To all freelancers looking for help

[#1]

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. 

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.

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.

[#2]

Hi Enoch,

Thank you for reaching out. To update your profile visibility to public, you can take these steps:

1. Select Profile > Profile Settings
2. Choose a visibility option from the dropdown menu

You can learn more here. 

[#3]

I am from Switzerland, but I am also without a job. I worked for 20 years at the company Kodak, and then I switched to freelancing. Maybe they are afraid to hire people without reviews?

[#4]

When you start freelancing, it's like starting over. Clients may appreciate your experience, but will want to know what you can do for them, now. It can take dozens, or more, proposals before being hired. It's crucial you know and follow the terms of Service and all Upwork rules, to avoid scammers and losing your account.

Your profile needs work, and you are wasting the first sentence, which is all clients see in a search. Why am I telling you about your profile? It is the best way to attract clients and deter scammers. If you change your profile, and add more to your portfolio, it will help to find clients. The first sentence is all the clients see in a search, so make it a powerful statement about how your education, skills, and experience combiine to make you a stellar choice.

With your experience and skills, you should do well in freelanicng, but it is a completely different world from what you are used to seeing. It will take time and hard work to make the transition, but it can be done. Do not depend on one source for your income, and freelance in multiple ways.

[#5]

Well said 

[#6]

Thanks for the links. Hope I read all the guides soon and get lucky to land my first job 😅

[#7]

You are a Mentor on Upwork,🤣🤣

[#8]

Jeanne: This information and links provided above are invaluable. Thanks for sharing. Being new to Upwork it is good to know these details beforehand.

Thanks again.

[#9]

---

Jeanne H wrote:

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."

And with advice from Maria T, I will say, 

Refrain from personal messages, please read all the links I have added.

---

This is great, but can I suggest that you start a blog instead? You write well, and you would probably get a lot of visitors. Then you could monetize from there if you wanted. You would also have the freedom to categorize and so on, so that people could get quickly to their answers.

Just a suggestion in case you want to turn helping into a hobby.

The problem with threads like these is that they contain a ton of information that can be overwhelming, isn't necessarily linear, and receives answers and then often, replies that refute some answers and a chain of that.

Not easy on the eyes, and confusing to a newb.

Here's the thing: people come onto community boards for two reasons:

1. To get DIRECTLY to the questions that they have. Nobody is going to go through dozens or hundreds of "answers" (that may not even all be correct) to somehow find the answer to their one question. So a lot of the hard work on the thread is wasted anyway. (Which may be why you get repetitive questions when you invite people to ask you direclty.)

2. Those who post questions want to know people's *actual experiences,* so they want to ask on a community board...only to be met with long-suffering "I'm SO tired of having to answer you people" commentary, which is pretty off-putting, not to mention illogical since AFAIK, nobody is chained here and forced to answer newbs. 😄

All in all, I think your info is great, and I really do suggest a blog. I think that would be great since you seem as if you want to help.

Good luck! Great info!

[#10]

"This is great, but can I suggest that you start a blog instead?"

What is wrong with what I wrote? I do not want a blog, or I would have one.

"You write well, and you would probably get a lot of visitors. Then you could monetize from there if you wanted. You would also have the freedom to categorize and so on, so that people could get quickly to their answers."

I am not interested in being a coach. For one thing, there is a ton of information on Upwork. There are coaches and a thread on people giving advice. I'm definitely not interested in making money from helping other freelancers. Just read the links.

"Just a suggestion in case you want to turn helping into a hobby."

I don't consider helping others a hobby.

"The problem with threads like these is that they contain a ton of information that can be overwhelming, isn't necessarily linear, and receives answers and then often, replies that refute some answers and a chain of that."

My post is linear. I started with the basics and links to elevating levels of help. If it's overwhelming, handily it's in a post you can reference repeatedly. I refuse to repeat answer that are contained in the post. Yes, conflicting information that can likely be resolved by reading the Upwork information.

"Not easy on the eyes, and confusing to a newb."

It's quite simple, read my post. It's all Upwork information, not mine. That's the point - you don't need me, you don't need anyone; use the resources at hand.

"1. To get DIRECTLY to the questions that they have. Nobody is going to go through dozens or hundreds of "answers" (that may not even all be correct) to somehow find the answer to their one question. So a lot of the hard work on the thread is wasted anyway. (Which may be why you get repetitive questions when you invite people to ask you direclty.)"

If my post were not correct, do you think Upwork would have allowed it, much less pinned it? (Believe me, I was more surprised than anyone). This thread was started because of the enormous amount of new freelancers who keep posting things like, "how do i get job?" "No one will hire me." "Upwork unfair!" "How do I get my money?"

So, I carefully put together the Upwork links in a coherent beginning to end fashion and included more links.

There is no reason for a new person to come to the forum and say, "I got scammed and didn't know to not do the stuff I did." An hour's worth of reading would have prevented all of it. And so on. And so on.

I receive questions, begging, pleading, demanding help because they have not done the basics. I am a big believer in not reinventing the wheel.

"2. Those who post questions want to know people's *actual experiences,* so they want to ask on a community board...only to be met with long-suffering "I'm SO tired of having to answer you people" commentary, which is pretty off-putting, not to mention illogical since AFAIK, nobody is chained here and forced to answer newbs."

Actual experiences are what I am trying to avoid! Too many freelancers, some who have never had a job, offer advice as if they are professionals. This thread is not about opinion, ideas, feelings, desires, or dreams. It's about the rules and what you need to do before you set up a profile. From the feedback, a lot more people love it than hate it. What I care about is others learning, and many new freelancers have told me this is helpful.

Not all freelancers know what they are talking about. This way the freelancer can get the truth from the source along with every kind of help imaginable through multiple media formats.  

As I posted to another person, there are plenty of freelancers from all over the world that started with nothing, and didn't expect to be given free everything because they were new or poor.

If everyone went through the links I posted, virtually no one would get scammed, cheated, or manipulated by the client, and there is so much more information. Most of the threads include a lot of emotion and experiences. That's fine here, too, I'm not the text police. However, I see no reason to go into lengthy messages with those who have done absolutely nothing for themselves and yet want someone to give them money.

[#11]

Jeanne, I am so sorry that I came off the way I did. I re-read my posts and I can see why. Think before you hit the button is not my strong suit. Live and learn.

What I meant by misinformation and non-linear information was not your original post, but the posts that come after it. (I mentioned the thread; I was talking about the entire thread, not your original post.) People correct other people, people add on, the thread becomes a monster to read...and newcomers with a specific question give up and just post the question.

I was offering the reason people do this.

Anyway, good info.

[#12]

You are so thoughtful! No worries, I just figured the help-seekers haven't found you yet! But now that you've posted...

I understand your point. There is a lot of misinformation floating around, that's why I wrote the post. It frustrates me the moderators do not always step in to deliver a definitive, Upwork answer. Therefore, there is a lot of opinion that can definitely lead newcomers in the wrong direction.

[#13]

DM flood ? 

[#14]

Any links specifically on preparing an appealing proposal?

[#15]

If you follow the links, (hover over the link, and it will tell you where it leads) you will find multiple areas of help, including how to write an appealing and professional proposal. There are webinars and training available regularly, and coaching on a variety of aspects including proposals, and you might want to check out the rest of the links to make sure you have everything covered. Your profile is great!

[#16]

I don't understand why your excellent advice hasn't been pinned (yet) also in the "New to Upwork" section, Jeanne. 

[#17]

Very true. I'd add: freelancing and/or Upwork in particular is not at all a "way to make something out of nothing". If you are already an experienced professional in some area that has demand on Upwork, and you live in a country where people in your profession make <~1/3 of what they do in the U.S. - because you will need to account for irregularity of employment, for self-employment taxes, and for sales effort it will take, and for the fact that clients go to Upwork to save money vs what they will spend on U.S. contractors - then Upwork is for you.

It will not let you make money if you can't make it without Upwork, it just may or may not give you some leverage.

[#18]

---

Alexander N wrote:

Very true. I'd add: freelancing and/or Upwork in particular is not at all a "way to make something out of nothing". If you are already an experienced professional in some area that has demand on Upwork, and you live in a country where people in your profession make <~1/3 of what they do in the U.S. - because you will need to account for irregularity of employment, for self-employment taxes, and for sales effort it will take, and for the fact that clients go to Upwork to save money vs what they will spend on U.S. contractors - then Upwork is for you.

It will not let you make money if you can't make it without Upwork, it just may or may not give you some leverage.

---

This is SO true. I have seen the occasional post where the person asks what s/he can do on Upwork to make money - IOW, s/he does not already have a skill that's listed on Upwork. So I think the view might be that Upwork is the place to go to make money quickly and easily. It isn't (generally). You need to have a skill. If you don't have a skill covered by Upwork, then simply working p/t will probably net you a lot more money at a job you are good at/already know is your better bet. (And more and more of these are from home anyway.)

I have also had people ask me this question via other social media. People know I have been an independent contractor forever and they want to know "how I do it." I tell them and they say "How do I get to be a writer like you?" I tell them, and more often than not it's "I have to have a portfolio? I have to spend in connects? I have to do a good enough job to get highly rated?" 

Usually, yes to all three. 🙂

[#19]

explanations is very handy and useful for us. thanks..

[#20]

Hi Jeanne,
Many thanks for these wonderful guidelines. 

Thank you,
Emmanuel. 

[#21]

Thanks Jeanne,  for the great, fact-filled post and your time doing so.  However, it would behoove Upwork to give the same counseling to it's thousands of folks who post as bona fide employers on the platform, but don't bother to read anything, including the basic Terms of Service.  

[#22]

There is information for the clients, but It needs to be more thorough and go step by step. First time clients are usually very confused. It takes time and effort on my part just to get to a contract. There is no way to make the client read something without creating obstacles for clients, which benefits no one and would not stop scammers.

[#23]

Perhaps a financial incentive? Something like a limited discount* if you take and pass a randomly generated quiz.

*Upwork would cover the freelancer for the discounted amount.

[#24]

No. Clients have a hard enough time navigating hiring. Upwork is going for those connects, so, they are not gonna give up any money. Upwork can't offer enough money to make it worthwhile to the clients. This is going to annoy clients.

The information needs to be rewritten in a more simple and straightforward language with simple, descriptive diagrams. It's not a language issue; clients do not have the whole job scenario laid out for them.

[#25]

When pitching clients don't skip the first step: it always looks good to show that you fully read the gig description and incorporate some of that information into your response to make it more personalised 

[#26]

Hi, I'm looking for a job for 1 month, but I am unable to get the job. I'm following all instructions from experts and Upwork Academy, but I'm still not getting hired. Please guide me to figure out this problem.