Jul 31, 2019 11:41:00 AM by Keller S
It clearly states that if you send a proposal to a job and it closes or if you are not chosen for a job then you get your Connects returned. I have yet to see this happen and I have had many jobs close with no return of my Connects.
Jul 31, 2019 12:00:07 PM Edited Jul 31, 2019 12:01:18 PM by Michael S
https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062898-Using-Connects
Connects may also be returned under the following circumstances:
Note: Withdrawing your proposal will not return your Connects.
Long story short, you only get connects back if UW closes the contract for a violation, or the job is cancelled and nobody is hired. You don't get them back if you simply aren't picked.
Jul 31, 2019 12:16:10 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 12:25:17 PM by Amanda L
Keller S wrote:
Soooo, basically UpWork could post fake jobs that job seekers pay money to buy Connects for so they can send a proposal and if they never hear back or if the job isn't closed only "expires" then they don't get their Connects returned? And everyone who is seeking employment is okay with this practice? I've also had people reach out and ask for interviews and then vanish. What about those instances? Shouldn't we get our Connects returned then as well? As job seekers especially, the reason being is obvious.
I am not everyone who is seeking employment. But I am okay with not getting connects back if they don't select me. I don't expect the lottery to give me my $1 back if I don't win. And I don't expect the dealer to give me back my chips if I lose at the blackjack table. It's all a gamble anyhow that you will have the best proposal and be the best fit for the client.
You are paying connects to BID not to GET HIRED. Connects are to help limit the amount of spam clients get. If you get all your connects back then you won't be selective in how you bid/propose and to which projects. And clients will be inundated and leave and never return. Then none of us get jobs. UpWork closes up shop. We all lose. Make any sense?
Jul 31, 2019 12:38:50 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 01:13:34 PM by Phyllis G
Keller S wrote:
That is not true. I am selective based on what I can actually do and what seems interesting too me. Technically it should be free for job seekers to bid on positions. They are JOB SEEKERS. They need employment. Potential employees don't have to pay employers to speak to them about hiring them AND recruiters don't ask job seekers to pay them to find them a job. Plus, recruiters only get a payment once a job seeker is placed in employment, which you do also. You get a commission on every dollar earned/paid for as long as the contract is in play. Recruiters don't even get that unless the employee hired is paid out by them. Don't you think your style is a bit on the excessive side? Or at the very least a question of ethics. UpWork is a good platform overall but when you changed your Connects policy it was a bad idea. Not to mention there are some super shady "employers" on this site. One must be discerning and read through lines for sure. Look at all the info provided. An employer with a 50% hire rate and a below regional market value on pay is not one to waste Connects on.
Oh, and "humorous" responses. Time and place people. Time and place. Professionalism if for grown ups.
UW clients are not "employers", they are clients. UW freelancers are not "job seekers" -- at least, successful ones are not-- they are independent contractors. UW is not a recruiting site, it is a platform where clients and contractors can find each other. UW spends lots and lots of money attracting clients to the platform and we freelancers buy a piece of that advertising & marketing in order to connect with clients we'd otherwise never find (or would have to spend exponentially more on our own to find).
Pro tip: the more humorlesss you insist on being in the forum, the less seriously you will be taken by many.
Jul 31, 2019 12:43:03 PM by Petra R
Would you care to clarify where "It clearly states that if you send a proposal to a job and it closes or if you are not chosen for a job then you get your Connects returned"
??
Jul 31, 2019 12:51:50 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 01:09:50 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 01:15:22 PM Edited Jul 31, 2019 01:35:02 PM by Bojan S
Keller S wrote:
This was edited. There was more than that on this email. I said exactly where is was.
Nope.
There is no Upwork place that states "that if you send a proposal to a job and it closes or if you are not chosen for a job then you get your Connects returned"
**Edited for community guidelines**
Jul 31, 2019 01:26:10 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 01:45:51 PM Edited Jul 31, 2019 01:48:53 PM by Valeria K
Hi Keller,
I'd like to confirm that connects are only refunded when a client closes their job without hiring or we find a job post has violated our Terms of Service. Please refer to the help article Michael shared.
We also checked the information the chat bot provides and confirmed it's the same.
If you received different information, please send us a screenshot.
All, please note that a few posts have been edited or removed from this thread for violating Community Guidelines. Please, be mindful of the Community Guidelines and respectful toward other users when posting.
Thank you.
Jul 31, 2019 01:49:10 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 01:39:31 PM by Michael S
Keller S wrote:
I've also had people reach out and ask for interviews and then vanish. What about those instances? Shouldn't we get our Connects returned then as well? As job seekers especially, the reason being is obvious.
Being invited to interview by the client doesn't cost you any connects whatsoever because you never sent a proposal, so why would you get any connects back?
Jul 31, 2019 01:42:10 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 02:27:01 PM by Michael S
Keller S wrote:
What are you even talking about? They contact me for an interview BECAUSE I sent a proposal with my resume attached. In fact, I was supposed to have an interview today and the "client" vanished.
The original context of your post made it seem like you were replying to a client who specifically invited you for an interview. However, in either case, as the information provided shows, you don't get connects returned simply for not being hired or for the client disappearing. The link I gave you shows the only two circumstances where you get connects returned.
Keller S wrote:
Look at my account. Go to my messages and see for yourself.
I think you're under the mistaken impression that any of us are Upwork staff. Unless it says "Moderator" and there's a little green circle next to the name, we're all freelancers just like you.
Becoming confrontational with people who are only trying to give you information is not going to change the content of said information. Nobody here is trying to gaslight or mislead you. They're simply pointing you to the very same information they have access to themselves.
Jul 31, 2019 12:08:20 PM by Petra R
Keller S wrote:It clearly states that if you send a proposal to a job and it closes or if you are not chosen for a job then you get your Connects returned. I
It (whatever "it" may be) states no such thing.
Jul 31, 2019 12:35:03 PM Edited Jul 31, 2019 12:36:24 PM by Martina P
Keller S wrote:
Would you get serious, please? I'm talking about a real issue and here you come with infantile ridicule. Go away or be helpful.
Look at this from upwork's perspective. You are a public company listed on the NYSE, you are losing money year after year, and you are getting pretty desperate to finally show a profit. You are swamped by freelancers, but clients are elusive, complaining about too many proposals. You want to give clients a better experience, so you curtail the endless flood of proposals, hence you start charging for connects. The desired effect is less proposals.
So everything that you see going on is the intended result, and no amount of whining will change the current policy, which has been discussed in the last few weeks ad nauseam.
Jul 31, 2019 12:39:50 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 01:15:13 PM by Christine A
Keller S wrote:
So then the issue is the employers. Go after them. Why would you punish those who are already seeking out work because UpWork is getting frustrated? Hold employers more accountable. Fine them, not the freelancers. It's hard enough for us.
They're already "going after" the clients. Upwork is now charging clients if they want to invite more than three freelancers to their projects, which has resulted in a dramatic decline of invitations. They are also charging clients $25 and $500 membership fees for services that were previously free. Plenty of clients are leaving as a result. Do you still want to penalize them further, and cause more clients to leave? How is that going to benefit you?
Jul 31, 2019 01:21:10 PM by Keller S
Jul 31, 2019 01:47:19 PM Edited Jul 31, 2019 01:50:23 PM by Sergio S
Connects never get back. It only happens when the client closes the job without hiring (something that hardly ever happens because if they don't hire they leave it open) or when the job post is violating the ToS, in which case Upwork closes it. Those are the only 2 cases where connects are returned. It has always been like that. I don't know where you read it different, maybe you misunderstood. The only difference now is that connects are paid, but the whole point of this maneuver by Upwork is to make freelancers bid less than before. If they returned connects that strategy would be pointless. It's to weed out spamming freelancers. Maybe you are selective with jobs but there are hundreds of thousands who are not. They can't punish clients for not hiring, and they can't close the jobs left open, because in fact, there are clients who come back after a month and hire.
Jul 31, 2019 01:50:45 PM by Amanda L
Keller S wrote:
It’s not benefitting me now and yet I’ve still had faith in your platform and continued to support it. I believe at its core it is good but the direction this conversation has taken is unacceptable. People should be able to free express their issues without intimidation, gaslighting, dismissive condescension. This could’ve gone a lot of different ways
You do realize that unless the person you respond to is a moderator that we are all freelancers too? You keep referring to us all like we are employees of UpWork and not freelancers, just like you, who understand why they've implemented these policies and are making them work for us.
Seriously, maybe consider the way you've responded here to others offering you help to understand and then think again about why you may not be getting job offers? I'm not being humorous, and I was not being humorous before.
UpWork doesn't owe you anything and from the start they've said that connects don't get returned unless there is a TOS violation. That has been clarified for you. I'm sorry it's not the response you want. We are freelancers and there is a cost to doing business. UpWork is basically a marketing platform for us (as well as payment/invoice process), so yes, we have to pay. If you can do better elsewhere, then by all means, go there and good luck. I truly wish you success.
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