.

Aleksandar's avatar
Aleksandar D Community Manager

Hi Konstantin,

 

Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately, the link you are trying to submit contains Cyrillic characters that can't be validated. I shared the feedback with our product team to consider it as an improvement.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork
Mauricio's avatar
Mauricio P Community Member

Hello, I can see from another new profile that a testimonial section is available. But when I look to mine, I cant see this section at all. What is happening?

 

Bojan's avatar
Bojan S Community Manager

Hi Mauricio,

 

While this feature isn’t available at this stage to everyone, freelancers included in the test will see a new Testimonials section on their profile, under their “Work history and feedback“ section.

 

Thank you!

~ Bojan
Upwork
Artyom's avatar
Artyom S Community Member

Good day, Bojan.

So long story short - I happen to just start my work here on Upwork, but I have a client from outside of it, whom I'd like to ask for a testimonial. I've read your and other upworkers' replies, and I realize that this is not for eveybody at the moment. Shouldn't be upwork interested in it, since some people can convert into long-time clients of it?

I'd be thankful for adding me into the list (if this is possible), so I can ask for a testimonial from one of my clients.

Thanks

Alexandru's avatar
Alexandru M Community Member

How can I modify the testimonial I received from someone before I can make it visible on my profile? It needs spell checking since it is poorly written. Thanks!

Vladimir's avatar
Vladimir G Community Manager

Hi Alexandru,

 

Thanks for your question. At this time you cannot edit a testimonial (we are planning to add that option later) but you can hide it from your profile. To hide it, select “OFF” under “Visibility.”

~ Vladimir
Upwork
Alexandru's avatar
Alexandru M Community Member

I understand that I can't modify it, but can an Upwork employee do it so it won't be under suspicion at all? The testimonial in itself is very good, it just has a couple of spelling mistakes.
Eliza's avatar
Eliza A Community Member

Hello,

i am relatively new on Upwork, and I asked for client testimonial from one of my past clients. I filled out the invitation form, I gave his Linkedin profile as well, and he sent the testimonial. The next day I got an email from Upwork that the testimonial was refused, you wrote you didn't have sufficient evidence that the contact information is valid. Could you please let me know what else I can do to have "sufficient evidence" for that?? This testimonial is important for me.
Thank you for your help in advance.

Aleksandar's avatar
Aleksandar D Community Manager

Hi Eliza,

 

Sorry to hear the testimonial you requested wasn’t approved. Testimonials involving non-Upwork clients must be verified through our systems to check the validity of the review. If for any reason we are not able to validate it, unfortunately, we are not able to publish the review. We won’t be able to share the details of our process. 

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork
Eliza's avatar
Eliza A Community Member

Hi,
thanks for your reply. Is there any way that my client sends a new
testimonial?
Or maybe the mistake was that I put the Linkedin profile of my client but
not his company??
I really don't understand what could be the problem, because it is clearly
written on his Linkedin profile that he is working in the textile business
in England. I can even show emails that we exchanged while we were working
together back in 2017...he has a valid profile, a valid email address, I
don't see how else do you want anyone to prove that the client is a real
person and that we were working together??
Aleksandar's avatar
Aleksandar D Community Manager

Hi Eliza,

 

I shared your concern with the rest of our team and one of our agents will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you further.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork
Md Mredul's avatar
Md Mredul S Community Member

I requested for testimonial from my previous clients but it is pending now. Did they provide feedback? Actually It's been while I requested

Joanne's avatar
Joanne P Retired Team Member

Hi Md Mredul,

 

I checked with the team and was advised that the testimonial was submitted on May 22nd. Please allow at least 10 business days for it to be reviewed by our team. Thank you!

~ Joanne
Upwork
Lucinda's avatar
Lucinda G Community Member

I am new to Upwork.  A previous client, who suggested your platform to me, volunteered to write a testimonial, in support.  He has a profile on LinkedIn, which I understand to be a prerequisite.  I was notified the next day, that his testimonial was not approved.

 

Why was it not approved??  

Bojan's avatar
Bojan S Community Manager

Hi Lucinda,

 

To ensure the trust and quality of our marketplace, we can only approve testimonials from clients where we have sufficient evidence that the contact information is valid. In this case, we may not have been able to find sufficient information. You can try requesting another from a different client.

~ Bojan
Upwork
Lucinda's avatar
Lucinda G Community Member

I was really hoping for a more helpful response, one that would illuminate
the problem. This client has a LinkedIn profile. If that is not enough,
why would I put myself or another client in this same predicament, when you
are unable to tell me what the judging factors are? Is it because I am new
to your platform????? What?????
Joanne's avatar
Joanne P Retired Team Member

Hi Lucinda,

 

I've followed up with the team regarding your client's testimonial, and they will review it again. They will notify you of the result. Thank you!

~ Joanne
Upwork
Lucinda's avatar
Lucinda G Community Member

Thank you for listening.
MD Tamzid's avatar
MD Tamzid I Community Member

I have sent a testimonial request to one of my previous client. But the client has not received any mail yet. What is the issue?