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96137c0c
Community Member

Up work is very unrewarding for new freelancers

Hi,

 

I wanted to raise this with the dev team and also the communtiy. I've been using the site for 6 months. I find it really unrewarding when i spend time on an application and hear nothing from the clients. Half the time they dont even close their job. 

 

To solve this could their not be a simple 'decline' or 'accept' button client side that sends a nice automated message to the freelancer that the client HAS to use?

 

If the freelancers are putting in the time then the client should be made to at least acknowlegde applications. I even had a phone interview the other and heard nothing. Its incredibly rude and does not spur me on to use the site.

 

I just feel something needs to be done to make freelancers feel more appreciated seeing as we have to pay too.

 

G 🙂

 

 

 

 

22 REPLIES 22
growmyretail
Community Member

I would say it is not needed.


It's like HR and recruiting departments for a firm or company.
The average time spent on a resume or application or when you apply for a job is about 3 seconds tops (something in that area). Unless you stand out from the first second. 
All that hard work you spent on a tailored cover letter and your polished resume is just gone in a blink of an eye.
And that is how traditional HR works.

 

Imagine a client/employer on a digital platform, that has to go over tons of applications. It is in their right to just throw it in the bin, ignore it and focus/spend their time on the ones that do stand out from the very first millisecond.

 

When you apply for a job here on UpWork, what should stand out is your headline, mine is: 

 

Management | Corporate DNA | Finance | Digital Strategist, which I am planning to adapt now in a more focused market.

 

 Ratings and score

and most likely the first sentence you write when applying.

that takes about 2-3 seconds tops and decisions are made on impulse.

 

Clients leaving job posts open, eventually close if no action is taken.
That said, before applying, you have to check their ongoing processes, hiring rates, and if they have other jobs open or in progress and that alone will say a lot if clients are actively seeking.

Another part is that, UpWork is NOT the only platform. Top of my head, there are at least 5 other platforms where that employer can post the same job.

petra_r
Community Member


Gemma B wrote:

To solve this could their not be a simple 'decline' or 'accept' button client side that sends a nice automated message to the freelancer that the client HAS to use?


If you are accepted, you'll get contacted by the client. If you don't get contacted by the client, you are not (yet or ever) "accepted" and some automated message does nothing but clutter up your mailbox. 

 

Anything that irritates clients and makes te hiring process more cumbersome is a bad thing, including clicking 50 "No Thanks" buttons.


Apart from that, when you say the client "HAS TO" use the button, what are you roposing to do to the client if they don't? Send the client to bed without dinner? Nuke their account? 

 


Gemma B wrote:

Its incredibly rude and does not spur me on to use the site.


It's not "incredibly rude" - it is just the way online freelancing works. You get used to it. Don't take it personally.

 

You can completely eliminate feeling so much frustration about this by sending your proposals and then simply forgetting all about them, never looking at them again and not giving them a second thought at all unless and until a client contacts you back. 


Also, Upwork is literally drowning in freelancers. Their business model is to spur on clients to spend money (which benefits freelancers) - Spuring on freelancers isn't that high on the list of priorities if doing so would be detrimental to the client-experience.

 

9b193774
Community Member

If Petra was a community "guru" she would have responded more respectfully and sympathetically to you. Don't listen to her. 

You say Upwork's intent is to stimulate companies to hire freelancers. That is not true.  Upwork makes money on boh sides, and the current economy of permatemps, gig workers and tem employees is part of the new economy and it makes freelancing a dead end financially.  If you want to make money, do not be a freelancer.  Find anything else.  Upwork makes it possible to hire freelancers from overseas where they are happey to work for less versus a US freelancer.  That means you cannot compete.  That's the  reason the current generation is poorer than their parents.  This is the first time this has happened in US history and it will get worse. It's also clear from these forums that Upwork has many client complaints, poor customer service,  and operates an unstable system.


Chuck E wrote:

You say Upwork's intent is to stimulate companies to hire freelancers. That is not true.  Upwork makes money on boh sides, and the current economy of permatemps, gig workers and tem employees is part of the new economy and it makes freelancing a dead end financially.  If you want to make money, do not be a freelancer.  Find anything else.  Upwork makes it possible to hire freelancers from overseas where they are happey to work for less versus a US freelancer.  That means you cannot compete.  That's the  reason the current generation is poorer than their parents.  This is the first time this has happened in US history and it will get worse. It's also clear from these forums that Upwork has many client complaints, poor customer service,  and operates an unstable system.


wat

a_lipsey
Community Member

We were all new once. 

I will never understand why people who think Upwork is just awful stick around to complain.  If I felt that way, I'd be gone in a minute.  

**Edited for Community Guidelines**  Being a freelancer, gig worker or part-time worker essentially means you are unemployed but have something to do to kill time.  Face it: the gig economy is the road to subsistence living. Upwork makes it hard to get work and to get paid. **Edited for Community Guidelines**  Too bad the freelancers who think Upwork will help them don't realize this, too.


**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 


Chuck E wrote:

Upwork makes it hard to get work and to get paid. .


What you mean is that you find it hard to get work and make money here.

But hey, you can't make money here? That's fine. Maybe there is another place that suits you better. Leave this platform to those of us who do manage to make money.

Chuck E.,

Every freelancer's expertise is different, but I have no trouble working far less hours than in the usual 9 to 5 and making the living I want to make on Upwork. I am most certainly not unemployed, but self employment is not for everyone and this is even more true for remote-working freelancers. I am surprised any experienced worker would expect otherwise.
9b193774
Community Member

Hi I completely agree. We're treated in a very disposable way by clients, and I can't get any human contact from Upwork either. No (non-bot) chat, not email response, nothing. Probably best to make a dignified exit!

petra_r
Community Member


Matthew V C wrote:

We're treated in a very disposable way by clients, 


Ultimately, we are.

 


Matthew V C wrote:

I can't get any human contact from Upwork either. No (non-bot) chat, not email response, nothing.!


You posted here in the community and had "human contact" within minutes...

 

No need for any exit, dignified or otherwise. Just make sure that you understand the process of working on Upwork correctly before jumping in and making mistakes.

Yes, you get human contact in the Community section, but the people here have zero power to fix the problems. The paid staff at Upwork is unresponsive, so what does that tell you?


Chuck E wrote:

Yes, you get human contact in the Community section, but the people here have zero power to fix the problems. The paid staff at Upwork is unresponsive, so what does that tell you?


If you're referring to the moderators—whose contract status with Upwork is, I believe, mixed—they are responsive within the constraints they are given.

Yes, when people complain about policy, they often have no remit to do anything but repeat corporate boilerplate.

When it comes to broken features, or failures by or misinformation from customer support, they can be extraordinarily helpful in sorting out issues—going far beyond what I expect from forum moderators.

re: "Yes, you get human contact in the Community section, but the people here have zero power to fix the problems. The paid staff at Upwork is unresponsive, so what does that tell you."

 

The Community Forum is second to none. People here are knowledgeable and helpful. Forum Moderators really are able to get issues in front of the Upwork employees who have the power to change things, and many Moderators have direct access to be able fix things themselves.

 

The overwhelming majority of users' problems can be solved by posting questions here in the Forum and getting advice from non-employee Forum participants.

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Gemma,

Clients use Upwork for a wide variety of reasons, including, for some, not having to extend the same courtesies to others in cyberspace compared to what is considered good behavior in the real world.

More importantly, many clients also receive a very large number of proposals to their project postings, often from freelancers who have neither the skills nor the experience needed to complete those projects. There is no reason for clients to spend any time responding to those proposals.

To be happy on Upwork you're going to have to develop a mindset that non-responses to your proposals are the norm. Never look back once you've submitted a proposal. 

 

Upwork has allowed you to become a freelancer because Upwork believed you had skills that are in demand from Upwork clients, but it may take you some time and a great deal of unsuccessful proposals to find your niche. Or you may never find it.

 

Only apply to jobs that are a perfect fit for your skillset.

Good luck!

kinector
Community Member

Gemma, Matthew,

I'd recommend you to learn how this ecosystem works. Be a client for just one time. Try it.

I'm 100% with Petra on this.

Just recently I needed a virtual assistant to take care of some financial transactions that just about anyone with basic accounting knowledge can do.

I got over 80 applicants in 2 days!

As a client, I would never, ever, hire anyone on a platform that forced me to click through all those 80 rejected applications when I just needed one decent freelancer to help me.

Do you understand the problem here?

As a freelancer, I WANT Upwork to have lots of clients on the platform. Let's not repel them!

May the best freelancer win. And let's make sure every paying client wins. 😉

Some of your replies are pretty patronising tbh.

 

I have been the client before so don't assume things about me.

 

I just thought i'd mention how unrewarding it is. Its not only me but others who use the platform think it too.

 

A lot of the time just closing the role once you have got the participant would be enough but i find more and more they're left there in the ether for ages.

 

Its a simple suggestion, that is all.

 

 

 


Gemma B wrote:

Some of your replies are pretty patronising tbh.

 

I have been the client before so don't assume things about me.

 

I just thought i'd mention how unrewarding it is. Its not only me but others who use the platform think it too.

 

A lot of the time just closing the role once you have got the participant would be enough but i find more and more they're left there in the ether for ages.

 

Its a simple suggestion, that is all.

 


What's your simple suggestion for forcing clients to respond? 

lesw1223
Community Member

Hi Gemma! I have felt the same way at times, particularly when I was first starting out. Now when I bid on jobs, I wait a few days and if I don't hear back I simply re-visit the job post and can see if a hire was made. If the client made a hire, I will withdraw my proposal and move on. This keeps my "active proposals" section cleaned up so I know what's still floating around out there and what's off the table, so to speak. 

 

I do agree with others - you can't take it personally. Is it annoying? Yes. But it's really no different than applying for a job and never hearing back. It's just the way it is.

melikee
Community Member

Hi Gemma, 
I totally understand your point. But I do think upwork is also quite rewarding for new freelancers as I am also a new freelancer. I had registered to upwork before but started to work here actively 5 months ago. Even though I started with zero feedback as everyone else and struggled at the beginning, I tried my best during this time and I got a top-rated plus badge in 5 months. And those badges are based on 12-month earnings instead of overall earning which makes it easier for new and hardworking freelancers to get recognition. Yes, it is sometimes frustrating that most of the clients do not respond to the proposals, it is not a problem only for the new starters, but for the majority of the freelancers. Not all job posts result in hiring. But I'd advise you to just forget about them as Petra said, and keep checking new job posts. When I don't get as many responses as I expected, then I send more proposals and pay attention to the client's hiring percentage. Every day I am seeking new ways to improve my portfolio, my proposals, my skills, my communication techniques with clients.  So it is important to motivate yourself and continue working hard. Hope these help a bit.

melikee
Community Member

And just wanted to add one more thing as you mentioned you had an interview and heard nothing after that.
Once, I had an interview with a client, a small company. There were 3 partners in the interview and they were so enthusiastic about their company and collaborating with me, so was I. We had the second interview. Then they sent a contract and I accepted. But they said they would not be available for one week so we would be able to start working after that. They even set up a Whatsapp group for me and them (as we already had a contract). After one week they said they were terribly sorry and needed one more week. Time passed by like that and we just could not start working for 2 months! And at the end of those 2 months, they closed the contract and left the group without even sending a message to me explaining what happened. When I checked their job post, I saw they started a new contract with another freelancer who had a lower hourly rate. But I was not frustrated that much as I did not rely on them and was lucky to start working with other clients. So these things happen, you are not alone 🙂

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