So my profile was set to private because I haven't earned any money lately.

Omar P · Jan 6, 2019 10:06:02 AM

And here's what I have to say about it:

This is just stupid. It's not my fault I haven't earned any money the past few days.

I have been using my "connects" very carefully this time and only applying to low end jobs where I have a higher probability of being hired in order to gain "experience" and good feedback so that maybe, just maybe in the future I'll get more contracts. That's because during my first month on here I burned through all my connects applying to jobs for which I'm more than qualified and experienced and from all those I only got hired for a simple $5 task that even a Chimp could have completed. Lesson learned.

Your whole connects system is ridiculous and using Upwork so far has only been frustrating as a freelancer.

I hate you but I need you and I Know I'm good at what I do so I'm going to keep trying for a couple months more before I delete my profile and tell my story to warn possible future freelancers.

I still cling to the hope that all the proposals I've carefully written and the hours I've spent scavenging through job posts won't be a waste of my lifetime.

So there, I needed to let it out of my chest.

Best regards

Janean L · Jan 6, 2019 10:12:24 AM

Ummmm, Omar, you do know, don't you, that in order to have your profile (re-)set to public, all you have to do is make that request of Customer Service. Right?

Good luck with your work!!

Omar P · Jan 6, 2019 10:13:48 AM

Yes I already did. The question is WHY?

Janean L · Jan 6, 2019 10:18:54 AM

Because Upwork allows too many **edited for Community Guidelines** low-skilled freelancers (NOT saying this is you!!) to sign up on the platform -- as well as too many freelancers who lie about their skills and their language abilities and their locations. As a result, clients are overwhelmed by proposals, and making freelancers' profiles private seems to be one way Upwork addresses the problem of the clueless and un-skilled gumming up the works.

"Why doesn't Upwork just get better about selecting the freelancers it allows onto the platform," you might well ask, "so that clients see a reasonable number of proposals, and so that proposals are not a panic-inducing sea of auto-bot, zombie proposals from the no-hopers?"

That would be an excellent question, if it does come to mind.

View solution in original post

Omar P · Jan 6, 2019 12:21:33 PM

I was wondering exactly that. Seems fair enough now. Thanks.

Avery O · Jan 6, 2019 11:42:37 AM

Hi Omar,

I set your profile's visibility to public, as requested. If an established freelancer doesn't earn money on Upwork for 30 days, their profile visibility will automatically change to private. This is checked daily, not once a month. If you aren't regularly earning on our platform, your profile may be set to private, even if you submit proposals and interview frequently. There are different ways on setting your profile to public again, one of which is contacting us directly so that we can set your profile visibility to public.

If your profile is set to private again after 30-days, or sometime in the future, check out the options listed in the email notification or in the pop up on Find Work page to set it back to public.
You may read more about this in this help article.

-Avery

Omar P · Jan 6, 2019 12:20:31 PM

Noted. Thanks Avery.

Dan H · Oct 30, 2019 05:24:31 PM

Profile changed to Private.

What is wrong with Upwork?

I am working under a milestone right now - an active project. I have provided proposals for many jobs over the past month and have two proposals where I am in contact with the client - being interviewed?

Upwork can't distinguish between not getting paid and being interviewed and/or working on an active project?

Phyllis G · Oct 30, 2019 06:29:55 PM

Dan H wrote:
Profile changed to Private.
What is wrong with Upwork?

I am working under a milestone right now - an active project. I have provided proposals for many jobs over the past month and have two proposals where I am in contact with the client - being interviewed?

Upwork can't distinguish between not getting paid and being interviewed and/or working on an active project?

It's a nuisance but IMO a small one, in the overall scheme of things. (I was incensed the first time it happened to me but I've gotten over it.) It just means you aren't visible to clients searching the pool, it has no other effect. Use the link in the email notification you received to request it be switched back to visible.

The platform is overrun with profiles of FLs who are unqualified, clueless, incompetent, and/or abandoned the platform after setting up their account. To keep clients from having to search through all of that drek, UW has drawn an arbitrary line at 'earned money within the past 30 days' and makes profiles that miss the mark invisible. Anybody who's active and gets caught in the net, is able to say, "Whoa, switch me back!" and they do.

Virginia F · Nov 1, 2019 10:56:17 AM

Phyllis G wrote:
Dan H wrote:
Profile changed to Private.
What is wrong with Upwork?

I am working under a milestone right now - an active project. I have provided proposals for many jobs over the past month and have two proposals where I am in contact with the client - being interviewed?

Upwork can't distinguish between not getting paid and being interviewed and/or working on an active project?
It's a nuisance but IMO a small one, in the overall scheme of things. (I was incensed the first time it happened to me but I've gotten over it.) It just means you aren't visible to clients searching the pool, it has no other effect. Use the link in the email notification you received to request it be switched back to visible.

The platform is overrun with profiles of FLs who are unqualified, clueless, incompetent, and/or abandoned the platform after setting up their account. To keep clients from having to search through all of that drek, UW has drawn an arbitrary line at 'earned money within the past 30 days' and makes profiles that miss the mark invisible. Anybody who's active and gets caught in the net, is able to say, "Whoa, switch me back!" and they do.

Yes, it's a small nuisance and one I don't care about it anymore either. I'm working, but set to private, bfd. That said, everytime I get that email, my blood starts boiling again because Upwork will not do a simple edit to the wording. Namely "We noticed you have not been working through Upwork lately. To improve clients' search results, and show them more freelancers who are available blah blah blah", when, in fact, we are working (how can Upwork not tell when we're actively working?). Neither one of those statements in that message are true at all times.

This verbiage is confusing to people who aren't aware of this "program". Simply explain what it really means and why it happens. "We noticed that despite the fact that you're working, you have not been paid in 30 days". This is somehow a difficult change to make? Muddier messages are us.