change membership plan, is this advisable?

[#1]

Hi,

I am new at Upwork and have not got my first job/gig as yet.  Would you suggest that I upgrade my membership to a Plus?  Is there any other way to be noticed by clients?  I feel that within minutes, 20 - 50 proposals are already in when I search for a job.  What are the benefits of the Plus?  I do plan to do a video to add to my profile, which will help to get me more noticed.

Thank you. 

[#2]

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Guinevere F wrote:

Hi,

I am new at Upwork and have not got my first job/gig as yet.  Would you suggest that I upgrade my membership to a Plus?  Is there any other way to be noticed by clients?  I feel that within minutes, 20 - 50 proposals are already in when I search for a job.  What are the benefits of the Plus?  I do plan to do a video to add to my profile, which will help to get me more noticed.

Thank you. 

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What do you mean any other way to be noticed? I don't think plus membership helps in any way in that regard. 

You seem to be looking in a very overcrowded category, I rarely see numbers like that in my niche. Maybe specialize more. 

What gets you noticed is the first 2 lines in your proposal, which entices the potential client to open it, which might lead him to open your profile. So work on these in that order. 

Edit: looked at your profile. Yep. All of the above applies in spades. Rework the whole thing. You probably start your proposal with the same line too. Lose all the greetings. 

[#3]

Plus membership gives you no advantage in getting hired. Most freelancers don't choose it.

Data entry jobs are massively oversubscribed and underpaid. I suggest you forget about those. Concentrate on your highest-level skills and try to find jobs that match those well, and where you can write a tailored proposal that really stands out from the crowd. If possible, find a job in an industry where you've worked before, so you have more specific relevant experience to offer the client. Then ask for a decent pay rate, commensurate with your skills. You may not find many suitable jobs to apply for, but you should get a much better response rate when you do apply, and you'll get a better class of job.

It took me a month and 20 proposals to get my first job here. After my second job, it took me another 2 months to get my 3rd job. And the market has probably got more difficult since then. So expect it to take a while to get started.

[#4 · Accepted solution]

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Guinevere F wrote:

Hi,

What are the benefits of the Plus? 

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None, really. 

You do get more information on bid ranges but there's not much you can do with that information. The Plus plan does nothing to get you noticed more. 

[#5]

Plus Membership, like everyone here said will not work for you, if you intend to get noticed! 

However, soon Upwork is going to have two features that can get you noticed. One that can highlight your profile in search results and the other can highlight your proposal in the proposal list, on the client's side.

1. You'll also be able to highlight your profile in the client's search results with an "available now" read the official Upwork announcement here.
2. You'll also be able to boost your proposal in the client's list of proposals, read the official Upwork announcement here.

So save the money you plan to spend on Plus Membership, you'll need more connections for both the above-mentioned features. 

[#6]

Thank you for your advice.