Where does the work go?

[matthew24857]

I wonder, when a client never responds to a proposal, never hires anyone, where does the work go? How does it ever get done? Did they decide to hire someone on a different freelance site other than Upwork?

Did they find someone down the hall in their office to do the work?

Is there some bug in the Upwork system that prevents a project from showing that someone was hired?

I only apply to projects that look reasonable, have a semi-intelligent description and "Payment method verified", and I'm astounded at the number that simply expire. No one ever responds and no one was ever hired.

I mean, they couldn't be fakes, duplicates, clones of past projects that were real ... and I keep paying for "connects" like some fool because a few times they have actually paid off with real money.

Just think, if I could find more real work, I wouldn't have time to write these stupid messages.

[mwiggenhorn]

The client may:

hire from within;

hire from another platform;

hire locally;

ditch the project;

run out of money/ interest in the project.

My best advice is to send the very best proposal that you can and then just forget about it until/ unless they come back to you for an interview.  When I was very new in my field, I physically mailed out over 100 resumes and cover letters without a nibble.  I just kept going and now, 27 years later, I turn down work several times a week.