Getting hired

[wyliethomas]

Very new to upwork, I have sent in many proposals for jobs, and have not received any feedback at all.  I know my hourly rate falls in line with expertise level work.  I haven't received a peep on anything.  Is there something that I need to do to make sure my proposals are being looked at, contact more than once, I am at a lost.  Any feedback to help get me through this would be appreciated. 

[mthornton-cpc · Accepted solution]

You don't have anything in your profile portfolio. When you're brand new and have no work history on the platform plus nothing in your portfolio at a high hourly rate it's easy to dismiss your profile without reading about your experience. Add to your profile to put your best foot forward. Sometimes clients really scrutinize proposals. Sometimes they don't read them at all and click on the freelancer's profile to check portfolio items. If you run into the 2nd type of client you're already at a disadvantage. 

[jcullinan]

---

@Wylie T wrote:

Very new to upwork, I have sent in many proposals for jobs, and have not received any feedback at all.  I know my hourly rate falls in line with expertise level work.  I haven't received a peep on anything.  Is there something that I need to do to make sure my proposals are being looked at, contact more than once, I am at a lost.  Any feedback to help get me through this would be appreciated. 

---

Clients only see the first two lines of your profile in the preview list, and your first two lines tell them nothing about what you can do for them. I would rework your whole overview, take out the vast majority of the "I" and "my" statements, and gear it more specifically to a client's eye.

[holymell]

Agree with the others. It's great that you know your worth and don't want to settle but many clients are going to take a hard pass on someone with such a high hourly rate when they don't have a portfolio to back up that rate.

Add employment history and take tests relevant to your field, but the most important thing, with that rate, is a portfolio that proves you're worth it.

[prestonhunter]

Wylie:

Your hourly rate IS high, and you don't have an Upwork history to back it up.

One trick that can work for new freelancers who have considerable expertise and ability (such as yourself) is to start by doing some FIXED-PRICE contracts. That way you can get some positive feedback and work history onto your profile, without accepting a lower hourly rate than you want to establish for yourself.

(Fixed-price contracts display no hourly rate in a freelancer's work history.)