🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Advice for seeking jobs
Page options
262ee541
Community Member

Advice for seeking jobs

Hello! I'm an artist and graphic designer for fashion and textiles looking to get started on Upwork. I've noticed a lot of the jobs in this area have very low budgets, or unclear briefs. I have a couple of questions. I don't want to waste my time and connects submitting a proposal to a job when the brief is unclear, is there a way around this? Can I connect with a client without submitting a proposal to get clarification on their project? 

 

And second, a lot of jobs have "fixed prices" that are extremely low for the work (like offering $5 a design). Do people typically only bid if they are willing to work within that budget, or do people sometimes bid higher?

 

TIA!

1 REPLY 1
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: " I don't want to waste my time and connects submitting a proposal to a job when the brief is unclear, is there a way around this?"

 

No.

 

re: "Can I connect with a client without submitting a proposal to get clarification on their project?"

 

No.

 

Read more about this here:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Ask-clarification-questions-before-sending-proposals/td-...

 

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Wish-I-could-ask-questions-BEFORE-submitting-a-proposal/...

 

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Ask-Client-questions-before-submitting-proposal/td-p/298...

 

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Question-on-job-before-submitting-proposal/td-p/711621

 

re: "a lot of jobs have 'fixed prices' that are extremely low for the work (like offering $5 a design). Do people typically only bid if they are willing to work within that budget, or do people sometimes bid higher?"

 

The "budget" field is required when a client posts a fixed-price job.

$5 is the mininum amount that a client can enter when posting a job.

 

This may mean that a client wants to pay $5.

It may be only a placeholder, and the amount may mean nothing.

There is no sure-fire way for you, as a client, to know what that dollar value means.

 

But you should undestand that MOST clients post jobs on Upwork because they want to get work done. The dollar value is not their primary concern.

 

Think about YOURSELF. When you decide that you really want pineapple upsidedown cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory... THAT is what you want. You don't know what the price is. Five dollars? Ten dollars? The price is not the point. The price is what it is.

 

Most clients come here knowing what they want, but they don't necessarily know what they need to pay. If you submit a proposal to a job posted by a client like that, the client is going to look at your portfolio... maybe read a bit about you, and make a decision. If the price is "reasonable", then you will get hired. A "reasonable" price for a job posted with a $5 budget may be $50. It may be $500.

 

Your job proposal is just the start of a conversation. Don't offer to work for less than your regular rate. Don't assume that a posted fixed-price budget amount is what the client intends to pay, unless they state elsewhere in the job posting that it is a non-negotiable amount.

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths