Why do so many clients post a job and then disappear?

[#1]

Job title like: XXX - Urgent Request Or Need help XXX.

They post a job but never check proposals.

[#2]

Let me know too when you find the answer.

[#3]

9 proposals without responding, even if all clients are payment verified and have completed jobs. I still can't understand why they do that if they are real humans. If I'm a client, I'll post a job, view all proposals, and discuss technique details with one freelancer. They all behave just like bots.

[#4]

Firstly, ignore the whole payment verified thing - it tells you nothing of any relevance. Think about it, many new clients will not register a card until they need to pay something. I have had many unverified clients (obviously work doesnt start until everything is verified and setup).

I think clients dissapear for a number of reasons...

• Found a freelancer on anotehr site or through another source before checking back here.
• Things changed and they decided not to do the work.
• Read a bunch of terrible proposals and decded not to waste anymore time.

Ultimately it could be anything, and yes it would be nice if they actually closed the job when this happens. I personally think the biggest cause is Upwork opening the floodgates to anyone that wants to attempt being a freelancer. its since then that there has been such a change IMO.

Clients used to come here to find a professional to fulfill a role/job. Unfortunately whilst there are still many professionals working on the platform that are more than capable of completing the same tasks clients wanted doing a few years ago, there are now an over-ubundance of non-professional freelancers that a client is going to have to sift through to find the odd gem.

If I was a client wanting a job done, I would likely come to a platform like Upwork to fulfil my needs in a quick easy and straightforward manner.

However, these days I would arrive, be met by a whole host of weird and wonderful badges and programs supposedly designed to make my life easy. I would post my job and quickly see that upwork value a freelancers wallet (boosted posts) more than their skill set or JSS score. Id then start to look through the proposals and whilst i cant comment on exactly what id find, i suspect from the comments i see here there would be a lot of ChatGPT written proposals, proposals people that almost beg me to let them do the job, proposals that clearly didnt read what the actual job is or from people that advertise a completely different skillset to what im asking for. IF after all this i decide to look at more, maybe i will find the professionals, but in all honesty I probably already went to fiver!

[#5]

The problem is the lack of good clients! Period. And verifying payments IS important. You're right; some who don't verify are legit. But 100 percent of those scammers are NOT verifying payments and there are many more of these scammers than there used to be. And Upwork does nothing about it, so we waste our time having to Scooby Doo our way all over that **bleep**ty platform.

And what is Upwork's response: THEY CHARGE FREELANCERS MORE AND NICKLE AND DIME THE **bleep** OUT OF US! Get a clue, bro!

[#6]

I remember when I starting my writing business I would post ads on Craigslist because they were still free at the time. I did get work and fortuntely have lived to tell the tale. I don't remember any horrible experiences but the clients were not the highest caliber. It's too bad this still persits. I can tell a lot when I someone is looking for an "expert" resume writer to produce it, a cover letter, LinkedIn and do some coaching all for the payment of $10! Are they **Edited for Community Guidelines** kidding? I won't write my name for $10! I'm sure some are just clueless and have no idea what it takes to produce an effect, professionally prepared resume, but the amount of time alone would make the job worth about $1.00 an hour! I got more when I was 13 and babysat.

In about 2015 LinkedIn started a program where they got a wide range of freelaners in many fields and people who were looking for that type of work would complete a request form and the freelancers got these by email and could bid or send a proposal. This was when my life and career took a drastic turn for the good. I got tons of work from quality people who had profiles so it was a lot safer. There was no cost and for many years I got more work than I could handle...Now, nothing....Thank you ChatGPT, etc. for putting me out of work....Honestly, I don't want to being doing any of this. Next month I turn 70. Enough is enough but I need the money. It sucks to be old and broke because too many people can't see the value in good, old-fashioned hard work by living, breathing real humans, not bots...

[#7 · Accepted solution]

Because Upwork allows them to do it, clients are not rated as we are. Upwork wants to show that there are a lot of clients, no matter if they are scammers, if they hire or not. The issue is that the freelancers apply, pay for buying connects, or pay a membership, etc. There are freelancers that buy connects and boost their bids with 50 connects, sometimes for a scam job. Upwork earns money anyway, no matter what happens after that.

So, check the client's profile before applying (if he hired before or not, if he has his payment verified, the feedbacks he received, since when is member at Upwork, etc).

Don't apply if it doesn't fit well your skills, don't buy connects and don't boost your bids. 

[#8]

This post is 15 months old and the situation has only worsened. I always knew Upwork wasn't long for this world, but the decline has been insanely rapid.

[#9]

I honestly didn't think Upwork would decline this bad. It is really just filled with a bunch of unserious clients. They are mostly either just looking for free advice/work, very cheap rates or just window shopping with no real intent.

[#10]

Upwork is getting more and more frustrating, with clients who post jobs and then disappear. A few weeks ago, I dealt with one of them: after posting a job, they added additional requests in private messages. They even asked me for samples, and then completely vanished. Later, I found out they had opened other job posts without hiring anyone. I reported them, but they are still posting jobs without any sanctions. This type of behavior is widespread, and apparently, Upwork doesn't seem to care. I’m eager to work, and I invest in connection points, but I get nothing in return. Thanks for listening, Upwork!

[#11]

Yeah me almost the same. In one case I submitted my bid (I was the only one invited for that, and total number of bids is just 5-10). They talked to me on private messages, responded real quickly for 1st dialogues. I made a detailed proposal then boom, they went silent since then. No more words!
In another case, I sent my bid to an employer with a seemingly legit hire record on Upwork, I also researched their background on the Internet and the job is really matching with my expertise. Felt very eager and confident. But a month passed by and they don't even look at it. How strange why they go for a job announcement if they do not need applicants?

[#12]

I made a post, but nothing is moving forward

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Lost-Connects-Due-to-Disappearing-Clients/m-p/1724764

[#13]

Strange 🙄

[#14]

This is a fallout of boosting proposals (and possibly maipulation of proposals by Upwork).

See this post: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Upwork-hidding-freelancer-s-bids-from-clients/m-p/150390...