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Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

To all freelancers looking for help

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.

 

 

2,048 REPLIES 2,048
Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

You have to use the article I already wrote. The one pinned to the top, you skipped over? All the help from Upwork and community members is contained in the article.

Your profile needs work, and it marks you as inexperienced, which means you are a target for scammers.

 

Competition is fierce, and if you don't have real, marketable skills, money to apply, time, to write quality proposals, and the acceptance that freelancing is about the long haul, and not short trips, you will not succeed.

 

The choice is yours to educate yourself and not be scammed.

Valerii's avatar
Valerii H Community Member

This is very helpful
Thanks Jeanne

 
Bernardita's avatar
Bernardita D Community Member

Hi! Thank you for assisting aspiring freelancers. I'm also one of those aspiring freelancers. Would you be able to review my profile and provide suggestions if there's anything I could add to my new freelancing journey? Thank you.

Here is my website: 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

You need to go back to the article pinned to the top, read it, and follow every link. Your profile tells scammers you haven't read or aren't following the rules, and it makes you a target for scams.

Via's avatar
Via H Community Member

Hello  I'm Via and I am new here at upwork. As an aspiring freelancer, I would like to know and I need help on how to get clients here. I want to know more about freelancing world. I am a teacher for 2 years now and I am passionate in teaching/ tutoring, photography, writing, creative writing and editing. I hope someone will notice me and help me to grow more here in upwork. Thank you so much and Godbless us all. 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

Go back to the big article at the top you skipped. Read everything in it and follow all the links. Your profile needs work, which you will also learn about in the article.

Via's avatar
Via H Community Member

Okay thank you Jeanne , it's a big help for me. god bless you 🙂 

 

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Hello Via,

 

Please use two Skills in the Title, shorten the longer paragraphs in the Summary with a focus on the first sentence for client search, use all 15 Skills, and add a Project Catalog. God bless!

Henry's avatar
Henry T Community Member

I am sure I will be successful on this platform

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Henry,

 

Please reformat your Summary into four compelling paragraphs, remove the emoticons, and focus on the first sentence since to appears in the client search.

Harley's avatar
Harley H Community Member

Hi iam Harley just joined the UPWORK community, I wanted to take a minute to say thank you for all the info and links...very informative. Looking forward to engaging on future projects with everyone.

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Hi Harley,

 

Congrats on joining the Upwork community! It's a great resource to interact with other freelancers. If you have any questions, let us know.

Jhay's avatar
Jhay R Community Member

I am Jhay 25 years old and a graduate of BSHRM i love management and i worked in different companies for 5years as admin staff and managerial I am a multitasking person and I have a lot of skills when it comes to communication with client also with tools like Excel, Google suite, QuickBooks, Zendesk, canvas, Docusign, GohighLevel, Calendly, Google Drive and others I also have VA experience or work as a freelancer at one of the largest medical Telehealth in the United States, where I am assigned to many different areas such as Payment, Insurance, EOB, and Scheduling.

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Jhay,

 

Please use two Skills in the Title, use four compelling Summary paragraphs, use all 15 Skills, add your Portfolio, and add a Project Catalog.

Elisa's avatar
Elisa B Community Member

You should tell people to read carefully the original post instead, William.

 

This is the meaning of this thread - telling people the truth and to be realistic about their expectations, not suggesting that by adding all the 15 skills a miracle will happen.

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

Jhay, you are at high risk of being scammed. Your profile is a big, blazing sign to the scammers that you don't know or don't follow the rules. Do not apply or even look at the jobs until you use the information pinned to the top.

 

Forget the f paragraphs and 15 skills. You have work to do, and it is much more than that. Only use 15 skills if you excel at all of them. Do not simply check off 15, because someone tells you so.

 

You have to protect yourself, because no one, including Upwork, will do it for you. Read the top post, and follow every single link. If there is something you do not understand, post your questions here. I hope you take my words as sincere help. No one likes to see people lose everything.

April's avatar
April C Community Member

I'm trying Upwork again. I have done some work on here but a few years ago. Is it better to take off the work I did a few years ago than to keep it up? I feel like people might think it's weird that I have done work several years ago and have no jobs since then. Though, I did fill out my experience area so ... 

Andrea Aylemar's avatar
Andrea Aylemar A Community Member

Good luck. There's an amazing increase on connects cost, and to send each job proposal is from $1 to $5, and I get read every 20/30 proposals I send.

April's avatar
April C Community Member

Yeah, I don't know how to feel about Upwork still. I tried last year, sent many, many proposals, didn't get any contracts. Gave up in two months or so because the connects issue and also scam/spam listings. Secondly, I had way more views and people inviting me before covid but had other work at the time so didn't really continue with Upwork despite that. Just don't know but I'm going to try again. 

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Hi April,

 

Glad to see you back again! Please write four compelling paragraphs for the Summary especially for the first sentence since it appears in client search and add a Project Catalog.

 

Consider learning in-demand Skills to open up more Job opportunities.

April's avatar
April C Community Member

Summary as in the description for each of my profiles? The overview?

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

The Summary in your Upwork Profile is below the Title.

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

Upwork has changed, a lot. Please review the post at the top, and pay special attention to the
Red Flags on Scams from Wes.

 

If the work is good and timely, then leave it up, but add more to it.

 

You need to go to the Academy and learn about writing your profile, because it needs work. There is so much more involved than having four paragraphs. Your intro must grab people and tell them what you can do for them, that is so much better than anyone else. Not just skills or experience, but your unique talents you will use to do a fantastic job.

Khuram's avatar
Khuram S Community Member

I m looking job plz help me

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Khuram,

 

Please complete your Upwork Profile and click the Academy link on the top of this page for success TIPS.