Wasting connect on unresponsive clients

renleach · ‎08-28-2020

I started on Elance over 10 years ago and completed over 160 successful project on that website. And then we came up work. I went away from the website to find employment opportunities elsewhere. Now that I have come back, I have been submitting proposals for over two months and have a grand total of one project hired and completed.

I currently have over 60 open proposals for jobs. I continued to purchase and ways to connect on jobs that are posted on this website that are not hired for. I am just giving up work money to continue to send connect to positions that are not hiring. The fact that the clients haven't even looked at some of these jobs for two, three, or more than four weeks as a joke as a freelancer. Maybe this website can actually try and take care of its freelancers by not letting them waste their money applying for jobs but never Close.

tlbp · ‎08-28-2020

I used to watch movies using a VCR.

a_lipsey · ‎08-28-2020

Tonya P wrote:
I used to watch movies using a VCR.

Do you remember DVDs? You used to actually have to buy a disc!

sjbercot · ‎08-28-2020

Amanda L wrote:
Tonya P wrote:
I used to watch movies using a VCR.
Do you remember DVDs? You used to actually have to buy a disc!

Or wait for your Netflix to get delivered to your house!

lysis10 · ‎08-28-2020

I remember 10 years ago. That was before I had a great Amazon Prime collection of Bad Girls Club.

BojanS · ‎08-28-2020

Hi Ren,

We understand some clients unfortunately will post jobs, never hire and never close their jobs. We know this is frustrating and we will continue to reach out to clients to encourage them to hire or remove their job. We do, of course, also recommend you closely review the client’s details, such as past hire rate, to help you decide whether to use Connects to submit a proposal for a project. To learn more about what you should be looking for in a job post, please check out this article.

Also, I would recommend that you check out these topics to help you create proposals that win jobs, and help you boost your career on Upwork:

~ Bojan

renleach · ‎08-28-2020

So that is another way of saying tough luck?

Nothing happens to you if people don't close jobs, but freelancers who are applying for these jobs that never close are using money they earned to buy connect from your website and they are wasted on these unfilled jobs? Does that seem right?

lysis10 · ‎08-28-2020

Ren L wrote:
So that is another way of saying tough luck?

Nothing happens to you if people don't close jobs, but freelancers who are applying for these jobs that never close are using money they earned to buy connect from your website and they are wasted on these unfilled jobs? Does that seem right?

yes

callamer · ‎10-09-2020

Not it is not right. What is it that you do Jennifer cause I see you making negative comments everywhere in these chats. People are really discouraged here and you could ruin their spirits.

feed_my_eyes · ‎08-28-2020

Ren L wrote:
So that is another way of saying tough luck?

Nothing happens to you if people don't close jobs, but freelancers who are applying for these jobs that never close are using money they earned to buy connect from your website and they are wasted on these unfilled jobs? Does that seem right?

You should consider connects to be a business expense, like paying for software, or an ad, or hosting for your website - there are no "money back guarantees" on any of these things if you don't get a job.

And no, Upwork isn't going to start punishing clients for abandoning their jobs, because then they'll have fewer clients. That won't help any of us.

renleach · ‎08-28-2020

I understand how the business works. I've been on this website since it was Elance 10 years ago.

The expected cost of business also includes the percentage fee from every business transaction between client and Freelancer. Since freelancers are taking the hit on both ends of giving and completing a project, why do they let clients have closing dates that are unending? If connects are returned after in active postings have finally been closed by the website, after the website closes the in active posting, it could be well over a month before those contacts come back. In the meantime, the Freelancer has to purchase more connects from the website to be able to apply to a job that they might not otherwise be able to do.

petra_r · ‎08-28-2020

Ren L wrote:
I've been on this website since it was Elance 10 years ago.

No, you haven't.

You were on Elance a lifetime ago and then went away. As others tried to hint at, things move on and Upwork isn't Elance and never was. Upwork is Upwork, and if anything, it evolved from oDesk.

Upwork today, especially at this moment in time in the middle of a pandemic, when everyone all over the globe is trying to work online, is a dramatically different animal.

feed_my_eyes · ‎08-29-2020

Ren L wrote:
I understand how the business works. I've been on this website since it was Elance 10 years ago.

Congratulations. I've been on this website since it was Elance 20 years ago. I recall that there was always a large percentage of clients who never hired nor closed their projects. I also recall that Elance experimented with membership fees for its freelancers, which at one point cost me hundreds of dollars per month.

I also know that when connects were free (or when Upwork let freelancers endlessly recycle them), what happened was that tons of inexperienced freelancers randomly bid on anything and everything, regardless of whether they had the right skills or qualifications or had even read the job description. By charging a token amount to bid on projects, Upwork is trying to make freelancers think twice, and not force clients to wade through piles of unsuitable bids. (Mind you, IMO it's not working very well because connects are still way too cheap to deter most freelancers from spam bidding, but that's a discussion for another thread.)

Ren L wrote:
If connects are returned after in active postings have finally been closed by the website, after the website closes the in active posting, it could be well over a month before those contacts come back.

You've got that wrong, unfortunately - if a job simply expires and Upwork closes it, you won't get your connects back at all. Which means that you won't get them back the majority of the time.

I can understand that if somebody only charges $3/hour, connects are expensive, but you live in America and charge $72/hour, so isn't this pocket change for you? You could raise your rate to $75, then if you work even ONE hour per month, that extra $3 profit would pay for 20 connects. For somebody with experience, who targets higher-budget projects, that's probably all you'd use. I honestly don't see why this is something to get upset about.

BTW, clients do pay various fees for certain memberships and perks now, and Upwork does follow up with inactive clients and remind them about their projects. (In case that makes you feel any better.)

callamer · ‎10-09-2020

Upwork is making a lot of money from people buying connects. I dont see them rectifying or helping freelancers any time soon.

5168ef6c · ‎06-16-2023

easy for you to say ya **Edited for Community Guidelines** u made over 200K and come here to troll new users who struggle to find 1 job and waste all their connects **Edited for Community Guidelines**

izzzi · ‎01-23-2021

Dear Bojan,

Thank you for your recommendations. Yet, they do not solve an issue of irresponsive clients and of freelanceers wasting connects due to it.

While some people in this thread are supporting responsible clients and them paying some substantial fees for Upwork services, there are also very responsible freelancers with professional background and experience, who do waste a lot on such clients instead of using those connects for the projects and client who respond. Since Upwork is trying to leverage between customers and freelancers, why then not treating them equally?

In the light of the matter discussed, I think that Upwork has to improve its policy in regard of returning connects to a freelancer in case a client does not reply and does not hire any contractor. It can be after a set time frame (say, 1~2 weeks of irresponsiveness) or at the point when the proposal expires and Upwork has to close and to archaive it.

I contacted Upwork support team twice already on this matter within the past 5 months. They say they haven't got a solution for it at the moment.

My personal question at this point would be where and how can I (and other freelancers wasting connects) vote for such a policy change to be made?

Appreciating your support,

Irina

petra_r · ‎01-23-2021

Irina Z wrote:
I contacted Upwork support team twice already on this matter within the past 5 months.

Please don't waste support's time (which we all pay for through our fees) with stuff like that. They can't change company policy.

Irina Z wrote:
My personal question at this point would be where and how can I (and other freelancers wasting connects) vote for such a policy change to be made?

"Vote?" - Corporations aren't run by people "voting" for them to make changes. They make changes that benefit them and their customers (clients).

More freelancers having more connects does not lead to anyone being hired more, because there is only a finite number of available contracts that can be won. More people having more connects simply means that every job post gets even more proposals and clients are drowning in proposals even more than they do already.

You can see clients' hiring history including their hiring percentage. Feel free to only apply to clients who have a high hiring percentage.

wlyonsatl · ‎01-24-2021

Irina,

Back in November 2020 Upwork sent out a blast email to freelancers that confirmed the company is "...obsessed with creating great experiences for you. Be on the lookout for more changes to JSS and other aspects of the Upwork experience in the near future."

Since then Upwork has made significant changes to its connects policy and the calculation of the Job Success Score.

So, ignore anyone who says you shouldn't bother complaining to Upwork about its policies or procedures. If you have a problem with the way Upwork does things, let them know.

Freelancers are also customers of Upwork, and every great company listens to its customers.