Proposals

[#1]

Dear Fellow Freelancers, 

Do you know why the number of proposals is displayed as "20 to 50"? I don't know if I'm alone with this feeling but that seems like a really wide range. You might apply if you see 20 but outbidding 50 other applicants is another story. Who wants to waste their connects? Is there a particular reason why it's done this way? I would be interested in your input. Thanks!   

[#2 · Accepted solution]

There are two ways to approach this, 

You could assume that many of the first 20 are proposals sent by bots or people who have no idea what the job is or how to do it, and therefore aren't really competition that you need to be worried about. In this case, whether there are 20 or 50 applicants, it doesn't matter. If you are uniquely qualified, you should apply. 

On the other hand, if you believe that the first 20 applicants include some freelancers who are genuine and competent, then the competition is probably over once 20 people have applied. The cient isn't likely to read through another 10 to 30 proposals if they've already found what they need.  That may be Upwork's justification for making the wide range cut off start a 20. 

Assuming Upwork isn't going to change the range, the best way to overcome the "wasted connects" concern is to charge enough for each job that you win to feel secure spending connects to gain the next one. After you have landed a few jobs and have good reviews, your income on the platform should support your connect needs or your business model will fail. 

[#3]

Hi Tonya, 

That's certainly some wise and solid advice. I didn't understand how come some jobs could get 20 applications in about an hour so what you've said makes sense.   

[#4]

I agree with Tonya.  If it's the perfect job for you and you can convey that to the client in your proposal you'll have very little actual competition even if 50 people have applied.

[#5]

I've always felt discouraged to apply in such cases but now I have a better understanding. Thanks! 

[#6]

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Suzanne H wrote:

Hi Tonya, 

That's certainly some wise and solid advice. I didn't understand how come some jobs could get 20 applications in about an hour so what you've said makes sense.   

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There are hundreds of thousands, well millions, of freelancers on this platform. You don't think more than 20 could see the job in the first hour of posting and apply?

[#7]

That's exactly what I thought. I thought there was so much competition that it was not worth applying at that point. If there are bots, that could mean there's still some hope to win the bid though. There's a difference between 20 and 50. In my opinion, the exact number of proposals should be displayed because that would help all freelancers.