Re: Not Verified ≠ No Hire

Setu M · Dec 3, 2015 07:24:47 PM

I realize that many (most) freelancers tend to skip job posts that show "not verified" - especially those of us more established. While there is a >50% hire rate for verified clients, all clients were "not verified" at one point.

How to improve your chances

Skipping "not verified" posts, means foregoing ~45% of job opportunities. That is a dealbreaker to begin with. There are a few tips you can employ to safely tap into a portion of that extra 45%.

- New clients > member since "today"

- 1 day old

- 1 week old

- even 1 month old

- many job posts, no hires

Use this information provided to your advantage. You can decide to forgo clients with profiles > 1 month and "no verification" and still make use of ~87% of that 45% you would have ignored.

Just by doing that, you have added +39% more jobs that you can browse for application; while still excluding the obvious scammy posts.

I will be following the "verification progress" of the 771 jobs mentioned above for 30 days.

By day 4, it is seen that 174 of these clients have already verified their payment method. This is 174 more jobs that could be added to your job pool, that you would have overlooked normally.

Remember, Upwork generates ~700-1000 new clients daily. Can you really afford to omit these clients because they are "not verified"?

All comments and questions welcomed.

---- easy like Sunday morning ----

Jennifer M · Dec 3, 2015 07:53:43 PM

Not verified is a gamble, but if you win, it's great work. They will stick with you if they like you.

The downside is that they are new, and new clients are a gamble. They get what they need and they disappear, so you're left wondering if you should leave the contract open. They don't know the standard drill, so sometimes it's an event to get them to escrow. Sometimes they are just seeing what's out there, so they don't intend to buy.

Good and bad basically. I bid on those because I have plenty of connects to last me for a while. If I was low on connects, I'd focus on hotter leads.

Darrin O · Dec 3, 2015 07:57:34 PM

@Setu M wrote:
- many job posts, no hires

I'd really like to see where the "sweet spot" is for legitimate clients. My current rule of thumb 3 (i.e., if a client has posted 3 jobs and not hired, they are probably not worth the 2 Connects). I'm sure that's not accurate, so I allow a little wiggle room up to 5, if the job posted looks particularly interesting. After 5, they get zero consideration. It'd be interesting to know how far off I am from the actual number.

Jennifer M · Dec 3, 2015 08:06:30 PM

That's true, Darrin. I only bid if it's their first job. Maybe 2nd, but after that, I don't bother.

Setu M · Dec 3, 2015 08:17:45 PM

@ Jennifer,
Yes, you have to do a bit of hand holding for new clients, but its not that of a hassle. "Hotter leads" - Verified clients, end up with >50 applicants in 1 hour. I avoid that fuss like the plague.

@ Darrin,
The "sweet spot" figure is hard to come by - too much tracking required.

I generally will give a bit more if the client has a few no hires but verified payment method. Many no hires and no verification, is a good sign to move along.

---- easy like Sunday morning ----

Enes T · Dec 3, 2015 11:06:35 PM

Just a couple of days ago i turned down an offer, on what was to be my first Upwork job, because budget was declared as unverified.

What i learned later was that meant client hasn't verified his payment method.

The best part of it all was the fact that client was allowed to fund milestone and send job offer without having verified payment method.

Why would Upwork allow for something like this to be possible, instead of forcing clients to verify their payment method before they can send an offer to somebody?

It boggles the mind...

Petra R · Dec 3, 2015 11:23:12 PM

@Enes T wrote:
The best part of it all was the fact that client was allowed to fund milestone and send job offer without having verified payment method.

In a way the fact that they managed to fund the first milestone is a degree of verification:

It means the client has added a valid payment method and that valid payment method can successfully be charged for the value of the first milestone. In 999 (or more) of 1000 cases that means the actual verification is a mere formality.

If in any doubt where a case like that is concerned, explain to the client that you'll start working as soon as the verification is complete. For me personally the fact that the milestone is funded is enough. A tiny risk remains but there is always a tiny risk, even with fully verified payment methods.

Enes T · Dec 4, 2015 01:46:47 AM

If i followed your advice a week ago and took it as a "mere formality", i would have been working for free now.

I asked client to verify their payment, and they still haven't-1 week later. Nor they sent any messages, or hired someone else in the meantime.

I think it's pretty clear what they were up to, very likely trying to take advantage of Upwork loophole that's obviously there for a purpose.

I am yet to find what purpose.

Petra R · Dec 4, 2015 02:19:47 AM

@Enes T wrote:
If i followed your advice a week ago and took it as a "mere formality", i would have been working for free now.

How?

(I said "If in any doubt where a case like that is concerned, explain to the client that you'll start working as soon as the verification is complete.")

If the contract was funded (!) a valid payment method was on file...

Enes T · Dec 4, 2015 03:03:24 AM

You've said that for you a funded milestone is good enough.

This from Upwork: "Funds from unverified payment methods cannot be held in escrow. If you choose to work with a client that does not have a verified payment method, Escrow Protection will not be available for you"