Withdrawn by you: Job application is cancelled by Upwork

[grayfragments]

I just found out that my 3(first) proposals were withdrawn with status "Withdrawn by you: Job application is cancelled by Upwork" and i don't quite understand what that supposed to mean, does anyone know?

[guitarnaiad]

Exactly!! They just did the same to me - cancelled a DOZEN of my proposals for really great-sounding projects. I paid $10 this month to try out the plus plan too, which they should refund me at this point. I am beyond furious and disgusted with how Upwork treats their freelancers. 

[1geekmedia]

I completed my UpWork verification this morning after UpWork suspended my account. I have several proposals that were removed from job listings. 

I would like those proposals reinstated WITHOUT having to resubmit them to the job listings, as this will only confuse the client.

Please advise.

[ae6e184c]

Hello Gabriel, try refreshing the page and see whether the proposals will reappear. 

[1geekmedia]

Nope. Still archived. 

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Gabriel,

Unfortunately, due to a technical issue discussed on this thread the proposals can't be reinstated. An agent will reach out to you directly with more information and assistance.

A fix for this issue should be released shortly.

[garrez]

I've got more than 10 jobs withdrawn by you and I didn't do that. I just got a video verification, that it's what I think that caused that. I just want my connects back since they are very valuable and I already verified myself.

[rockstar_998]

Hey Pedro,

Sometimes it's not possible to receive connects after the jobs are withdrawing either by you or the client, I don't think it's the cause of video-call verification but, try to apply for the jobs you think you're perfect at also provide strong samples and/or portfolio.

Thank you.

[guitarnaiad]

Upwork is asking me to verify my profile via video chat. That's all fine and good, but they've taken it upon themselves to cancel a dozen proposals I submitted over the last few days, which is completely unreasonble. Are those connects I will be getting back??? Freelancers are treated so poorly on here - I can't believe it. 

[rockstar_998]

Hi Tara,

Upwork provides all the good support and services to freelancers, they are treated possibly the best and what I'm referring for you is to apply for jobs you think you're perfect at. There's no chance of seeing your proposals withdrawn if you have provided the best portfolio samples.

Unfortunately, You won't receive the perspective connects back once the proposals are gone from submitted proposals list. You will keep receiving your monthly connects, I would suggest you for a new profile picture as you can see here or try to improve your profile overview and details properly.

Thank you.

[guitarnaiad]

I am not talking about clients declining my proposals - I understand that is part of the process. I am talking about Upwork withdrawing my applications due to me needing to verify my profile vis video. I have no problem verifying my information, but I do have a problem with Upwork withdrawing my proposals (not the client) without notifying me when I have done nothing wrong. 

[kochubei_valeria]

Tara and Jake,

We currently are experiencing issues with proposals. We'll update you directly via the existing tickets about the proposals that were withdrawn.

Thank you.

[pandoraharper]

@Valeria

Tara's post implies that she was one of the users selected for Video Chat verification, and as a consequence, had some proposals removed because of the Video Chat account hold phase.

This "proposal issue" has been reported by dozens of people in the main Video Chat thread, but somehow, Tara made it here to the main Forums, and this particular thread, which is actually mostly about the same problem she's reporting.

[kochubei_valeria]

Pandora,

Tara's proposals were withdrawn due to a different issue. The team is addressing it via her ticket.

[pandoraharper]

---

@Valeria K wrote:

Pandora,

Tara's proposals were withdrawn due to a different issue. The team is addressing it via her ticket.

---

My mistake! And thanks for your other update about the other proposal problem 🙂

[guitarnaiad]

Update: It appears Upwork has restored my lost connects! 

[pandoraharper]

---

@Tara K wrote:

Update: It appears Upwork has restored my lost connects! 

---

 Glad to hear that, Tara. Good luck with job hunting.

[music_city_seo]

I want to confirm that I've experienced this same, really frustrating, issue. 

About half of my proposals sent between September 16th and today were involuntarily archived with this same note in the "Withdrawn" field. 

I spend a lot of time on these and work hard to submit them at the first hours of a project opening. This is truly disheartening and to not be notified and only find out because I happened to look into "Archives". That's really rough. 

Please advise. 

[kochubei_valeria]

We do have a known issue that affects some user's proposals when they are asked to complete video verification. You appear to have been affected by it, RuDee. We'll have the ticket you have about this issue escalated and addressed.

Sorry about the inconvenience.

[music_city_seo]

Hi Valeria,

I appreciate your reply. 

I haven't had any notification through Email or Upwork message about needing video verification. Researching this thread is the first I have ever heard of this, even after speaking with Support today. 

I'm happy to comply with the request but it's not been made known to me at all outside of your post. 

Also, this has only impacted about 50% of the bids, the rest have gone through with no issue. 

Please advise. Thank you. 

[kochubei_valeria]

Sorry about the confusion, RuDee. I see you aren't currently required to complete profile verification. We'll investigate what happened and get back to you directly.

[music_city_seo]

Appreciate the update, Valeria. I will very much look forward to getting those proposals seen by clients. 

Thanks

[music_city_seo]

Hi Valeria,

I've been notified it's an engineering issue.

I am concerned about how this is appearing on the client's side. Many of these involuntarily archived proposals are from bids I sent out 2 days ago. 

Does it display to the client as if I've voluntarily withdrawn my bid? 

Did my bid just simply disappear from their screen? 

I understand technical issues happen but I am concerned about the impact it's making on my presentation. If they didn't see it all, that's one thing. But if it looks like I've withdrawn only to re apply when the engineering team gets to my ticket in the queue...

That's a really bad look.

Please advise. 

[timmetjek]

Dear Valeria,

The same happened to me today. Many of my proposals were cancelled for the account verification proces. One of my interviews was with a very promising client for whom I made alot of concepts already. Hard enough as it is to get a first job on upwork, I am afraid I lost it.  Could you please look into my case as well? 

This is a really bad issue. I really advise the engineering team to put this issue on the top of the priority list as you are angering both freelancers and clients. Good luck

best regards,

Tim

[timmetjek]

Today I received an email that my profile was suspended because it had to be verified (wierd on its own). All I had to do was initiate a video chat with someone from Upwork to verify my profile and re-activate it. To my greatest surprise all my proposals were withdrawn and that while I did not violate any terms or agreements. one of these included an active interview for a client for whom I put ALOT of time into making concepts and drafts to get hired (first job on Upwork).  I send an email to Upwork and I am praying my client is not walking away because of this.

Suspending my account out of the blue for verification purposes is wierd on its own. If they want to verifiy the authenticity why can't I have a heads up in advance? In addition, please fix these site bugs. It is hard enough as it is to get a first job and now I can potentially lose it.

EDIT: apologies, just found a thread from someone with the same problem

[jeupereira]

"one of these included an active interview for a client for whom I put ALOT of time into making concepts and drafts to get hired (first job on Upwork"

Hi Tim,
Hopefully Upwork can solve your problem soon. But the sentence above caugh my attention. I know that landing your first job on Upwork is great, and everyone wants that first chance. But I sincerely hope that you're not providing free work (even if just drafts or concepts) without getting paid for your time. Not only it devaluates your work and time but also everyone else. Your portfolio and qulifications should be more than enough to hire you. And a client can always set a smaller task and test you. You get paid for your time and skills and the client can have a clear idea if you're a right fit for the job.

Good luck on getting more jobs and welcome to Upwork

[kochubei_valeria]

Tim and RuDee,

Unfortunately, we can't restore the proposals. This issue has been given high priority and is currently being fixed by our engineers. You can re-apply to the job and continue discussing the job with the client.

Sorry about the interruption.

[monikals]

This same issue has just happened to me.  Despite having submitted all of my information, I was picked for video verification and all my submissions were canceled.  I only found this out because one of the potential clients sent me a message saying there were very sorry I withdrew the proposal as I was the best candidate and they were about to hire me when I withdrew my application.  This cost me an actual job and withdrew 8 proposals as well.  I am very unhappy - this is unreasonable and these cancellations make me look unreliable!.  

Please address this issue as soon as possible, and give us some way to inform our potential clients what happened.

Finally, in the message at the top of the canceled proposals:

Withdrawn Proposal

Withdrawn by you: Job application is cancelled by Upwork

Canceled is misspelled as "cancelled."  There are some excellent proofreaders here on Upwork that could catch things like that.  

Please let me know when some sort of resolution is reached and connects are reimbursed.

Thank you,

Monika L

[pandoraharper]

---

@Monika L wrote:

I only found this out because one of the potential clients sent me a message saying there were very sorry I withdrew the proposal as I was the best candidate and they were about to hire me when I withdrew my application.  This cost me an actual job and withdrew 8 proposals as well.  I am very unhappy - this is unreasonable and these cancellations make me look unreliable!.  

---

 Monika, I am very sorry to hear you lost that job opportunity. I've been fairly vocal in other threads about the problem you encountrered, but let me say I agree that cancelling proposals during the voice chat verification phase is a horrible tactic.

Also, I want to say that if you actually got a MESSAGE from that client, that message, should in theory, still be in your Upwork Message Center. I am not 100% of that, because your situation is a little different then the norm, but it might be worth going to your Upwork Message Center and seeing if that message is still there.

I mention this because your message does not say that you were unable to reply to them, and if there is a chance you can still get this job, then I say message them back, if you can.

[monikals]

The message from the potential client:

Were you still interested on working on this? I saw that you withdraw your application.
I don't have any ideas at this point.
I already hired another freelance for the job because I thought you didn't want to apply.

She was going to hire me but when she thought I withdrew the offer, she hired someone else.  Her message is what led me to see 8 offers were canceled and 16 credits were lost.  

[mixxpix]

When I joined I submitted several proposals.
I received a positive response for one, interviewed successfully and have now joined the clients team on Upwork. There seemed to be problem in the system when I did this though and for two days it seemed my acceptance to join his team had not gone through properly.

Meanwhile I didn't hear back from two of the other proposals, but I've just checked my Proposals status and it says I withdrew these proposals, which I didn't - This means the jobs will have certainly gone by now, so a waste of time too. This is a frustrating UX.

Please can you advise how do I ensure this doesn't happen again - I have not cancelled any proposals, yet the system has - and I didn't know about it either. There are no notifications or history to show this, which would be useful? 
Thx

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Monica,

Sorry about the frustration you've experienced. We'll have somebody follow up with you directly and escalate your concern to our engineers. We currently are having a technical issue that causes some proposals to be cancelled automatically. 

[music_city_seo]

Hi Valeria,

A note that my case has nothing do to with ID verification so is distinct from others in the thread. The bids just...vanished with no reason given except an engineering issue.

My question hasn't quite been answered. To clients does it look like I voluntarily withdrew my application? Or did my bid simply vanish on their end, too.

Also the Archived proposals are still included in the number reported in "My Stats" and are messing up my averages as compared to others in my category. Will I continue to be penalized for this random glitch?

This is...this is not good 😕

Thank you for your time

[music_city_seo]

One of my open *interviews* has now been withdrawn. I was already contacted by the client beyond the proposal stage and now it's in Archive showing as withdrawn by me. 

This is catastophically unprofessional. 

How will this be fixed? Will Upwork notify these clients? 
It would be very, very helpful if contact was initiated by Upwork to let the clients know this was not me playing around. The level of missed opportunity, especially considering each proposal takes me a great deal of time and research is physically painful.

How will Upwork make this right...and when? 

Thanks to the team for any insight you can provide. 

[AveryO]

Hi RuDee, 

I checked the job post you were pertaining to and if you go to the job post's page, you will see that the job was cancelled by Upwork, prompting the system that you withdraw from the job. We're sorry if this caused any confusion, as it happens when a job is cancelled by Upwork.

[music_city_seo]

Hi Avery,

I appreciate your reply.

I'm not seeing what you're seeing in regards to the Archived interview.

However, still hoping for an answer regarding the client view of the Archived proposals (which were triggered by an engineering issue that Support has acknowledged). 

I just want to know if this has disappeared for the client or if the client saw a note of me withdrawing...which needs damage control which I would hope to get support on from Upwork. 

Please advise. 

[VladimirG]

Hi RuDee,

If a job is cancelled by Upwork, all proposals are automatically withdrawn and clients won't be able to access them.

[music_city_seo]

Hi Vladmir, 

I appreciate your reply. I'm left with some major questions:

1) When will my credits for the affected jobs be refunded to my account, since this had nothing to do with me. 

2) When will my stats be updated? Right now the "My Stats" area is including both the original proposals wich were withdrawn due to the engineering error as well as my re-sends. This is causing inappropriately low interview/hire/view stats which will hurt me. When will this be fixed? 

3) How can I know that this issue won't impact my account again? 

Very concerned. Thank you. 

[kochubei_valeria]

RuDee,

The team will have the issue with connects addressed directly via the ticket you currently have open about this issue.

Marketing effectiveness on My Stats isn't based on the number of proposals you submit. It compares how often you are interviewed or hired compared to other freelancers in your category. Additionally, that information is only available to you on your My Stats page, it's not shared with clients or other freelancers and shouldn't hurt your chances to be hired for other jobs.

Once the bug is fixed, the proposals shouldn't be withdrawn in situations similar to yours.

Thank you.

[music_city_seo]

Hi Valeria,

That information on My Stats doesn't seem accurate as I physically *see* the stats achange in relation to my ptiching numbers and how many pitches I have out vs the positive activity on those pitches. 

When I pitch more, the stats change. When I stop pitching for months, they don't change. When I send out a blitz of proposals everything reduces until I start getting bites back at which the move stats back up.

Yes, we're being comapred to other freelancers in our category...who have a similar activity pattern to what we've just shown which based on the hysical movement of the graph is based on my # of pitches, interviews and hires in a given day. I see it shift daily. 

And we've *all* seen this forum littered with the corpses of those poor Upworkers who tripped the invisible and not publicly defined "too many unsuccessful pitches" wire. Freelancers and moderators alike have seen that happen way too many times to count in these forums to ignore it. Where people were cut from the site with no warning and jettisoned into space without a single word. Because they pitched at too low a conversion %. So, my caution is there definitely not unwarranted. Which is why I am asking for the negative impact to not be applied to my account since this wasn't my fault. 

I just need my stats pitch count to be accurate and reflect 9 less pitches. And my credits returned.

Thank you very much.