🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Re: Can't really make a living if you have al...
Page options
hospemex
Community Member

Can't really make a living if you have alot of skills.

You don't get enough credits to make proposals on every job you are qualified for. I have only been on the site for a few days and have run out of credits. I bought a membership and it only gave 20 or so more credits, but those disappeared in two days.

 

What are you supposed to do for the rest of the month until you get more credits? You definitely need to find something else to do to make money. Maybe the site can help you out with suggestions of what else you can do while waiting for your connects to replenish. This is a terrible schema for a work site.

 

Maybe a level system might work better. Level 1 (1 to 10 billed hours) 60 connects a month. Level 2 (11-30 billed hours) 160 connects a month or something of the like. So at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Maybe you can recover connects by cancelling proposals as well.


Also if you plan on bidding on the plentiful 10-15 dollar one time jobs, 60 connects is not enough. 60 connects are plenty if you concentrate mostly on long-term contracts.


To add to the problem. The system allows you send proposals on jobs where there has already been a hire. As a newbie, I blew through half of my connects before I realized that I was sending proposals on jobs that have already been given to someone else. That is a very deceptive practice. If did not know any better, I would think they allow that by design, to kill your connects. You should get your connects back the moment the job is awarded to someone else.


Please fix this problem!!!

23 REPLIES 23
AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Francisco, 

 

Connects are returned only when the job is cancelled either by the client or by Upwork team without hire. You can find more information here.

 

I would like to invite you to read up on this thread on "How do you budget your connects for the month?" to get tips from other freelancers on how they manage their 60 connects, and what are their best practices in submitting proposals to potential clients. 


~ Avery
Upwork


@Avery O wrote:

Hi Francisco, 

 

Connects are returned only when the job is cancelled either by the client or by Upwork team without hire. You can find more information here.

 

I would like to invite you to read up on this thread on "How do you budget your connects for the month?" to get tips from other freelancers on how they manage their 60 connects, and what are their best practices in submitting proposals to potential clients. 


 Hi Avery,

 

Can I just check my understanding on something that caught my eye?

 

"Connects are returned only when the job is cancelled either by the client or by Upwork team without hire."

 

Do you mean the Upwork team returns connects if you're not hired for the job or if the job has no hires?  I think the former is probably wishful thinking especially if you don't even get an interview.  This is not a complaint btw before the usual community mob jumps down freelancers / newbies throats.

 

W

 

P.S. I'm kidding about the mob. 😉 

 

 

---
72.4% of all stats are made up including this one.


@William S wrote:

"Connects are returned only when the job is cancelled either by the client or by Upwork team without hire."

 

Do you mean the Upwork team returns connects if you're not hired for the job or if the job has no hires?

 


William, the above sentence in bold explains the two cases where connects are refunded. How could you come to the conclusion that: "Upwork team returns connects if you're not hired for the job or if the job has no hires" after having read it?

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


@Rene K wrote:

@William S wrote:

"Connects are returned only when the job is cancelled either by the client or by Upwork team without hire."

 

Do you mean the Upwork team returns connects if you're not hired for the job or if the job has no hires?

 


William, the above sentence in bold explains the two cases where connects are refunded. How could you come to the conclusion that: "Upwork team returns connects if you're not hired for the job or if the job has no hires" after having read it?


 Rene,

Good question, it is because:

1. We're not identical clones so don't think the same,

2. We have different life experiences,

3. We have different education,

3. English is not our first language,

4. I'm not a seasoned freelancer pro so may have a dfferent outlook on things,

5. Upwork community recognises and celebrates diversity,

6. One of us is way too optimistic, or

7. One of us was trying to defuse things

 

 

Could be a number of things.  Could be none of these things. 🙂

 

Feel like cake for some reason.

 

---
72.4% of all stats are made up including this one.
mtngigi
Community Member


@Francisco B wrote:

You don't get enough credits to make proposals on every job you are qualified for. I have only been on the site for a few days and have run out of credits. I bought a membership and it only gave 20 or so more credits, but those disappeared in two days.

 

What are you supposed to do for the rest of the month until you get more credits? You definitely need to find something else to do to make money. Maybe the site can help you out with suggestions of what else you can do while waiting for your connects to replenish. This is a terrible schema for a work site.

 

Maybe a level system might work better. Level 1 (1 to 10 billed hours) 60 connects a month. Level 2 (11-30 billed hours) 160 connects a month or something of the like. So at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Maybe you can recover connects by cancelling proposals as well.


Also if you plan on bidding on the plentiful 10-15 dollar one time jobs, 60 connects is not enough. 60 connects are plenty if you concentrate mostly on long-term contracts.


To add to the problem. The system allows you send proposals on jobs where there has already been a hire. As a newbie, I blew through half of my connects before I realized that I was sending proposals on jobs that have already been given to someone else. That is a very deceptive practice. If did not know any better, I would think they allow that by design, to kill your connects. You should get your connects back the moment the job is awarded to someone else.


Please fix this problem!!!


You're a freelancer, not an Upwork employee. Upwork does not need to fix any problem, nor hold our hands and tell us what to do to fill our idle time.

 

As Avery suggests, read everything and understand how to discern the jobs worth bidding on and those that aren't. Most successful freelancers are hard-pressed to use up all their connects in a month.

re: "You don't get enough credits to make proposals on every job you are qualified for."

 

You're not supposed to send proposals to every job you're qualified for.

 

If you really want to make money, then you should be sending very few proposals.

 

And you should continually narrow the types of jobs you apply to.

 

Feel free to look at my profile page. It is an example of a hyper-focused approach.

 

You desire to be qualified for many things and have many skills. The purpose of that approach is NOT to maximize earnings, but to feed ego.

 

The highest earning freelancers are specialists, not generalists who can do lots of different things.

I can't pay my bills with EGO, they don't take that at the bank. I am trying to make money of course and the connects are limiting especially for many small one time jobs.


@Preston H wrote:

Feel free to look at my profile page. It is an example of a hyper-focused approach.

The highest earning freelancers are specialists, not generalists who can do lots of different things.

 What if you don't want to be hyper-specialized or a specialist? Let me see if I understand you correctly. Are you saying that the way UPWORK works is by forcing people to specialize or else you cannot have success?


@Francisco B wrote:

@Preston H wrote:

Feel free to look at my profile page. It is an example of a hyper-focused approach.

The highest earning freelancers are specialists, not generalists who can do lots of different things.

 What if you don't want to be hyper-specialized or a specialist? Let me see if I understand you correctly. Are you saying that the way UPWORK works is by forcing people to specialize or else you cannot have success?


Francisco, whatever Upwork's faults, it does not "force" anyone to do anything. Preston was merely pointing out that freelancers should concentrate on a niche skill (and then perhaps branch out). I am a translator and an editor, and it is sometimes difficult wearing two hats. 

 

Upwork is certainly not going to stop you bidding in multiple categories, but you might find it difficult to get traction on the site if you do.

petra_r
Community Member


@Francisco B wrote:


What are you supposed to do for the rest of the month until you get more credits?


 You could invest that time in improving your profile, adding a portfolio and learning how this site works and how those freelancers who are successful here do it.

 

It would be time well spent.

 

At the moment your profile is poor, and you seem to be bidding on anything and everything in some kind of haphazard feeding frenzy. That could easily kill your freelancing career here before it even started.

 

yitwail
Community Member


@Petra R wrote:

At the moment your profile is poor, and you seem to be bidding on anything and everything in some kind of haphazard feeding frenzy. That could easily kill your freelancing career here before it even started.


 Francisco, you're a rising talent but once you've completed enough jobs to have a Job Success Score, you lose the rising talent badge and the extra connects you get with it, so you should focus on using them more efficiently. And if that's not enough motivation, Upwork can suspend a freelancer permanently if he's too unsuccessful with his proposals.

__________________________________________________
"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce
hospemex
Community Member


@John K wrote:

@Petra R wrote:

At the moment your profile is poor, and you seem to be bidding on anything and everything in some kind of haphazard feeding frenzy. That could easily kill your freelancing career here before it even started.


 Francisco, you're a rising talent but once you've completed enough jobs to have a Job Success Score, you lose the rising talent badge and the extra connects you get with it, so you should focus on using them more efficiently. And if that's not enough motivation, Upwork can suspend a freelancer permanently if he's too unsuccessful with his proposals.


 I just lost the badge today. I got nothing. No extra connects or anything.

cupidmedia
Community Member


@Francisco B wrote:

...

Maybe a level system might work better. Level 1 (1 to 10 billed hours) 60 connects a month. Level 2 (11-30 billed hours) 160 connects a month or something of the like. So at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

...


 The problem with this suggestion is that, as freelancers get more successful, their need for connects goes DOWN not up - most of the successful freelancers here in the forum will tell you that they rarely use all their connects, thanks to repeat work and invites.

 

Like Preston said, the most successful freelancers (here in the forum, at least) are the ones with a tight focus in their niche. They are not trying to do everything. Your profile lists a lot of skills, as does your portfolio, and your overview lists other, different skills and is very short. I'm a client in a different field, but even if I was in your field I would probably skip over you because I don't really understand what you can offer me.

sam-sly
Community Member

I am not hyper-specialized either. However, there are reasons that pretty much everyone suggests specialization in most business arenas. It is the most efficient way to be successful if you specialize in something that is in-demand.

 

Think of it this way... A lot of small business owners and staff have to wear many hats.  Some of those things they do well and some not. When they have the budget to outsource, they usually want to send that work to an expert or specialist. So freelancers with a clear specialty have a more obvious unique value and can command higher rates.

 

Also, many business people are skeptical of anyone who claims too many skills. Of course, it is good to have many skills. But when it comes to hiring a professional, you risk running into the "Jack of all trades, master of none." 

 

I think you can include more than one skill if the skills are very closely related to the point that some clients would want someone with that set of skills. Otherwise, it is better to focus on one skill or set of related skills, so you do not look like a Jack of all trades. You can apply to other jobs if you want to. Alternatively, you can build profiles on other platforms to highlight another set of skills. Ultimately it is more efficient to narrow your focus.  

hospemex
Community Member


@Samantha S wrote:

Also, many business people are skeptical of anyone who claims too many skills. Of course, it is good to have many skills. But when it comes to hiring a professional, you risk running into the "Jack of all trades, master of none."

 

Almost of the jobs I bid on, are all over the place in skills; so a hyper focused profile might do more damage than good. I believe you have to give the client what he wants and cater to what he's looking for; or you just might specialize your way out of a job.

 

For example: This latest post I am looking at requires Web developmen skills( JavaScript PHP Website Development), Web design skills, and Graphical Designer skills(Adobe Photoshop CSS CSS3 Graphic Design) And this is one of the really tame ones. I have run into ones that reads off a whole list of skills they want in one person.

 

So it's really hard to get onboard with that argument when the clients are demonstrating otherwise.

mtngigi
Community Member


@Francisco B wrote:

@Samantha S wrote:

Also, many business people are skeptical of anyone who claims too many skills. Of course, it is good to have many skills. But when it comes to hiring a professional, you risk running into the "Jack of all trades, master of none."

 

Almost of the jobs I bid on, are all over the place in skills; so a hyper focused profile might do more damage than good. I believe you have to give the client what he wants and cater to what he's looking for; or you just might specialize your way out of a job.

 

For example: This latest post I am looking at requires Web developmen skills( JavaScript PHP Website Development), Web design skills, and Graphical Designer skills(Adobe Photoshop CSS CSS3 Graphic Design) And this is one of the really tame ones. I have run into ones that reads off a whole list of skills they want in one person.

 

So it's really hard to get onboard with that argument when the clients are demonstrating otherwise.


No ... it's not hard. Those are the kinds of clients who are clueless about who can do what, and for the most part will settle for mediocracy. Those are the kinds of jobs most of us wouldn't give a second look at.

hospemex
Community Member


@Virginia F wrote:

No ... it's not hard. Those are the kinds of clients who are clueless about who can do what, and for the most part will settle for mediocracy. Those are the kinds of jobs most of us wouldn't give a second look at.


 Now you are trying to train the clients as well. It is what is it is. We can talk about a utopian society with utopian clients, but we are not actually living in that world. So what I do in those cases are send a proposal where I say I have X skills, but not X skills, but do not believe that that will hinder me in completing the project because I have done this before, blah, blah, blah. But to ignore clients because they don't know how to properly write up their needs is turning away business, to me.  You might see it from a different point of view, and I understand that everyone is supposed to be perfect in how they present their needs, but it does not make sense to me to ignore those jobs.

hospemex
Community Member


@Virginia F wrote:



No ... it's not hard. Those are the kinds of clients who are clueless about who can do what, and for the most part will settle for mediocracy. Those are the kinds of jobs most of us wouldn't give a second look at.


Now you are trying to train the clients as well. It is what is it is. We can talk about a utopian society with utopian clients, but we are not actually living in that world. So what I do in those cases are send a proposal where I say I have X skills, but not X skills, but do not believe that that will hinder me in completing the project because I have done this before, blah, blah, blah. But to ignore clients because they don't know how to properly write up their needs is turning away business, to me.  You might see it from a different point of view, and I understand that everyone is supposed to be perfect in how they present their needs, but it does not make sense to me to ignore those jobs.

 

P.S. I think I am doing something wrong as my posts are disappearing.


@Francisco B wrote:

 

P.S. I think I am doing something wrong as my posts are disappearing.


 Your posts may not have completely disappeared, sometimes they get moved to other threads. So if you check your posts history, you might find them again. (no guarantee though;))

williamshu
Community Member

Bear with me, I'm trying something out...

 

HI FRANCISCO,

 

I SHARED YOUR FRUSTRATION BUT DON'T APPLY FOR EVERYTHING BECAUSE DON'T FORGET YOU ARE IN THE SAME POOL, AND COMPETING, WITH OTHER MORE SUCCESSFUL FREELANCERS.  MAYBE SPEND TIME APPLYING FOR SMALLER JOB TO BUILD YOUR JSS UP OR WORK ON THAT KILLER PROPOSAL:

https://www.upwork.com/hiring/for-freelancers/submitting-a-winning-proposal-on-upwork/

 

I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO TELL YOU OTHER THAN A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE IN THE SAME BOAT BUT SOME HAVE MADE IT SO HANG IN THERE AND BE PATIENT.

MAYBE WORTH READING UP ON GUIDES AND STRATEGIES UPWORK PROVIDES OR LOOK AT SOME OF THE SUCCESS STORIES FOR SOME CREATIVE INSPIRATION.

 

HOPE THAT HELPS OR NOT.

 

ALL THE BEST.

 

ANGRY STEVE.

---
72.4% of all stats are made up including this one.

My only conclusion(based on how difficult they make bidding on the multiude of short-term projects) is that UPWORK is not looking to be an ALL-in-ONE site. They are only interested in facilitating long-term projects; so they obviously want to leave space for other sites to compete in the marketplace. That is mighty nice of them.

 

Most companies find greater success in listening to their clients. So it's surprisingly refreshing when UPWORK's basic response is something like, "shut-up and deal with it."


@Francisco B wrote:

My only conclusion(based on how difficult they make bidding on the multiude of short-term projects) is that UPWORK is not looking to be an ALL-in-ONE site. They are only interested in facilitating long-term projects; so they obviously want to leave space for other sites to compete in the marketplace. That is mighty nice of them.

 

Most companies find greater success in listening to their clients. So it's surprisingly refreshing when UPWORK's basic response is something like, "shut-up and deal with it."


Upwork does not have any real competitors, and those that fancy themselves to be competion, got that way through their own efforts, not because Upwork had made it possible for them.

 

You may also want to consider the fact that some of the most successful contractors here got to be successful because they service a large number of clients with once-off contracts that lead to other once-off contracts with the same clients.

bontemps
Community Member

Hi, I hear you. Im a skilled designer and used all my credits too. Decided to come back in a month. Applied for 2 jobs and gone. Used be be great (Upwork) as I never remember budgeting my credits. Seems like unless you pay you can only apply for 2-3 jobs a month. And the chances of winning the bid are very very low. Been with Upwork a long time (10 years) and 1st time looking for alterntives. Shame really. Good while it lasted.

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths