Vague Job Descriptions

[ecfd3b46]

Greetings:

I'm new this year to upwork. I do voiceover work. I find it hard to bid on jobs because I can't tell anything about the job from the description. The following example, (the most recent of many) triggered this message:

We have a script for Voice Over, we are looking for :
American Voice over Artist, Male Voice, Matured Voice, 

Should be available for feedback
Should not use software tools for recording

We have a script... that's it!  Is it a script about puppies, or brain surgery, or concentration camps? Is it 100 words or 10,000 words? It would be like posting "We have wood and need a carpenter. How much will you charge to do the job?"

There doesn't seem to be any way to interact with clients prior to submitting a proposal. How do others in the community handle this ambiguity?

Thanks,

Keith Gardner

[allan116]

Agreed.

[nhansen]

I would think that for voiceovers, it wouldn't matter, unless you had some sort of personal conviction against the topic they want you to do the voiceover for, such as an ad for a political candidate, pro- or anti-abortion video, etc.

But I have pointed out elsewhere it does matter if the job ad is for something like editing an academic book. Philosophy and electrical engineering are two very different topics and it would help to have someone not just with editing skills but also subject matter expertise.

I've come to the conclusion though that Upwork really doesn't have a financial incentive to encourage more specific job descriptions such as these. If someone posts an ad for an editor of their thesis without specifying what it is about, they will get 50 applicants, and if the poster is lucky there might be one in there that is good for the topic they are writing about. If they post for an editor of a thesis on medieval Serbo-Croatian love poetry, the post is likely to get less than 5 applicants, but much more qualified for the topic at hand.

But for Upwork, 50 applicants means 50 people using connects, and while I've never paid for connects myself as I get enough interviews to make up for the ones I use, I bet among those 50 applicants there are desperate freelancers just looking to land their first job and they are paying for those connects.

And it isn't just subject matter specified posts that get less applicants. I've seen amazingly well written, detailed job descriptions for project managers for example, with so many details about what they need, and there are less than 5 applicants. Now, it could be these are clients who are reviewing and dismissing the applications they get, but I suspect that the short job descriptions simply attract more applicants from among the people who just apply for tons of jobs hoping to get something or anything. If the job ad doesn't say what it is looking for, then presumably anyone can apply for it and they don't have to put a lot of effort into demonstrating how they match the job description, so it gets more applicants.

Keith, my advice to you would be to take advantage of the ability to add a video to your profile. You could record yourself doing a variety of voiceovers of the type you would like to work on. Then when people are searching for potential voice talent they will be able to listen to your samples and then reach out to you and invite you to apply if they like what they hear. You might also be able to add voice samples to your portfolio. 

[ecfd3b46]

Hi Nichole:

Yes - follow the money! I never though about the fact that the platform is financially incentivized to encourge many applicants, and being too specific reduces the number of applicants. The sad part is, it waste lots of time and effort for clients and freelancers.

While conviction comes into play when choosing scripts, having an idea of the type of content also helps me decide how much time and effort it will take to complete the job. If it's a script about the superior efficacy of one prescription drug over another for a medical conference, I'll end up looking up pronunciations for medical terms, and I will probably trip up more often during the recording proces, which means more editing time. A script about a new programming language might have lots of jargon, but I made my living programming for years, so this would be easier for me.

Thanks for suggesting adding a video. I'm planning that for next week.

Thanks, KG

[2a05aa63]

Vague description mean that the client is new or not that interested in the job. I'd skip the job post, unless the client has a high pay rate and 4.8+ rating. Most of the time it's a waste of connects or eventually a bad client that will leave a bad review.

[voiceovervandeen]

Hello fellow VO 🙂

My technique is to be extremely selective, - credits cost money, & applying costs time.

If a job/client is lacking in description, direction, script, history, or I don't get that "feeling" then I just move straight on.
Once you've been here a while a good prospective client or job that you'd want to work with become easier to identify.

Unless looking for the 1800 words for $10 you-tube vid VO's, I find the number of "professional VO jobs" posted to Upwork to be extremely low, especially within the corporate / commercial niche for a middle age UK accent.

So, I pop on the job boards a couple of times a day just to "check for gold", but due to low potential compared to other avenues it doesn't make sense to allocate more time than that. (I probably spend more time here in the forum while editing & listening back TBH)

NB  -  I visited your profile & tried to play your portfolio demo "KGVO-Ads-Demo-01"   & it didn't work for me? 

I tried it, both as a client & a FL, so it's deffinitly got to be worth getting someone else to check that out too.

😮 Actually I don't even know if mine plays OK to others??? 

I know it works for me, but if you/someone else wouldn't you mind trying it please, & let me know.  Thanks.

Good luck, & happy hunting.

[ecfd3b46]

Hi Gary:

I think you're right about being selective. As someone new to the platform, I've been looking for anything I can use to pry the door open, so I'm not too picky. Hard to get ratings and review without getting jobs. Hard to tell clients about your "most recent experience doing this kind of job" when all my experience currently is with audiobooks on ACX. So, I'm trying to crack the upwork code.

Thanks about the heads up about my portfolio demo. I created and tested it in my studio, uploaded it, but just assumed it was working because I handed it off to upwork. I'll check it out.

Much success, Keith

[voiceovervandeen]

Hi Keith,

Re. your previous work on ACX, Upwork do allow you to ask clients who you have previously worked with, & who are on Linkedin to supply testimonials which will appear on your profile. I don't know what, if any, advantage that gives to your position in rankings etc. but it all helps add validity to you.

Just checked back on your demo file again as well, it's still not playing for me. How long since you uploaded it?

(I'm wondering if there may be a delay while they vet & verify it?)
Also did you have the chance to check if my demos play OK?

Cheers,

Garry

[gilbert-phyllis]

In addition to what Gary said... I work in different categories and know virtually nothing about yours but in general, even the most promising job posts for me hardly ever include adequate specs for me to offer a binding quote. If it seems to have potential, I use the proposal (with a clearly qualified placeholder budget & schedule) to ask questions that aim to (1) elicit the info I'd need, and (2) convince the client I'm the expert they need. Sussing out that potential is the tricky part and for me it simply took time and experience on the platform to develop that spidey sense to the point I'm pretty comfortable that I recognize most of the best fits for me without spending too much time and effort on it. We each have to find our ROI threshold.