Strange Rejection

[cwidger]

Has anyone ever had a client reject your proposal and outright lie about the reason? A client rejected my proposal about an hour ago stating that I was "unwilling to provide writing samples." I found it strange and checked a few minutes ago but the samples are clearly there. 

Has this happened to anyone else?

[jojomo]

Crystal,

I wouldn't worry about it. If the client overlooked it, then maybe he/she isn't worth working for? 

Just keep on doing your best when applying for jobs and don't dwell on the ones that don't work out. You just have to tell yourself that maybe its for the best!

[gilbert-phyllis]

Your profile states that you do not provide free samples "at all". I know what you mean but I'm willing to bet the client was confused. 

[jojomo]

Hi Phyllis,

That's a good point but I don't think thats what she meant. There's a difference between providing a "personal sample" in relation to the actual job shes applying to and providing "previous writing samples" from her portfolio.

I understand what she means by this in her profile but maybe she should clarify. If she attached writing samples to her application and the client overlooked it, that's his bad, not hers.

[gilbert-phyllis]

---

@Joëlle O wrote:

Hi Phyllis,

That's a good point but I don't think thats what she meant. There's a difference between providing a "personal sample" in relation to the actual job shes applying to and providing "previous writing samples" from her portfolio.

I understand what she means by this in her profile but maybe she should clarify. If she attached writing samples to her application and the client overlooked it, that's his bad, not hers.

---

Joelle, I understand the difference between samples of previous work and creating an unpaid "sample" on demand for a specific job. I was just pointing out the likelihood that the client looked at OP's profile before giving her proposal a good look, saw the unequivocal statement about "samples", misunderstood it and moved on. I don't see any "good" or "bad" here, just an unforeseen misunderstanding that could be avoided in the future by rephrasing the statement in the profile.

[cwidger]

Right, I'm not concerned with the rejection itself. At this point, I've been rejected more times than I can even remember.

I attached samples from previous work I've done and a post to published work, nothing out of the ordinary.

I simply found it an odd reason when I didn't forget to attach the samples of my writing.

And correct, I won't provide fresh, unpaid samples. I will be adding some of my previous work to my profile soon. I haven't really made the time to update my profile and give Upwork my attention.

[jojomo]

Phyllis -- I agree with you. The client might have skimmed through her profile before reading her proposal and seen that statement and misunderstood.

Crystal should probably rephrase it by being more clear or even better, removing the statement altogether as it can be confusing and can put off potential clients.

[cwidger]

Joëlle,

 You've made a good point. I'll keep it in mind that I need to clarify it better on my profile. Thank you!

And, Melanie, you're right. I probably don't want to work with someone like that. When I received the email, I was more confused than anything and wondered if it had happened to anyone else. 

[melaniekhenson]

Could have just been the wrong "reason"? Hitting the wrong button? Or if that's not a "button" option it could either have been a simple oversight of what you submitted, or the client could have been fielding a lot of proposals and switched you with someone else.

I really wouldn't worry about this. Do you want to work for a disorganized client anyway?