"Challenges Faced by New Freelancers on Upwork: Visibility and Engagement Issues"

[#1]

I've noticed that Upwork has become more challenging for new freelancers or those with new profiles compared to previous years. In the past, Upwork seemed to provide more opportunities for everyone to grow their profiles by allowing proposals to be viewed more frequently. Despite following all the recommended steps and best practices to get projects, I find that getting a project now feels nearly impossible because my proposals are not even being viewed.

If clients do not view our profiles, it becomes very difficult to connect with them. It seems that visibility, rather than the quality of the proposal, is now the main barrier. I believe that if clients at least viewed my profile, it would motivate me to continue using this platform. Since joining Upwork, I haven't received a single view on my proposals, which is quite discouraging. I've applied all strategies to best match client requirements, but without any visibility, it's hard to make progress.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[#2]

One of the biggest challenges when using Upwork is profile and proposal visibility. Profiles are not stationary in search results, so visibility is always an issue--especially when a profile is buried deep in searches. Also, hundreds (if not thousands) of freelancers are joining and leaving the marketplace every day, so search results fluctuate. 

It appears your profile is set to Private. I recommend setting your profile to Public or Only Upwork users so more clients can see it. Start with this and give it a few weeks, and see if your profile views increase.

[#3]

Hey, Clark S. Thank you for the advice! I'll make sure to set my profile to Public or Only Upwork users to increase its visibility. I appreciate your help and will give it a few weeks to see if my profile views improve. If you have any other suggestions or tips, I’d love to hear them!

[#4]

Your post is kinda confusing, you start out with apparent knowledge of Upwork and how it used to provide more opportunity and more views of newbie proposals, then admit that since joining you haven't had one proposal view, which seems to indicate that you're new to the platform? 🤔

[#5]

Hi, David.
Thank you for your feedback! I understand how my post might have seemed a bit confusing. Let me clarify:

I have been familiar with Upwork for some time and have heard from others about how the platform used to be more favorable to newbies. My comments were based on this general knowledge and what I've heard from others who have been using Upwork for a while.

However, I am relatively new to actively using Upwork myself, which is why I haven't had any proposal views yet. I hope this clears up any confusion. I'm still learning the ropes and appreciate any tips or advice you might have!

[#6]

One of the challenges I face is avoiding scams. I just saw a new job posting for the exact same job that has been posted three days in a row. The first two have been removed for not following Upwork's terms of service. My question is this: why is the third job posting allowed to even make it on the platform? 

[#7]

Paul, I completely agree with your point. The increase in scams on this platform is concerning. It feels like there are many rules and safeguards for freelancers, but not as many for clients. This imbalance needs to be addressed to ensure a safer and more equitable environment for everyone.