🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Re: Clients Not Responding at All
Page options
60926571
Community Member

Clients Not Responding at All

So I’ve sent out a bunch of proposals and spent all of my connects.
Not a single person has gotten back to me with a firm answer and I’m not even sure my proposals were even looked at.
I feel like I’m getting penalized because potential clients don’t have the common decency to respond with an answer.
Is this very common that people just don’t respond with a yes/no answer?
I can fully accept that I may not be a right fit for a job, that’s no problem, but considering I spent all of my connects on these jobs, the least they could do is respond.
Does Upword require clients to respond or is it basically just up to them?
ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Also, kindly add more portfolio in your profile, for eg, if you do Logos, add 'Logo portfolio' for 10-15 logos, similarly do it for your other gigs. If the client won't trust your skills by looking at your portfolio, no matter how many connects you use for sending a proposal, chances will be less to hire you.

try to add headline like 'Best Logo Designer' or 'Experienced Graphic Designer', since the client receives 5-10 proposals normally for a single job posted, hence not all of them have adequate time to read the entire profile, but what they see is the headline first and then take the decision to read further about the freelancer.

have a happy journey with Upwork

View solution in original post

16 REPLIES 16
gurjeetkalsi
Community Member

Hello Keran,

Just like you, I have been into this situation, but gradually you will learn that reply by the client is only when they want to work with you, which includes many parameters like the budget they have in mind and how old is the profile on Upwork, or sometimes no reason etc.

I got a reply from a client after 17 days I applied to the job, they replied after 17 days, which I was not expecting, but it happened and turned into a contract. Upwork is not got a quick-rich scheme, but we all need to have some patience as we do have in the real world.


In the real world, we all know the percentage of acceptance of doing the job as compared to sending proposals.

If you have exhausted all connect, you can buy them more and start applying on more jobs.

try to work on your cover letter, and portfolio you attach with it, That makes really things moving fast than a normal procedure.

I have seen your profile, I would suggest you add more portfolio in details, the client must see & feel that he will be getting more than what he will be paying by hiring a quality designer.

Have a happy journey with Upwork.

Thank you very much for your response. Unfortunately I can’t spend more money on connects right now so this is a bit of an issue.
I’m just hoping someone responds so that some of my connects get refunded.
Thanks again for taking the time to write to me.

Nevermind. 

In 8 or so years, I've never had a client reply that they weren't interested.  They only reply if they want to interview you. That's standard procedure for freelancing; don't take it personally.

It’s not so much personal as it is that I’d like some of my connects back so I can apply to additional gigs.


Keren V wrote:
It’s not so much personal as it is that I’d like some of my connects back so I can apply to additional gigs.

Whoever told you that you would get connects back when you are not hired has not given you correct information. Not the way this works. 

You are competing with freelancers that have a long work history and a portfolio showcasing their best work. Having just one portfolio piece is not enough. You wasted your connects sending proposals the way your profile looks now. 

Before you send more proposals, you need to do your homework. Have you researched successful freelancers in your field and learned from them? Have you read the ToS and help section for newbies? 

Some of those jobs clearly state that you can get connects back if you're not hired (on the right hand side where you typically submit a proposal). It's a blue dot. So either UpWork is lying or I don't know what the deal is.   

 

I understand I may have been wrong in my approach and will certainly work on improving my profile. It just so happens that some of what I thought I had posted remained as a draft.

It was my mistake, of course, but you're not helping by speaking in this manner. 

By asking "Have you researched successful freelancers in your field and learned from them? Have you read the ToS and help section for newbies?" you're basically assuming I hadn't which is completely unfair.   

Also keep in mind that these are desperate times for some of us and saying things like "You wasted your connects sending proposals the way your profile looks now" is hurtful and unnecessary. It's not that I have the funds to purchase more connects at the moment and I feel terrible enough as is, having spent so much time on proposals and creating initial designs for potential clients.

 

For future reference on how to speak with people, you can check out @Gurjeet K's response who pretty much said the same thing but managed to get his message across in a kinder manner.


Keren V wrote:

Some of those jobs clearly state that you can get connects back if you're not hired (on the right hand side where you typically submit a proposal). It's a blue dot. So either UpWork is lying or I don't know what the deal is.   

 

I understand I may have been wrong in my approach and will certainly work on improving my profile. It just so happens that some of what I thought I had posted remained as a draft.

It was my mistake, of course, but you're not helping by speaking in this manner. 

By asking "Have you researched successful freelancers in your field and learned from them? Have you read the ToS and help section for newbies?" you're basically assuming I hadn't which is completely unfair.   

Also keep in mind that these are desperate times for some of us and saying things like "You wasted your connects sending proposals the way your profile looks now" is hurtful and unnecessary. It's not that I have the funds to purchase more connects at the moment and I feel terrible enough as is, having spent so much time on proposals and creating initial designs for potential clients.

 

For future reference on how to speak with people, you can check out @Gurjeet K's response who pretty much said the same thing but managed to get his message across in a kinder manner.


You misunderstood. Connects are refunded on some jobs when NOBODY is hired, not when YOU  are not hired. It says so very clearly.

[Oops - this bit deleted - sorry Martina! ]
Keren,

 

You will get your connects back if the client him or herself cancels the job without hiring anybody (This is rare as anyone on Upwork will tell you!)

You will get them back, if Upwork delists a job posting for violating Upwork's Terms of Service. 

You might get them back, if the job posting has a flashing icon saying you will get them back if the client does not hire ( i.e. "you" and all the others who have applied, if the client does not hire anyone at all) 

 

If you do get a few connects back on the jobs you have applied for, it takes a little while for them to show up in your connects history which you will find in the dropdown menu under "Reports" on your jobfeed page. 

 

It is worthwhile buying a bunch of connects at a time. $12 will buy you 80 connects. It's not excessive. 

 

A small headsup: Mary made a perfectly valid and important comment on your profile. She also happens to be one of the most experienced and one of the kindest members in the forum community. Rather than taking offence, you should take it on board - and - if you want to survive in the freelancing world, you need to grow a skin harder than an armadillo! 😉

Also, when a client first sees your profile and your proposal, they only see the first two lines unless they scroll down.  "Jack of all trades, master of none" is dreadful in my opinion.

Could have found a kinder way of phrasing that but noted, will revise.

Also, kindly add more portfolio in your profile, for eg, if you do Logos, add 'Logo portfolio' for 10-15 logos, similarly do it for your other gigs. If the client won't trust your skills by looking at your portfolio, no matter how many connects you use for sending a proposal, chances will be less to hire you.

try to add headline like 'Best Logo Designer' or 'Experienced Graphic Designer', since the client receives 5-10 proposals normally for a single job posted, hence not all of them have adequate time to read the entire profile, but what they see is the headline first and then take the decision to read further about the freelancer.

have a happy journey with Upwork

I absolutely will! Thank you so much for your suggestions and kind words. I can absolutely see where I was wrong in my approach and will improve my profile accordingly.
I really appreciate your help. You’ve been wonderful.


Mary W wrote:

Also, when a client first sees your profile and your proposal, they only see the first two lines unless they scroll down.  "Jack of all trades, master of none" is dreadful in my opinion.


Which sounds like perfectly good, actionable advice to me. Advice that may well directly help Keren to get more work. Surely that's a good thing? Right?

Other people might also have some other advice that might be useful to her. Alas, it seems she has taken constructive criticism to heart and chosen to make her profile private. As is her right, of course.

I find it quite baffling really. Here, people have direct access to people that are experienced and successful in freelancing offering their advice - FOR FREE. Yet, people choose to close off that potentially very valuable resource, despite them having already admitted that they are in need of such asssitance. 

Personally, I would not care less if people called me **Edited for Community Guidelines** if it meant I would make more money. But hey ho, it's not my loss if others choose to reject advice that might help them. If anything it might mean less competition. 

VladimirG
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi all,

 

I'd like to follow up and kindly ask everyone to keep in mind our Community Guidelines when posting in the Community. I understand that different communication styles can affect how a message is perceived by different participants. Let's give each other the benefit of doubt when it comes to the sentiment our messages might be projecting as well as the deserved respect and courtesy, and avoid personal confrontation. Thank you. 

 

~ Vladimir
Upwork
kochubei_valeria
Community Member

All,

 

A few posts and replies to them have been removed as they were off topic and against the Community Guidelines. This thread has been closed from further replies.

~ Valeria
Upwork
Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths