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marshall-debbie
Community Member

Received offer without an interview

Hello ,

I'm new and looking for a little advice. I recevied an offer, no interview just an offer. I would like to take the time to research the company before I accept, is there a way to respond to the potential new client before accepting? I would like to thank them for the offer right away so they know I'm repsonsive but I would also like to let them know I am reviewing and will get them an answer asap. I have know idea what their schedule is, what the job details are (I have just the basics ). Let me know if there is a professional way to handle this, I don't want to turn it down but I would like more details before I accept. 

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martina_plaschka
Community Member


Debbie M wrote:

Hello ,

I'm new and looking for a little advice. I recevied an offer, no interview just an offer. I would like to take the time to research the company before I accept, is there a way to respond to the potential new client before accepting? I would like to thank them for the offer right away so they know I'm repsonsive but I would also like to let them know I am reviewing and will get them an answer asap. I have know idea what their schedule is, what the job details are (I have just the basics ). Let me know if there is a professional way to handle this, I don't want to turn it down but I would like more details before I accept. 


Before I had a peek at your profile, I made a bet with myself that you are offering some kind of VA services. And right I was! I'm picturing a desperate, chaotic client throwing out offers while clinging to a life raft or something. That is not somebody to work with. Would you hire anybody without an interview? Would you make an appointment with a plumber and tell him you're not going to be there but they key is under the mat? It seems high-risk behaviour, from the client's point of view as well as yours. 

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14 REPLIES 14
deborah-ponzio
Community Member

I am sure that you will soon receive advice more experienced then mine, however, if you reject the offer I believe that you can write to the client why, and it is your chance to ask for the background of the company, more details on the tasks required and a proper interview. In my view, you are right in taking your time to evaluate a client and an offer before accepting. 

Much appretiated, thank you. 

wlyonsatl
Community Member

The direct offer is an odd animal.

 

The ones I've gotten have simply had a three or four word project description along with the proposed pay rate.

 

I always respond with a request for an Upwork VOIP or Zoom call - no call = no acceptance by me - but I have not seen a way to also review the client's history on Upwork. Not that there's usually much to review anyway, but I do turn down jobs where the client's previous freelancer reviews have been consistently or significantly negative.

Thanks for the feedback, very helpful. I don't see a way to look up reviews on the company, how do you do that? This one is a little vague and I always want full details to be fair for both sides (needs to be a good fit). What happens if I accept the offer but find out a few weeks down the road it is not a good fit? Can I exit and if so what is the best way to do so to be fair to both sides? 

Due to the importance of the Job Success Score for freelancers, I'd recommend you never accept work with a client you have doubts about.

 

There are no restrictions on you cancelling an active project at any time, but doing so can have ramifications that will hurt your chances for finding attractive future work with quality clients on Upwork. The JSS is a dog's breakfast, but it's the only breakfast available here in UpworkLand.

 

Keep it safe!

I ended up receiving a calendy link to set up a call , have you ever used that? The link says it's a third party and not supported by UpWork (something to that nature). 

martina_plaschka
Community Member


Debbie M wrote:

Hello ,

I'm new and looking for a little advice. I recevied an offer, no interview just an offer. I would like to take the time to research the company before I accept, is there a way to respond to the potential new client before accepting? I would like to thank them for the offer right away so they know I'm repsonsive but I would also like to let them know I am reviewing and will get them an answer asap. I have know idea what their schedule is, what the job details are (I have just the basics ). Let me know if there is a professional way to handle this, I don't want to turn it down but I would like more details before I accept. 


Before I had a peek at your profile, I made a bet with myself that you are offering some kind of VA services. And right I was! I'm picturing a desperate, chaotic client throwing out offers while clinging to a life raft or something. That is not somebody to work with. Would you hire anybody without an interview? Would you make an appointment with a plumber and tell him you're not going to be there but they key is under the mat? It seems high-risk behaviour, from the client's point of view as well as yours. 


Martina P wrote:


Before I had a peek at your profile, I made a bet with myself that you are offering some kind of VA services. And right I was! I'm picturing a desperate, chaotic client throwing out offers while clinging to a life raft or something. That is not somebody to work with. Would you hire anybody without an interview? Would you make an appointment with a plumber and tell him you're not going to be there but they key is under the mat? It seems high-risk behaviour, from the client's point of view as well as yours. 


As a designer, my best clients have actually been the ones who have reached out to me privately with an offer and no job post. Obviously as Will said it is highly concerning that upwork does not show detailed feedback, both left and received, when someone sends a direct message, but unfortunately Upwork has not seemed to do anything about this despite hearing about it many many times, so typically I just ask the potential client to schedule a call with me so we can discuss their exact needs before proceeding and if I feel I'm qualified I accept. Each of these contracts has turned into an ongoing relationship for my proposed hourly rate, so I'm fairly happy with that process - but again, if this is specificly an issue with VA services perhaps it's more of a red flag for them? It just has not been for me.

So true, and exactly what I was thinking. thanks for the feedback. 

tlbp
Community Member

If you are new to Upwork, receiving an offer with no prior interview could be sketchy. I would definitely not accept. Don't be afraid to ask questions about the gig and the client. The only time I said yes to an offer prior to an interview, the client was very demanding and the contract did not go well. 

alexandernovikov
Community Member

I had one project like this. It was a crazy ride. Made good money, but ended up with ridiculous feedback i had (for the first time) to delete.

I've had a small number of these.  In my case they were just clients new to Upwork who didn't know the system. I basically treated them the same as any other potential client,  discussing the job before accepting (or rejecting) it. I was able to communicate with them without accepting the offer. Don't you have a chat room for them? 

 

P.S. Yes, you can't see the client's history.  That didn't matter in my cases as they were new to Upwork.  In the past,  moderators have said that you can contact customer support to get info about the client's history. 

Thanks for the info. 

Good to know, thank you. 

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