Upwork, do not send “Similar jobs” emails

[ivanburmistrov]

I mean emails with subject “Similar jobs to the one you saved” and message body starting with “Because you saved the job {job title}, we thought you might also like: {another job title}”.

As always, Upwork bravely introduces new “features” without understanding how freelancers actually use their system. Users save jobs not only because they are interested in that jobs, but also they do so before switching from one device (eg desktop) to another (eg smartphone) – in order to mark the last viewed job in their job feed. As a result, they save absolutely random jobs, so “similar jobs” emails are completely irrelevant to their actual interests.

My job feed is already loaded with irrelevant jobs at 97-99%, so I do not need an extra flood of irrelevant jobs, now delivered via email.

Why any new Upwork “features” and updates make the system worse and worse? (A rhetoric question.)

[AveryO]

Hi Ivan, 

I'm sorry to learn that this has inconvenienced you in any way. We frequently try out new features -- both big and small -- by conducting testing with a small group of users. This is the standard practice for most companies, and tests can sometimes last weeks or just a few days. In order to not impact or skew test results, we typically try not to share details about tests while they are ongoing. While we can’t address your questions about this test, we do want and appreciate your feedback. We will be glad to pass your comments on as we work to determine which potential features our customers like and don’t like. 

Thank you!

[VladimirG]

Hi Ivan,

I'd like to follow up on your statement regarding the number of irrelevant jobs in your job feed. Could you please delete any previous saved searches, follow the steps shared here in order to set up a new Job Feed and let us know if you're seeing more relevant jobs in your feed?

[ivanburmistrov]

Hi Vladimir,

I did exactly what you suggest a week ago (deleted all previously saved searches and created new saved searches) and the result was that now I get much more irrelevant jobs on my job feed. My impression is that the job feed conveys literally all jobs in categories like "Web & Mobile Design", "QA & Testing", "Ecommerce Development" etc. Now I simply ignore the job feed completely and instead use only saved searches by clicking "Open in job search" link (<).

[VladimirG]

Thanks for the follow-up, Ivan. I'll check the experience you reported with your job feed and follow up with an update as soon as possible.