Struggling to get hired

karoleec · ‎09-28-2019

Hello everyone!

I would like to ask you for your fellow advice, as I am running out of ideas and I am interested in your opinions and thoughts. I work as a video editor and creative writer. I am TOP rated, having 94% job success, and yet since Upwork has changed the policy with connects, I have experienced real difficulties in getting hired.

I felt it was fine before, but then the policy was changed, and the number of responses to my proposals went down. This September it escalated as I have submitted 46 proposals and I got only one response. It is really frustrating since we have to pay connects, so I am paying all the time but getting no money back. Very counterproductive.
I tried to rewrite my bio in both profiles. I apply only to jobs where I feel there is at least 90% chance to get it, but no results. I wonder if you have experienced something like this before? What did you do? Eventually, if someone could take a look at my profile and tell me what they think? I would be very glad for any opinion and tips!

Have a good day,
Karol

starrynightastro · ‎09-28-2019

I had the same problem until I realized the suggestion to write specialized profiles was more than a suggestion. It occurred to me that since was a new thing, Upwork would internally promote those freelancers that utilized the specialized profiles.

So I did. The first one remained the same, the second I removed references to Romance Writing, and just left it as Creative Writing, and everything else was the same.

Either I was right, or it was synchronicity, but the invitation to bids started up again.

Give it a try. It can't hurt.

karoleec · ‎09-29-2019

Hey,
This is very interesting. I have never thought about that Upwork would internally promote some freelancers without us being aware. I have a specialised profile for my video editing role though. I might consider doing the same for creative writing. thank you for the advice!

pushingpixels · ‎09-28-2019

Same girl.
I’m top rated and used to get about 8-10 job invites a week at the point of turning down work because I was so busy.
September hit and I’ve gotten 1 job invite this whole month. I’ve burned through about 50 connects in the past week and a few responses, but the clients aren’t being responsive. I’m not sure what’s going on, but it seems to be hurting many freelancers using this platform.
It’s really concerning when I’ve been getting consistent full time work for the past year and it drops like this. Especially when I have a family and bills to pay.

ivanlutrov · ‎09-28-2019

I don't know if it's a world-wide trend or just Upwork but I've noticed that there are a lot fewer projects being posted on Upwork in the last few months. Certainly in web development anyway. The ones that are posted have tended to be either very small jobs or jobs paying sweatshop rates.

karoleec · ‎09-29-2019

It is interesting that we feel this throughout more fields than just one. I wonder if it might be connected to the fees Upwork has? Because they seem ridiculously high to me, charging basically every stage of the projects such as clients for setting the project up, the freelancers to apply for it and then cut down the final bid by twenty per cent. I would not be surprised if this demotivated people to use Upwork and forced them to look for other ways.

karoleec · ‎09-29-2019

I got you. It is really frustrating. I do hope it will get better again.

robin_hyman · ‎09-29-2019

Karol,

"Creative Writer and Filmmaker" is a dime a dozen. It's a competitive market (I'm a marketing copywriter) and you need to stand out - better title, more exciting profile. Your job is not saving lives. You're creating engagement experiences. Choose your words wisely. Customize every proposal accordingly.

I no longer rely on invitations which almost never transpired into actual paying jobs. I choose my jobs carefully applying to those I know I can hit out of the park.

Wishing you lots of luck!

karoleec · ‎09-29-2019

Hey Robin, thank you for your opinion! I agree. I've always thought I should convey my role in the most straightforward way possible, so I put this but I think you are right. I'll take a look at it.
Thank you again!

pushingpixels · ‎09-29-2019

I no longer rely on invitations which almost never transpired into actual paying jobs. I choose my jobs carefully applying to those I know I can hit out of the park.

It must be different with every profession. I'm a web designer and I used to get almost every invitation that I accepted and felt I was a good fit for. I rarely ever had to send out proposals until this month, aside from when I first started on Upwork.

I'm going to take your advice and really clean up and update my profile.

ovidiustoicat · ‎09-29-2019

I'm in the same boat Karolina! I can't believe! Ive stopped working here at the beggining of 2018, i was Top Rated! Ive come back recently, and i was amazed to realize that i've burned all of my connects, and not a single response!!! What the heck happened here? In the past, i used to get extremly easily jobs.

amurigi · ‎10-01-2019

I'm a top-rated content writer and I'm facing the same problem. I'm getting invites, but nothing is happening. The clients are not responding. I have sent several proposals and still, I'm not getting hired. It's more than worrying because I'm wondering just how much money will I spend before I can land a single job. Honestly, with bills to pay, I don't have the luxury of spending cash that I don't have, especially when I'm not making any. They say you have to spend money to make money, and that's all well and good. But it looks like many freelancers on Upwork are just spending money and hardly making any.

I have also noticed that many of the writing jobs are paying pretty badly. The rates being offered are downright ridiculous.

Aside from that, clients are not hiring and they are leaving the jobs open. I reached out to one of them to inquire if they were still hiring and the guy informed me that he was no longer interested in hiring anyone. The particular job is still open, but the guy has no intention of hiring.

tlbp · ‎10-01-2019

Anne M wrote:
I'm a top-rated content writer and I'm facing the same problem. I'm getting invites, but nothing is happening. The clients are not responding. I have sent several proposals and still, I'm not getting hired. It's more than worrying because I'm wondering just how much money will I spend before I can land a single job. Honestly, with bills to pay, I don't have the luxury of spending cash that I don't have, especially when I'm not making any. They say you have to spend money to make money, and that's all well and good. But it looks like many freelancers on Upwork are just spending money and hardly making any.

I have also noticed that many of the writing jobs are paying pretty badly. The rates being offered are downright ridiculous.

Aside from that, clients are not hiring and they are leaving the jobs open. I reached out to one of them to inquire if they were still hiring and the guy informed me that he was no longer interested in hiring anyone. The particular job is still open, but the guy has no intention of hiring.

If I were not making enough money using any platform to cover the expenses of using that platform, I would stop using it. Yes. It is sometimes necessary to make an up-front investment to start a business. But if you aren't seeing ROI and are spending money you can't afford to lose, it is time to quit. Use free resources for lead generation or consider another means of earning income.

Don't allow a sunken cost bias to keep you investing in a project that isn't paying off.

prestonhunter · ‎10-01-2019

re: "I have also noticed that many of the writing jobs are paying pretty badly. The rates being offered are downright ridiculous."

Not everybody can make a living as a writer.

For many people, writing is an avocation.

And that's okay!

This is no different than anything else that people enjoy doing. Not everybody can make a living as an actor, but people may enjoy performing in community theater. Not everybody can make a living as a singer, but people may enjoy singing in a church or community choir.

Many people love writing and they write very informative, entertaining blogs, or find other outlets for their passion, but they don't necessarily get paid for it.

karoleec · ‎10-01-2019

I understand. I have experienced the same. I am afraid the Upwork policy is not well built for us freelancers. I perceive it rather damaging and more supporting the clients than us because how can we spend connects, thus our money, on applying to jobs and then the clients either change their minds, are not responsive or leave the post open or never come back and we are not refunded with the connects? In those cases, Upwork is earning (by getting our money) on something that is not actually happening... if there were a fair policy, we would be returned the connects back. Now, we just pay for other people's irresponsibilities and recklessness.
Also, I don't think it is a coincidence that so many of us share the same problem.