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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.  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.

 

 

1,965 REPLIES 1,965
William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Anis,

 

Make sure to close all completed contracts because both clients and Upwork's system can conclude that you are too busy for new projects.

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

Can you point to where you found this information? How does Upwork's system "conclude" a freelancer is too busy?

Mark's avatar
Mark T Community Member

William,

 

I think I've come across similar advice before but it can be a bit of a catch-22 situation. I don't want a lot of jobs in progress on my profile, sure, but I don't want 50+ counts of "No feedback given" either.

 

So the question is, which is going to affect my chances of new jobs more?

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Mark,

 

Jobs should be closed along the way, therefore this type of situation should never occur. Basically that is the design of Upwork.

 

However, if you never close those jobs, you will always be at a disadvantage, whereas you will be at a one-time disadvantage if they are closed at once.

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

Why will you never answer my sincere, polite questions?

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

There is no penalty for having open jobs. I have clients who want the jobs to remain open.

 

That being said, that's an incredible amount of open jobs. I don't think I've seen so many open. I hope you are following a different path now.

 

If you want to close them, do a few at a time, so you have no feedback interspersed with good feedback. While your profile is important, some clients don't care much and are looking into the proposal, while others may focus on the profile. 

 

I would not suggest closing all of them at once, but it's your choice. Obviously, it doesn't seem to have harmed your career here, and clients are still hiring you.

Innocent Bayila's avatar
Innocent Bayila S Community Member

Thank you for this.

 

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Innocent,

 

Please write the Summary into four compelling paragraphs with a keen focus on the first sentence and add a Project Catalog.

ABDUL's avatar
ABDUL M Community Member

Please review my profile and let me remove the deficiencies.
https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01e1cba23babe9fab4

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

Go back to the top and use the links. Pay attention to the Terms of Service and the Red Flags for Scams. Your profile needs work. Use the links in the post to use different areas of the Academy to learn about profiles.

 

The current one is too long, with too many emojis. You have to sell yourself in the first couple of sentences. Tell the client why you can do the job better than anyone else.

 

Learn about scams, because no one, including Upwork, will protect you.

Konstantin's avatar
Konstantin G Community Member

Hello good people, 

Would like to check in my profile aswell. After 20+ jobs applied and 50+ connects spent didnt get any job. So now lets look more in the reasons...maybe 🙂

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Hello Konstantin,

 

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

Konstantin's avatar
Konstantin G Community Member

Thank you William. except the Project Catalog think I complete the other steps. Will be glad if you can take another look.

 

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

You are not ready to have a project catalog, you are only going to be scammed.

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

I have no idea what you think having 15 skills listed is going to do for someone in this situation.

 

No one should just use 15 skills, as you advise.

 

People, only use the skills you really have. Adding 15 skills just to have them there does no one any good. If you manage to get a job with those fake skills, the clients are not happy when the product does not match the alleged 15 skills.

Elisa's avatar
Elisa B Community Member

Read the initial post by Jeanne. Do not skip any of the links provided. From your profile, it seems like you haven't dedicated a single minute to learning how to optimise it - hence, you spent your connects in vain. 

 

Take the Academy courses. And do not use all the 15 skills allowed. Only the ones you actually have.

Konstantin's avatar
Konstantin G Community Member

A little be harsh Elisa, don't you think to be sure I didnt dedicate a single minute or to judge if I have or don't have the skills? 
Either way, thank you also for your comment 🙂 

Elisa's avatar
Elisa B Community Member

I did not mean to be harsh, but there is an "etc." in your title and there are only 4 rows of vague description. You should really read Jeanne's post and take the Academy courses, before losing additional money... believe it or not, I am saying this to help.

 

Regarding the skills, I was mostly replying to another community member insisting that people have to use ALL 15 skills.

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

She was not being harsh, she was being helpful. Do you want people to tell you nice stories or give you honest feedback?

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

You need to do as Elisa said, and use the post I wrote at the top. You are at high risk of being scammed because your profile is a big beacon saying you have not followed the rules.

 

"Specialist at management - design, photoshop, excel and etc.
$20.00/hr"
"As a company owner i'm aware of each activity involved in the management of a company working in the area of sales. I'am a quick learner and good researcher. Looking to add more incomes in the free time."
 
Your profile is not going to get you a job, but it will get you scammed. That's why you aren't getting jobs. What do you do? Your title is a mishmash, with no real skills listed. Freelancing requires real, marketable skills. If you don't have them, you will lose everything. It also requires money to do business, determination, patience, and hard work. What do you think a client would hire you to do?
 
You may not like my words, but I am telling you the truth. Learn from the top post, and use every single link. Freelancing is not for everyone. Without hard, marketable skills, it will be incredibly difficult for you to get a legitimate job.
 
The tools you need are all contained in the article. It's up to you if you use them.
 
Ruben's avatar
Ruben T Community Member

Hi Jeanne,

 

Thank you for this information, I was dealing with a customer that was trying to achieve something illegal, so I decided not to offer the final income and ended up in a 4 stars, this affect my profile, do you know if I can do something from the Upwork community to remove that bad score that reduce my jss to 64% ?

Jeanne's avatar
Jeanne H Community Member

If a client is doing something illegal, stop immediately and report to Upwork. Why did you complete the job if you knew it was illegal?

 

Stop working with clients who are breaking the law. You, too, can be held responsible.

 

You can't have it removed because you are not top rated. The 4 stars have nothing to do with your JSS; it was likely terrible private feedback. Without knowing more about what you and the client did, I don't think there is anything Upwork will do, because you didn't report it. I would still report it now - except that it sounds like you participated.

 

Write amazing proposals and do whatever you can to stand out and deliver great services. It's not easy to get to 100%, but others have done it. I have seen freelancers hired at your JSS.

Dandan's avatar
Dandan Z Community Member

Please help me check my profile as well and see if there's anything that needs modification.

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01bc80fc4b16878b01

William T's avatar
William T C Community Member

Allen,

 

Please use three Skills in the Title and reformat the Summary into four compelling paragraphs with a focus on the first sentence because it appears in Client search. In most countries, Allen is a mans name. Please use the proper female name in English.

Radia's avatar
Radia L Community Member

🤣🤣