How long to get a real gig?

[b516ef19]

So it feel like I've submitted at least 20 proposals and the only responses I have gotten so far have all been flagged as non-compliant.  Is this just something that is normal until you get a few real gigs under your belt?  I have a lot of experience but I don't have any projects I can show yet because they all belong to previous employers.  How do you weed out the postings that are garbage so you don't waste your time?  I've started only applying if there is a verified payment.  Is that a good strategy?  

I'm also open to comments on my profile as well.  Thanks,

[martina_plaschka]

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Ginny H wrote:

So it feel like I've submitted at least 20 proposals and the only responses I have gotten so far have all been flagged as non-compliant.  Is this just something that is normal until you get a few real gigs under your belt?  I have a lot of experience but I don't have any projects I can show yet because they all belong to previous employers.  How do you weed out the postings that are garbage so you don't waste your time?  I've started only applying if there is a verified payment.  Is that a good strategy?  

I'm also open to comments on my profile as well.  Thanks,

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I personally don't care if payment is verified or not. I look at the wording of the job posting (is it sloppy, does it have lots of mistakes, does the client describe the job or not, ....), at the hiring rate, at the client's feedback active and passive, if he hired a German translator recently, if he invited freelancers, if he is interviewing people. That results in very few jobs I apply to. 

Yes newbies are often targets of scams, especially the check-cashing scam in the US, or the crypto-buying scam in Pakistan. Sometimes they work for free because they don't realize they haven't been hired. 

But I wouldn't say it's normal. Nobody ever tried to scam me, and I'm surely not alone in this. 

If you are serious about this, expect a lot of work before it pays off. 

To your profile - again, it's random lines from a resume. At least this is how it looks to me. But a profile is not a resume. From a statement analysis perspective: You are not in it. There is no "I". It is not personal. You don't adress a potential client. You don't tell him how you will solve his problem and make his life easier. 

Research other profiles. Take note of what you like and what appeals to you. Think like a client.