Re: Proposals ranking

samomisha · ‎04-19-2021

Here's the thing, there is a tendency that my proposals are answered less and less often. I keep track of whether my portfolio is clicked on and it happens that out of 8 bids a day my portfolio has not been opened even once. In comparison, until recently, out of 8 bids a day I received 2 responses. And yes, during this time my profile has become only better, I got Top Rated Plus, completed more projects, my Jss is always 100%.

One of my recent clients said that on the list of proposals, mine was almost at the very bottom, although I fully met his requirements, unlike those who were "Best Match".

And this is where I see the problem - the customers simply do not reach my proposal.

Maybe you have any ideas about what might affect my place on the list of applicants? Is it possible that I have too many open contracts? Or too many submitted proposals?

kinector · ‎04-20-2021

Mykhailo, I'm sure nobody here can give you a definite answer. And those who might know how it all works right now are not in the liberty to say this or that about it. The algorithm is not public (for obvious reasons).

What I do know is that you're not the first or the last one to ask this. Just search the forum threads.

I doubt it is the number of proposals you've sent. And your profile is strong even in the agency class, so it is not that either.

I too would be interested to know what has caused this shift in proposal ranking in general. An experimental version? A bug? A changed policy to favor newbies or something?? The gravity of the moon? 🤣

We'll probably never know.

A practical thing to do is what I did a long time ago: don't bid. Seriously, forget about it. Just sit on your b**t instead and wait for invitations. And even then only consider those that come from your ideal client types or random Enterprise Clients. Skip everything else. That's the most efficient use of this platform anyways. It's just another matchmaking system.

This approach saves you time so that you can do whatever business you want (elsewhere, obviously). Focus on your business, not the platform, and make it work for you as a whole.

feed_my_eyes · ‎04-20-2021

Mikko R wrote:
A practical thing to do is what I did a long time ago: don't bid. Seriously, forget about it. Just sit on your b**t instead and wait for invitations. And even then only consider those that come from your ideal client types or random Enterprise Clients. Skip everything else. That's the most efficient use of this platform anyways. It's just another matchmaking system.

Not everyone can rely on getting invitations, and by using this approach and never checking the marketplace, you'll miss out on perfectly good opportunities.

Mykhailo, I've made several posts about Upwork's algorithms marking some freelancers as a "best match" even when they seem to have little or no experience. Most other freelancers don't seem to care because they're too busy obsessing about their JSS, so I don't expect that the situation will change. But intelligent clients seem to be able to figure out that the "best matches" aren't actually the best match, and will hire you anyway.

samomisha · ‎04-22-2021

Christine, you're right, unfortunately, waiting for invitations isn't an option for me. And it’s not just about "Best Match", my client said that I had it, but at the same time I was at the very bottom of the list, after all the other freelancers. When there are more than 100 proposals, the probability that the client will scroll to the very bottom is very low(

Fun fact: the very first "Best Match" freelancer didn't even meet the English level criteria. And I think, needless to say, that other stuff was worse than other applicants. Therefore, I do not see any logic in this algorithm😡

samomisha · ‎04-22-2021

Mikko, thanks for your reply!

Unfortunately, I can't just leave the platform, as Upwork is a very important sales channel for my agency. And before this drop, I was more than happy with it.

And I can’t wait for invitations either, because they don’t come anymore. At all. Although before this shift, there were 1-2 a day!

That's why I'm trying to figure out why Upwork doesn't like me anymore!🤯

sarowaredru · ‎04-20-2021

I really don't understand why Upwork play this game when they claim that they are in nutral position between a freelancer and a client and don't influnce the hiring process. Several posts have been published on this issue but each time they shoot guidelines instead of answering the question directly.

We don't need to know about the process of Upwork's algorithms and they also don't need to show it publicly. All we want to know is whether Upwork play a nutral role or partial one?

Clients post jobs.

Freelancers apply to those jobs

Clients will review and select.

If Upwork really want to help the clients, they can sortout the applicats who don't meet requirements set by clients.

But how Upwork can influence the order or position of applicants when they claim to be nutral in hiring process?

Is there anyone from Upwork who can answer to my question?

feed_my_eyes · ‎04-20-2021

Sarowar P wrote:

If Upwork really want to help the clients, they can sortout the applicats who don't meet requirements set by clients.

That's pretty much what the "best match" labels are supposed to be doing. It just doesn't always work.