Jan 1, 2023 03:00:10 PM Edited Jul 15, 2024 10:49:08 AM by Jeanne H
I have always had freelancers come to me for help. In the last year, the river has swelled into an enormous ocean.
You don't need me; Upwork provides an enormous amount of information that few ever use. If, after you have gone through all the information I provide, you still have questions, that is when you ask additional questions in the forum.
If you think you will make big bucks right away, you are mistaken. The majority of freelancers never land a job because they have no skills and aren't interested in educating themselves. Others believe online freelancing is a path to full-time employment. It can be, but highly unlikely on this platform.
Freelancing is not for everyone. It means you are self-employed and must adhere to all regulations and laws governing responsibilities, such as paying taxes. Freelancing means you are on your own. No one has your back, including Upwork. If you don't follow the rules, no one will or can help you.
If you are willing to work hard, follow the rules and prepared to spend a lot of connects and proposals, you can be successful, as many are on Upwork. While so many fail, it is almost always due to lack of skills and treating freelancing like employment where the employer will make sure you do the job correctly.
If you want to succeed, start with the Terms of Service, then read this from Wes.
Then go here. Then here. Next, check this site regularly for events such as webinars and other learning opportunities.
After that, go here for safety information, and then here. If you still need help, after you have gone through all the previous steps, you can find additional help here. This thread is dedicated to new freelancers. And here are announcements from Upwork that can help keep you up to date.
It will take some time to go through all the information. I'm not suggesting people should not post in the forum, I am suggesting before you ask questions and want help, you need to help yourself first.
From Prashant P: "And have relevant profile picture of your face. Not some desks, or Mickey mouse, or full face covering."
From Susan S: "And patience! Have patience! It takes a while to get started, even after going through all the information available."
From Martina P: "Only one thing you forgot, namely telling people to use all 15 skills, if you have all 15 skills"
And with advice from Maria T, I will say,
Refrain from personal messages, please read all the links I have added.
Jan 3, 2023 11:41:45 AM by Martina P
Thanks! Why don't you use all 15 skills, yet tell everyone to do it?
Jan 3, 2023 11:33:15 AM by Christopherson G
Hey,
It's great to see these important links, I'm new here and felt lost, but I'll keep looking and stay informed
One of the admins should pin that post because it's very helpful for new freelancers.
Jan 3, 2023 11:40:46 AM by Martina P
Excellent post, Jeanne H! Only one thing you forgot, namely telling people to use all 15 skills. Thanks!
Jan 5, 2023 01:43:27 AM by Zohaib Ali K
This flew over my head. Which 15 skills are we talking about?
Jan 5, 2023 01:56:01 AM by Jonathan L
Add Skills. They are located just below your portfolio section. They look like this (taken from my profile):
Jan 5, 2023 02:28:23 AM by Martina P
Jonathan, I noticed you only used 14. Please add one. Thank you.
Jan 5, 2023 01:36:12 PM by Jonathan L
Yeah, that's because I struggle to find a 15th that is a skill that I actually want to advertise. I definitely have other skills, but they are either wholly unrelated to my main services or are a service that I don't want to provide.
Jan 6, 2023 03:38:47 PM by Douglas Michael M
Jonathan, I believe your leg has been successfully pulled.
Jan 7, 2023 06:45:49 AM Edited Jan 7, 2023 06:46:15 AM by Radia L
Martina, I've been seeing the "15 skills" talks lately and I'm actually wondering...
Do I need to reduce my skills to, let's say, only 3 skills that I think has the most probability of getting matched? Thanks!
Jan 7, 2023 10:25:26 AM Edited Aug 16, 2024 10:37:06 PM by Douglas Michael M
Interjecting, if I may:
I choose skills based on the likelihood of their attracting my target clientele. I may have as many as a dozen. I resist Upwork's repeated blandishments to add more; their suggestions are typically either for skills below outside my target market, or verifiable spam magnets—or, laughably, ones that I have already listed. I would suggest our skills, whatever their number, should exclusively reflect the peak value we can offer our target clients.
Jan 7, 2023 11:06:16 PM Edited Jan 8, 2023 12:43:03 AM by Radia L
Thanks Douglas,
I thought including 15 skills will simply maximize the probability of being matched, but I'm now thinking the algo is not that simple.
Jan 9, 2023 12:59:19 PM by Jeanne H
Upwork keeps telling us it is crucial to have 15 skills, but I, too, wonder if that messes with the program. I may drop some of my skills and see if I detect any changes.
Jan 23, 2023 12:10:41 PM Edited Jan 23, 2023 12:12:56 PM by Anthony H
I haven't a clue how many skills I have listed ... and I'm not very interested, either.
This is a nice discussion, too. Thanks, Jeanne and others.
Jan 30, 2024 08:54:52 AM by Tetiana C
Hello, Anthony! I'm a big fan of yours, I read a lot of your recommendations for freelancers, and a lot of what you said I applied to my profile. But I can't get my first order. Anthony, could you please take a look and evaluate my profile and give me a recommendation? Thank you very much.
Feb 6, 2023 01:05:59 PM by Atif Z
I don't think you have to downsize those things of what you are capable of
Jan 7, 2023 09:19:10 AM by Jonathan L
Martina P wrote:Should I go for the other one too?
I'll be walking funny until you do
Apr 5, 2023 08:55:43 AM by Zoran P
I tried to edit my skills but it says only 10 skills maximum. ...and before I clicked edit I had 15?
Mar 5, 2024 10:42:11 AM by Jeanne H
Upwork will not provide a dark mode, so you have to use programs from outside. I use Dark Reader.
Unfortunately, with Upwork messing with the jobs page, now you can't see the job titles with Dark Mode. Freelancers have been begging for a dark mode, for at least a decade, but Upwork refuses. So now, you can't use Dark Reader, unless you want to guess what the job title is.
There are other programs out there, and maybe Upwork will allow one of them to work. I have never understood why they insist on violating the accessible standards for all websites, and insist on temporarily blinding people. It's one thing to not offer a basic dark mode, and quite another to intentionally make the programs unusuable.
Jan 3, 2023 12:36:59 PM by Maria T
Perfect Jeanne. Applause.
I've flagged your post to see if we can get it pinned along with Wes's in the top positions on both Freelancers and New to Upwork.
I feel sorry for you, but you are going to be inundated with messages.
I think you should add a phrase like "refrain from personal messages, please read all the links I have added".
Jan 3, 2023 09:06:35 PM by Jyoti S
@Jeanne H
Every single word you have written, is true.
Most importantly, some of the new freelancers think that freelancing is a "get rich quick" scheme. They should remember, freelancing is a business, just like any other.
You need to learn the necessary skills.
You need to invest money and efforts to succeed in this business.
Go through the material Upwork has provided. Learn some skills, or better still, check the job categories and see if you have some of those skills, then start applying for jobs.
Establishing any business needs skill, time, and investments.
If you don't have these, spend some time and money in learning the skills of some specific category. Then prepare some samples, and then open a "shop" on Upwork.
Just becasue you are shouting the loudest (spenidng 30-50 connects on a single job), doesn't mean that people will buy from you.
Freelancing needs hard work. If you are not ready to put in that hard work, you'll not succed. Here or anywhere else.
Oct 11, 2023 07:20:44 AM by William T C
Raja,
Please use two Skills in the Title, rewrite the Summary into four compelling paragraphs minus the emoticons with a focus on the first sentence, and use all 15 Skills.
Jan 4, 2023 05:14:38 AM by Maria T
Thanks to whoever made the decision to pin the post at the beginning. I think it should also be in New to Upwork, but this at least helps.
I thought Wes's post was also pinned. He should still be there. Scammers are still up with their tricks and there are too many new freelancers as potential victims.
And we already know that they don't read anything, so if they see it on the first line when entering the forums, they might be curious.