Gitonga,
It may not be only your profile. Several changes started occurring in the midst of the pandemic, so getting attention from clients on Upwork can be a challenge. It all depends on demand for your skills, the quality of your profile, the quality of your proposals, and a few other things beyond our control.
I looked through your profile and right now, you don't have enough information to convince clients to hire you. Clients come to Upwork with specific needs and they look for freelancers who can meet those needs and get results. Your profile must show clients how you can help them and why they should choose you.
Here are the things I would change in your profile, and why:
1) Remove this: "Hello there. I'm Brian."
Why? Because when clients search for freelancers, only the first 200-250 characters of your summary are shown. This means you have very little space (approximately two short sentences) to get their attention. You want this small space to include important words (i.e., your services, successes, and experience)--not greetings and names.
2) Remove this: "I'm starting in Freelance as a Software Engineer."
Why? Because clients don't care. Clients have goals and they're spending money, which means they need to know if you have the skills and expertise to get the job done, whether you're just starting as a freelancer or you're a veteran freelancer.
3) You will get more traction with clients if you immediately establish your expertise, mention your services, and tell clients how you can help them and get results. For example:
| I'm an expert software engineer who can design, develop, test, and maintain software applications and systems. If you have a critical software application you're working on, I can play a critical role in building and improving your software solution to meet requirements and address complex challenges. |
After an introduction like that, you need to go further and explain why clients should choose you over the thousands of software engineers here. For example:
- Tell clients how you communicate and gather feedback during the SDLC to ensure the final product meets their needs.
- Talk about your attention to detail and how you maintain quality standards.
- Highlight any similar software engineering projects you have worked on and your accomplishments.
- Talk about your ability to meet business challenges and adapt to changing or new requirements if necessary.
Why? Because clients looking for software engineers will find plenty of them on Upwork. The question is, do they have enough good reasons to choose you? The information you provide can help them better understand why they should hire you and how it will benefit them.
Other recommendations that could enhance your profile:
4) I suggest removing "Research Scientist" from your title; unless you can tie it to your software engineering. Clients might be confused by the title and not recognize the services you're offering.
5) You may want to add one or two Specialized Profiles that focus on specific services or completely unrelated services. Having a specialized profile can help increase a freelancer's searchability.
Once you update your summary, clients will better understand your value.
Good luck!
