Why can't Upwork require job posters to select an industry?

[briankennedy32]

I am in PR and marketing and amajority of the jobs do not mention the industry. Often I gamble and respond to a pretty blind posting along the lines of "need pr for my business." If there was a drop down menu and the product did not match my experience I would pass and save time and money. That I spend money bidding on blind job instead of one in a known field means my wasted money - pay for connects - is good for Upwork.

[prestonhunter]

Because Upwork is not a PR and marketing site.

It is a general purpose freelance work website.

When a client comes to Upwork to post a job in order to hire a Linux expert to install the latest version of MySQL on a server... the industry DOES NOT MATTER. Nor is any industry needed when somebody wants to ask a Photoshop/photo expert to remove one of the bridesmaids from a wedding photo.

This is the actual, technical reason why the client-user side interface does not ask for industry.

If a client wants to create a BETTER job posting when hiring PR/marketing professionals, they will definitely identify the industry in the text of their job post, or even in the job post title.

There is never going to be an ideal client-side interface for specifying all of the particulars that freelancers would like to know for every job niche. It's not technically possible.

Sorry.

[briankennedy32]

Good point but clients - even if its not relevant like IT - often ask for experience in their respective industry. They just feel more comfortable.

[a_lipsey]

I agree this would be a great addition for clients to at least mention their industry. I'm not sure an added drop down would help, but I understand wanting them to simply mention the general field. As a grants professional, while I have worked in almost every industry as a grants professional, I have a few that are my bread and butter, and I prefer those fields. Posts so often just say "Need a grant writer to identify and apply for grants." And NOTHING else. Of course, I don't really send out many proposals anyhow, and get mostly invited right now, so I'm not so worried about responding to invites that are free and asking what I need to know to decide if I'm interested.