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kae22
Community Member

Returnin of Connects after job posing is closed or not chosen for a job

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.

23 REPLIES 23
michael_skaggs
Community Member

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062898-Using-Connects

 

Connects may also be returned under the following circumstances:

  • If a project is canceled by the client without making a hire, the Connects used on that proposal will be returned to you for reuse. This does not apply to expired job posts.
  • If a job post has been removed by Upwork for a Terms of Service violation, the Connects used on that proposal will be returned for you to reuse.

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.

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.
a_lipsey
Community Member


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?

kae22
Community Member

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.


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.

 

petra_r
Community Member

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"

 

??

kae22
Community Member

Yes, you have to go into Help and Support and ask Contact Bot a direct question regarding rules and regulations of Connects. You'll have to ask a lot of different ways until you get to where you need to go. But it's there. I read it in black and white and if it has been removed then that is sneaky and I will not be gaslighted. Also, based on this narrative UpWork has suddenly decided to stop posting the conversation to the community which is also unethical especially for a NYSE publicly traded company. If my account becomes compromised or if I no longer receive inquiries from potential employers I am going to file a direct complaint. The intention of this inquiry about Connects was simple in origin. Give them back as stated. Period.
petra_r
Community Member


Keller S wrote:
 Give them back as stated. Period.

stated where?

kae22
Community Member

This was edited. There was more than that on this email. I said exactly where is was.
petra_r
Community Member


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**

 

 

kae22
Community Member

Yes it does. And if you changed it quick then proceeded to gaslight me then your abusive too. I know what read. I didn’t make it up. And if you want humor then make this funny. There is nothing funny about the exploitation of job seekers.
BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

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.

Screenshot_3.png

 

If you received different information, please send us a screenshot.


All, p
lease 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.

~ Bojan
Upwork
kae22
Community Member

I didn’t take a screen shot because I had no idea you’d deny it. I read it then contacted support. In that order. I did it today because I was supposed to have an interview today and the woman vanished so I wanted to see what the policy was. This is ridiculous.


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?

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. Look at my account. Go to my messages and see for yourself.


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.

petra_r
Community Member


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.


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. 

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.


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?

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

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.

a_lipsey
Community Member


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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