Best Ways to Recover from Low Job Success Score?

[marinamoraes]

Hey guys,

So I have been on Upwork for about 2 months now. I thought I was doing really well until I had a problem with a client. Basically she requested an article saying a short intro and a paragraph for each product would be enough.

Okay, no problem. I wrote the article and submitted it before the deadline; she thanked me and said she would get back to me with any potential edits.

Except she didn't. She just left me feebdack saying I didn't go ''above and beyond''.

Honestly, I am not sure what she was expecting. I think I wrote a pretty good article given how limiting the topic was. I would have happily edited anything, had she mentioned she wasn't satisfied. But she didn't give me the chance. 

I am still learning my way around Upwork, so I decided to refund her money and just put it all behind me. I didn't think my Job Score (which I just got) would end up so low.

Should I be hopeless? All my other clients either continue working with me or have left 5 star reviews. 

Ugh I feel so frustrated. 

[lysis10]

You're chasing after the wrong clients but you don't appear to have expertise in anything so maybe they are you're only option? You're also working for 3 bucks an hour as a VA, so your profile is confusing.

Anyway, I'm sure you can recover. 63% is pretty low, but you can recover if you do things you know you can do.

[marinamoraes]

My focus is on writing blogs posts/articles. 

I accepted the VA position because it involves a lot of product page copywriting and I wanted to expand my skills to that area. 

I haven't had any trouble finding clients, but I didn't have my Job Score until today. And from what I googled, refunding a client is terrible for that. I'm still learning the ropes, so I had no idea. Oh well.

[lysis10]

The refund doesn't give you the poor score. It's the client feedback. If you're refunding, the contract went bad most of the time, so yeah you can't refund your way out of a bad JSS.

You're one of those cheap blaaaaahg writers. Better to specialize in something and be a high priced writer. You know you're in a good place when people complain about your rate being higher than everyone else's. 

[marinamoraes]

I graduated a year ago. 

I haven't been on the job market long enough to be demanding super high, expert prices. That would be dishonest and inaccurate. 

I don't see anything wrong with building your way up, which is what I plan to continue on doing. 

[lysis10]

tbf, going for a high rate isn't dishonest. Misrepresenting your skills is dishonest. I stlil say you should own a topic and smash wallets with it, but OK. Good luck.

[marinamoraes]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

[colettelewis]

Marina,

It would be a good idea to take Jennifer's advice to heart. She really does know what she is talking about, Graduates? We are all graduates - two a penny. We have to prove the pennies can be turned into dollars.

ETA: You have one "ongoing" client you could do without. Ask the client who is paying far less than your profile rate, to close your contract, unless you are still actively working for him or her. Otherwise, close it yourself and leave honest feedback.

[marinamoraes]

Hi Nichola!

Thanks for the suggestions. What I meant by being a recent graduate is that I'm still fresh out of school. So I don't really think I am an expert to command high rates. I am just getting started. I usually bid for intermediate projects. 

I think I know which contract you're talking about. He was one of my first projects here. It can be hard to land your first client, and I accepted it since I knew a lot about the topic from personal experience. But you do raise a good point. I haven't worked with him since, so I'll kindly ask him to close the contract. 

Thanks again!

[versailles]

---

@Marina M wrote:

I don't see anything wrong with building your way up, which is what I plan to continue on doing. 

---

Your JSS has decreased to 63%. Maybe you should change your plans and start doing something different. Whatever you are doing is not working at all.

[baa4495a]

What can be done to recover from this stage 63% one... I was new to Upwork and I didn't know about the closing of the project and now I have 2 reviews (5 stars) out of 5 jobs. I requested the previous client but they seem busy to me and inactive... What can be done to recover from low JSS.. I cant get most of the jobs because of this JSS... 

[8e221380]

Hey Amin 

let me know how you recovered from 63% JSS?

Right now , I am in the same situation. 

[baa4495a]

Hi Lavanaya,

Actully my profile problem was different from your's... I have 3 projects with no feedback at all and was not closed for a long time because of that i have to struggle almost 6 months and then upwork updated the policy of not including projects with no reviews in JSS calculation so my JSS got a boost upto 79% and i got a client which costs low but was very clear... I am expert at my job but if the client didn't give a feedback that's not my problem its Upwork problem to handle to make the process easier for the client... But you have some bad reviews so i suggest don't give up

Learn the illustration and design more and become more professional and choose the clients with 4.8 to 5 star ratings ... mostly choose 5 stars client other wise dont make a proposal and your profile will recover.. It will take time but you have to work on it.

If you still have something unclear let me know 

Kindest Regards,

Amin Dar

[8e221380]

Thank you for replying!

I don't know why they gave me such reviews. They seemed happy with my work. They were appreciating the illustrations. I don't know what went wrong. 

Also, I used to get interviews but now due to low JSS , I am not getting any. Why would any client would hire someone with low JSS if they can have someone with very good JSS and reviews ?

[moha_benaoumeur]

Hi Lavanya, 

I've read your replies and it seemed your JSS was 63%,  now and congrats, it's 100%. can you please tell me how did you succeed to recover from it?

I closed a contract once which led my JSS to 69% and know I'm facing a terrible time finding new jobs.

Thanks 

[attique_1331]

Hey Marina,

Cheer up and don't lose hope, your JSS changes after every 2 weeks so don't be worried about a single client's feedback. And try to build a long-term relationship with your present clients instead of looking for some others. I don't think that JSS is important in getting new job, your work quality is everything that brings new clients to you. You're here to earn money so try to get in touch with clients for a long term.

Best of luck.

Thanks.

[lysis10]

She has 63% JSS, buddy. LOL I'd say it's not a factor at 80%+ but 63% is total fail and it's time to re-evaluate and figure out what's wrong with what you're doing.  She's writing cheap junk articles and the topics are all over the place, which means she's not focusing on anything niche. Mistake.

[marinamoraes]

Thanks for the encouragement, Attiq.

I have some articles due this week, so hopefully my Job Score will improve in the next couple of weeks 🙂