🤔 Non-Upwork Client Testimonials

[hidemi-takagi]

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?

[BojanS]

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.

[lucinda_anne]

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?????

[JoanneP]

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!

[lucinda_anne]

Thank you for listening.

[tamzid_analyst]

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?

[JoanneP]

HI MD Tamzid,

One of our team members will reach out and assist you directly via a support ticket. Thank you!

[anniemae1980]

Hi. I’m replying because I can’t see where to post a question 🙁 I’d like to ask if it’s possible to send updated info for a testimonial request - unfortunately I submitted the wrong LinkedIn account. The client also only used Twitter and Instagram. Can I still request a testimonial?

[BojanS]

Hi Leigh-Anne,

One of our team members will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you with your concern. 

At this time, this is only possible for users who have a LinkedIn account. 

Thank you!

[lucinda_anne]

I'm sorry, but I can't help you with your question. I'm trying to get an
answer to why a testimonial, submitted by my non-upwork client, was not
accepted. 😕

It was a coupe of days ago, but I believe I entered my question into the
search bar at the top. and hit Enter. Someone will respond by email, if
you specify that.

If you have to search for your answer, look for entries by the time/date
specified in the mail notification.

This is by no means a user-friendly, read customer-friendly, site.

Good luck.

[micheller021]

I am trying to send a request to a recent client for a testimonial to help me get jobs, but the form asks for her linkedin account and she doesn't have one. It won't let me send it to her without it. Is there another way I can do it? 

Thanks, Michelle

[JoanneP]

Hi Michelle,

Your client will need to have a LinkedIn profile. 

[lucinda_anne]

I'm sorry, Michelle, but I am new to this platform and am trying to figure
it out, too.

Upwork is not very forthcoming about parameters/requirements for
testimonials from non-Upwork clients. I hope someone else can help and
answer your question.

Good Luck

[ejdelapena]

Someone writing my testimonial can't access the questionairre. It keeps coming up as a blank page. How does this get fixed?

[JoanneP]

Hi EJ,

I’ve shared your concern with the team. One of our team members will reach out and assist you directly via a support ticket. Thank you!

[lodatoneda]

My second testimonial just got rejected from non Upwork clients. These clients have Linkedin accounts. I filled out all the required fields before submitting for testimonials. Why are they getting rejected? Is there somthing I amdoing wrong?

[JoanneP]

Hi Neda,

I checked with the team, and they have confirmed that they have manually reviewed the testimonials and approved them. It's already showing on your profile. Thank you!

[arianeparas]

- this is for the Upwork team, i don't undertand how to post on this thread 😕

I'm having the same problem as Neda, the non-Upwork testimonial was rejected, however i filled all the fields including the LinkedIn of my client. can you pls advise? thanks

[JoanneP]

Hi Ariane,

To ensure 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.

[arianeparas]

I'm a new freelancer and in my line of work confidentiality is important. I
cannot request testimonials from other clients at this time. After asking
this particular client to go through the trouble of providing a testimonial
for me, I find it frustrating that Upwork is not willing to upload it. You
don't say what 'evidence' you need to decide that this contact is valid. Is
there a way to double-check this, as I provided all the info requested by
Upwork?
thanks for your help

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Ariane,

Thanks for your question. To ensure 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.

[arianeparas]

Hi Goran

I see that my client's LinkedIn is not updated with his new job - maybe this is where the problem lies, since my client's new email address doesn't correspond to the last job published on his LinkedIn? I would appreciate someone looking into this - my client got through the trouble of writing a testimonial, and if there's an issue on Upwork's end, then Upwork needs to advise of a way to fix this

thanks for your help

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Ariane,

One of our team members will reach out to you via ticket as soon as possible and assist you further with your testimonial. Thank you.

[lucinda_anne]

Push back. They give no other parameter than insisting on a LinkedIn
profile and, since you provided that, they should just do it! I had to
push several times before they gave my problem individual attention. It
sure feels like their initial answer is from bots!

Good luck!

[arianeparas]

thanks so much for the helpful tip Lucinda, after doing this several times the testimonial was finally approved 🙂

[lucinda_anne]

Yaaayyy!

[akrammasoud]

I have a non-Upwork client who doesn't have a Linkedin, can I still get a testimonial from him?

[JoanneP]

Hi Akram,

You must provide the client’s Linkedin profile. Those who do not provide a valid Linkedin profile will not be approved.

[jv_lanuzga]

Hi,

Yes you can. The way to do it though is to ask that non upwork client of
yours to create a Linkedin profile in order for him/her to be able to give
you a testimonial.

[morenoyuri_r]

I submitted a request for testimony. The person who received the message he told me when he wants to access the task from the message comes to a white screen

[JoanneP]

Hi Yuri,

I’ve shared your concern with the team. One of our team members will reach out and assist you directly via a support ticket. Thank you!

[jadestonedesigns]

Hello,

 I am new to Upwork. I have been freelancing since 1999 and I have several clients (obviously not on Upwork). I am having issues as many of them do not use Linkin and do not have that job profiling site as it does not provide any benefits to them or their businesses. Therefore I cannot fill out the linkedin profile section (for verification) I work with many of my clients through email and in person. I am trying to increase my workload so that I am busier with design projects. I feel I will not be able to showcase how my clients like my work without any testimonials. Since they do not have Linkedin; I feel like Upwork is alienating my clients. Can they use another way to verify? Shouldn't email be enough? Sorry for the novice questions, but I'm an artist not a programmer. 

[BojanS]

Hi Laura,

The client will need to have a LinkedIn profile in order for you to request a testimonial from them.  

You can still use your profile overview or portfolio section to include endorsements and testimonials from people you worked with outside of Upwork. Make sure not to share any private or contact information.

Thank you!

[0419f22a]

Hi,

I am trying to request a testimonial from my Russian client. Upwork won't allow his LinkedIn address in the request form. I assume this is because it has Russian characters. This is my only client to date so it's really important I can request his data.

Please advise?

Peter

**Edited for community guidelines**

[lucinda_anne]

Hi, Peter.
I had to continue asking several times, before mine, from an outside party
was excepted. He did have a LinkedIn address and it was in english!

Can your client resubmit with translation, if you think that is the issue?
Be persistent and good luck!

I’m sure you’ll land your first Upwork client and build from there.

Best regards, Lucinda

[0419f22a]

Thanks, Lucinda.

I am NOT confident in UpWworks ability right now, to be honest. I have
developers access to my client's website and all I receive is canned
responses on Twitter after paying for Upwork Membership. There seems to be
no support email address. Pretty poor for a billion-dollar industry
website. 😞

[BojanS]

Hi Peter,

We'll have one of our agents reach out to you via a support ticket to assist you with this concern.

Thank you!

[robric]

I am really upset about this change. I have been top rated since the program began. Every dollar I earned went through Upwork. Now cheats who bypassed the rules are getting an opporunity I cannot claim. I am disgusted Upwork treats loyal freelancers this way.

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Richard,

Are you referring to the Testimonials feature? It's available to all freelancers so you should also have access to it on your Find Work> Profile page. Once a testimonial from a non-Upwork client is added to the profile, it shows in a section which is separate from the Work History and Feedback section where contracts and feedback from Upwork clients are listed.

[arishna]

Hi, I don't know how to post a separate question, but I filled the testimonial form, but my client infromed me that he has not received any mail or anything from upwork for testimonial. I sent it to two out of upwork clients and both of them didn't receive anything. Please guide me.

[JoanneP]

Hi Arishna,

One of our team members will reach out and assist you directly via a support ticket. Thank you!