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.  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.

[#2]

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01e1cba23babe9fab4

I want you review my profile and give me some recommendations for improving this.

[#3]

Abdul,

Please reformat the Summary into four compelling paragraphs with a focus on the first sentence since it appears in Client's search and remove the emoticons. Also add a Project Catalog.

[#4]

You need to read the top post and follow every link. You are at risk for being scammed and need to learn all the rules. The better your profile, the fewer scammers will try to take advantage.

Unless your name on documents is spelled with all capital letters, remove it. It looks like you are screaming at people.

Your profile needs work and is too long with too many emojis/little graphics.

Learn about profiles and proposals before you look for more jobs. It will be worth your time.

[#5]

Thanks William:

Your suggestions are very helpful to me and valueable for me. I am doing modifications in my profile for betterment. Thanks again William:

[#6]

Faraz,

You are most welcome!

[#7]

Hi Sir,

I visited your profile and found out that you are associated with a lot of agencies/ talent clouds. I want to know how can I join talent cloud ?

Sincerely,
Muhammad Umar

[#8]

Muhammad,

They were added automatically by Upwork as my client sales grew.

[#9]

👍

[#10]

Could you please visit my profile and let me know about any thing missing in my profile. One more thing how i will optimize my profile to attract clients.

[#11]

Thanks Willaim TC, Definately I am working on your suggestions. Thanks again.

[#12]

nice keep it up

[#13]

Thanks Hafiz A:

[#14]

Thanks Hafiz:

Your profile is private, make it public. Then people can comment on your profile.

Regards.

[#15]

Im new at here 

kindly help me out

[#16]

Go back to the top pinned post. Read it, follow every link, and learn how to use the platform safely. Never do anything outside of Upwork with a client before you have an Upwork contract.

You have no photo, no profile, and nothing to get you hired, but you will get scammed, because you re not ready to freelance here. If you want to freelance, you have a lot of work to do.

[#17]

Community member

[#18]

Hi Jeanne! I hope you are healthy and Doing good. I am a new Freelancer on Upwork. In the past few months, I closed amazing contracts. 4 Contracts ended with 5-star Ratings and 1 has not given me any feedback. I am now on 100% and Top Rated. 2 days ago 1 client ended a contract with a 4.80 rating due to a misunderstanding. The client feel an error on his Site which is not because of me I also sent him the proofs. But He just ended the contract without saying anything with 4.80 rating. I am despondent about it and I am also thinking about my Top Rated Badge and my JSS. How would both of it affect my profile? How much JSS drops and Can you also Please have a Look at my profile and give me feedback about Improvements in it?

[#19]

Take a deep breath and don't worry.

The public feedback, including the stars, has little to no impact on your JSS.

A 4.8 is not bad at all, but it's the private feedback that counts. If the client was unhappy, that is a possibility they gave you a lower score.  However, being top rated should allow you to remove it, but there may be other requirements. Sometimes clients leave feedback and go their way. Often they don't leave feedback at all, but no feedback doesn't change your JSS.

No one knows all the components of the JSS. It is necessarily secret because freelancers would cheat. Here is a link to more information.

Make sure you have read the post at the top and go through every link, if you haven't. There are resources for keeping current and ideas on profiles and proposals. Consider all the advice, and tailor it to your specific business.

Do a search of searchable titles and find ones that fit your skills.

 "Helping businesses stand out" should be further down in your description.

The first line is all the clients see in the search, so you have to grab their attention. Instead of your current first line, you have to tell the client what you can better than the rest. Also, there is no need for greetings or your name in the description, as it is already quite visible, and it's a waste of the space.

Your profile is quite good! It shows you have worked hard to be professional and are serious about your business and success. With a few adjustments, it will be excellent.

[#20]

Thanks a lot Jeanne!

[#21]

Hi Jeanne, I hope you'll review my profile as well. I am new in Upwork with <5$ earning

[#22]

First, go back to the top pinned post and follow all the links. Your profile needs work to attract clients and deter scammers. The skills title needs to be from the choices in the search engine. Virtual assistant is a flooded field, as is graphic designer. To compete, you will need excellent marketable skills and something to stand out in the crowd. Find something most don't provide, and enhance or develop the skills.

Your profile is far too long. Remove the emojis and graphics and put the information into paragraphs. Clients only see the first sentence of your profile in a search. Use it to tell the client why you can do the job better than anyone else, if you have all the requirements and can back up your claims.

Remove the "Hire me" at the end. Do not use it or anything like it in the profile or proposal. Use all of the resources through the post, and learn the Red Flags on Scams from Wes.

[#23]

Hi Jeanne,

Could you assist me in improving my profile ranking? Despite my efforts in implementing strategies to enhance my profile, I haven't seen the desired results. If you have insights or guidance that can help improve my profile's ranking, I would greatly appreciate your assistance.

Sincerely, 

Syed Hammad 

[#24]

Please examine my profile as I haven't had any employment offers in the last few months.
I tried everything, but it wasn't successful for me.

Can you please help me?

Awaiting your response.

Best wishes
Bhavsinh Solanki

[#25]

Please go back to the top and follow every link. You need to work on your profile. This is your opportunity to tell the clients why they should hire you. In addition, it is too long with far too many lists, and yet it still doesn't address the client.

Upwork continues to add anything that can spend connects, which is effecting every freelancer and client. It is much harder to break into Upwork freelancing than it used to be. Be prepared to send 100 or more proposals before you get a job. I am tracking the people I help, and even with real skills, it still takes dozens of proposals before landing a genuine job, if they ever find a job at all. Also, with so many scammer clients, there are fewer real jobs.

Learn all you can, improve your profile, portfolio, and proposals. Find a way to showcase your talent. If you are not interested in advancing your skills, you will be left behind if you are in a basic category.

[#26]

Hello, Jeanne! What do you mean by "...if you are in a basic category"?