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vrosscheree
Community Member

30+ proposals no serious offers

Hello, fellow Upwork professionals. 

 

I have been on Upwork for around 2 weeks and I have sent over 30 proposals with covers letters, a good description of why I am suitable for the job and suitable rates for the project I am applying. Any advice on how I can get my first offer? I do have a well-written profile as well as verified information. I also have applied for around 2-4 jobs daily, depending on interest and Upwork qualifications and portfolio with examples. Any recommendations for reaching out more effectively? 

 

Best regards,

Victoria 

16 REPLIES 16
jannat-sheikh
Community Member

Hello Victoria

 

Try to write a good covers letters with your working experience and also give a short description of your skill and expertise. As my experience please stay online and wait for the client's response. And also add more portfilio on your profile.

 

Thanks

Jahangir

belauger
Community Member

You have my sympathy.  I have been working on Upwork/oDesk since 2012 and have done hundreds of jobs and suddenly I find myself in your shoes as well. I find the rating system convoluted almost incomprehensible, and the new $30 to post a job/up to 6 connects to apply for a job system a complete mess. Having spoken with other freelancers over the years and my own experience, my opinion continues to be that many clients want something for nothing. Every once in a while you come across a truly great client and I've had my share, but my sense is that this new system is not good for anyone but the person (people) at the very very top of Upwork. And why take away the skill tests? How can they become unnecessary when they prove your areas of expertise and competence? All I can say to you is keep trying. The field is getting crowded, but eventually you will prevail if you are skilled in your field.

petra_r
Community Member


Barbara L wrote:

... the new $30 to post a job


the what?


Petra R wrote:

Barbara L wrote:

... the new $30 to post a job


the what?


We should show this to all the people who moan because they think Upwork should make clients pay to post jobs 🙂

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless

I'm also a client, and I received notification that to post a job now the fee is $29.99 ($30). If you're an agency, the fee is $400+ per month.
petra_r
Community Member


Barbara L wrote:
I'm also a client, and I received notification that to post a job now the fee is $29.99 ($30). If you're an agency, the fee is $400+ per month.

Only if you want to use one of the more plans, surely?

Upwork Basic should still be free?

 

Plan_Comparison__LG_


Barbara L wrote:
I'm also a client, and I received notification that to post a job now the fee is $29.99 ($30). If you're an agency, the fee is $400+ per month.

It's $30 to post a Featured job, right? You can post regular jobs free of charge.

michelle-trevino
Community Member

When I first started, it took me a few weeks to find a job. What I did was apply for a small, quick turnaround project. Once you complete a contract and get a good rating, it will be easier to find more work. You just need the experience. That first client actually led to many more projects so that's also a bonus!

martina_plaschka
Community Member


Victoria R wrote:

Hello, fellow Upwork professionals. 

 

I have been on Upwork for around 2 weeks and I have sent over 30 proposals with covers letters, a good description of why I am suitable for the job and suitable rates for the project I am applying. Any advice on how I can get my first offer? I do have a well-written profile as well as verified information. I also have applied for around 2-4 jobs daily, depending on interest and Upwork qualifications and portfolio with examples. Any recommendations for reaching out more effectively? 

 

Best regards,

Victoria 


Well, I don't know what a document reviewer is... proofreading? Editing? So I'm not sure what jobs you apply to. Meanwhile, your profile needs a good spellcheck, unless baking fraud is thing in Sweden...

What is your mother language? Swedish? Then stick with that one only and offer English into Swedish legal translation only. That's my advice. Being a polyglot is great but if you sell yourself as an any-language into any-language translator they will not take you seriously, even if you have all the diplomas. There are many translators here and clients look for specialists. English into Swedish legal translation is something very specific and translation into Swedish is not that common so you have an ace there, use it! Place your target there, only apply to that kind of jobs and you'll be rewarded. Later, when you have a couple of jobs done you can offer Polish which is also not common, but at first stick with English into Swedish.

 

By the way, you have some serious typos in your profile. If you are high-proficient in your field you must be perfect, you can't afford to have those typos!

aldywaanimusic
Community Member

I just start here for a week. After lots of Connects spends and almost depleted finally i got 1 'simple' job, and you know what? I only write pretty short sentences in my cover letter.

 

"I'm Aldy, let's do it! Feel free to visit my Specialized Profile for more details and showreels"

"I also attached my recent work based on your needs.."

.... 

 

It was 4:50am when i got my first job. After roaming around on upwork for 6hrs. This client need it urgently. So i submit Cover Letter without much talking..

 

I doubt clients will read all that long cover letter even if you put links or attachments.. unless if they're asking specifically. In my opinion they just wan't result, cheap/reasonable cost, fast delivery. Just like in real life client. And sometimes they're just connect eaters. Posted a job, and then disappear.

 

So, make sure to write a simple straight forward Cover Letters, and direct them to your Specialized Profile or any portfolios.  Simply describe what they will get. What is your service for this particular project. Give them your best as if the client was you.  And my other secret is, at this moment i'm 'collecting' upwork portfolios, so i don't mind pick a small job (but verified) at the lowest rate.. So many competitions here 🙂 Others could be better, or could be cheaper. You can upgrade your account to able to see the bidding. (but i'd stay on free account for now)

 

Good luck!

 

tlsanders
Community Member

Victoria, it takes time to get your first job, and you shouldn't be concerned yet. But, 30 proposals in 2 weeks is an awfully lot--it sounds like maybe you could be targeting a lot more closely. A lot of us who are successful here bid only on jobs where we know that we have experience or skills that will set us apart from the vast majority of other bidders. Just being able to do the job is generally not reason enough to spend connects applying, since there are usually hundreds or thousands of other freelancers who also meet that threshold. 

 

When I was actively bidding on Upwork, I typically found about 5-10 jobs per month that it made sense to bid on.

kcoagency
Community Member

Same issue here. I got 4 right away, then after that I applied for 10 jobs per day for a few weeks(over 60 jobs) and NOTHING at all. Something seems really weird with this. It's like they are not seeing my proposals. 

robin_hyman
Community Member


Victoria R wrote:

Hello, fellow Upwork professionals. 

 

I have been on Upwork for around 2 weeks and I have sent over 30 proposals with covers letters, a good description of why I am suitable for the job and suitable rates for the project I am applying. Any advice on how I can get my first offer? I do have a well-written profile as well as verified information. I also have applied for around 2-4 jobs daily, depending on interest and Upwork qualifications and portfolio with examples. Any recommendations for reaching out more effectively? 

 

Best regards,

Victoria 


Your profile is now set to private so I can't provide a detailed recommendation.  Based on the other freelancer responses, you and Kelly are in very competitive fields.  Your profile needs to stand out from others who have more experience working on the platform.  

 

For Kelly:  you have 4 in-progress jobs.  When you complete a job have your client close the contract and provide feedback.  Once you have a JSS and multiple jobs completed, you will see more traction on clients responding to your proposals.  

 

You just have to be patient and optimistic. 

I don't know why they are saying in progress since I've already been paid. I can't close them on my end.
AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Kelly, and Robin,
Thank you for reviving the discussion on this thread! 

Kelly, I would just like to note that you should be able to close your contracts yourself by going to your My Jobs page, clicking on any of the contracts you wish to close, click on the three buttons beside the "Terms & Settings" tab, and close your contract from there. 


~ Avery
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