🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Re: How to get work on upwork with no experie...
Page options
mtayyab88
Community Member

How to get work on upwork with no experience?

Hi,

Can anyone plz guide me how to get work.I am new to this platform and not getting any work despite having ample knowledge of jobs. 
Any changes to my profile which you recommend ?

10 REPLIES 10
donchyme
Community Member

Your profile is very important but not as important as your message to the potential client. I don't know your area of specialty but here's what I did when I just started:

 

1. I focused on showing the client that I could deliver top quality results. This is easier if you already have a solid portfolio. If you do not have a portfolio yet, you could give the client a sample solution to the task s/he needs done.

 

2. I offered to do test tasks and I added a no-payment clause. I usually said "if my work does not meet your standard, you do not have topay me." Don't forget that this is prior to being awarded the job so you are doing this to get the job. Note also that not all clients are trust-worthy. Some will tell you the work was not good enough but depending on what the job was, you may not have anyway of knowing if they went ahead to use it without paying you. It's a sacrifice you may have to make.

 

3. I started by working for far less than my regular fees. I jumped in and offered to do it for far less, explaining to the client that the reason I was doing that was because I needed some references and not necessarily because that was my rate. I eventually got my first job which was very tasking and paid very little. In fact he did not release the funds after I was done with the job. I had to wait until the wait period elapsed and Upwork (then Elance) released the funds to me.

 

From that point on,  I started having new clients very freuquently and my clients stayed because of the quality of work I did for them. Interestingly, my first client came back after some months and asked if I could do a job for him. Of course I told him I will be glad to but at my full rate. He did not respond 🙂

 

I hope you find these suggestions helpful.

 

 

2. I offered to do test tasks and I added a no-payment clause. I usually said "if my work does not meet your standard, you do not have topay me."


 I suggest to not do that. 

1. You don't want to spend your time doing test tasks. It is not against the rules to do that, but clients that ask for it, should be flagged for it and henceforth ignored.

2. If you are confident that your work is first class, why do you yourself question it? It sounds quite unprofessional to my ears, I'm afraid. You are teaching clients to ask for free work, which is contributing to lowering standards on this platform. 

Well, you are actually very entitled to your opinion. Define confidence? When you buy a product online and you are told that there is a full, no questions asked money-back guarantee is that a lack of confidence or a full measure of confidence?

 

I work in one of the most competitive categories here on this platform and I am a top rated freelancer who has earned over $20,000. In fact, Upwork has stopped accepting new members into my category because it's already too competitive. With all the competition, my rates are much higher than the average rates and I still have more jobs than I can handle.

 

The question is "how does a new freelancer without a portfolio get clients?" I can ask "how does a person without any work experience get a job in an organization?" If I suggested walking into an organization and saying, "I will work for you for a week or a month, If you still think I am not good enough after this time, feel free to lay me off without pay" will that be a lack of confidence?

 

I know what I am talking about here because I have been at this for over a decade and with the stiff competition in my field, this is a great ice-breaker for a newbie.

 

With all of that said, the freelancer should always look at the history of the prospective client to determine how trustworthy they are. Simple reading through some of the reviews of freelancers who have previously worked for the client will be a good indicator to help decide if this person can be trusted or not.

 

This is my submission and I am not wrong or teaching anyone anything wrong. It's my opinion from personal experience. You can present your personal strategy.

petra_r
Community Member


@Chimerenka O wrote:

I work in one of the most competitive categories here on this platform and I am a top rated freelancer who has earned over $20,000.


 In 8 years. So?  That's, with all due respect, nothing to brag about. It also has nothing at all to do with the OPs situation, or the "value" of your advice. When you were new, it was a very different environment.

 

Fact remains is that telling people, especially newbies with no experience and fuzzy skillsets, to offer to work for free is very poor advice.

 

 

 

 

donchyme
Community Member

First, don't confuse your opinion with facts. You've just stated your opinion and not a fact. I also stated my opinion. What you should state is your recommended based on your opinion. That will also count as an OPINION and not fact! Let's get that straight.

 

Secondly, I don't know if you read my original submission or the response of another user. I never suggested working for free. What I recommended was a money back guarantee if the work is not good enough. This gives the client some confidence to give you a try as a newbie. So I don't know where you are getting the "work for free" thing from.

 

By the way, have you ever been an employer on the platform? I am both an employer and a freelancer (I hope you consider that fact still relevant today's environment?)  on this platform. The only thing that will take me to a freelancer's profile is to see what past employers have to say about that person. I don't bother to read the profiles so your solution which is cool is by no means a defining factor when it comes to choosing someone to handle an important task for you. It all boils down to what the freelancer has to tell me and not the generic profile statement that anyone could have written for him or her.

petra_r
Community Member


@Chimerenka O wrote:

First, don't confuse your opinion with facts.


 It is  FORBIDDEN for clients to ask for free tests = FACT!

 

And yes, I am also a client (not "employer") on the platform.

 

You are entitled to your "own opinions" - misguided as they may be.

You are not entitled to make up "alternative" facts.

 

Bad advice such as telling him to offer free tests (which a client is not allowed to ask for) is bad advice because those of us who actually understand the dynamics of this site properly know exactly where that kind of nonsense leads.

 

 

donchyme
Community Member

The earth revolves around the sun is a fact but is that relevant here? You stated that "It is  FORBIDDEN for clients to ask for free tests = FACT!" you also added "Bad advice such as telling him to offer free tests (which a client is not allowed to ask for) is bad advice"

 

Here's my question based on your submission on my misguided opinion, who adviced a client to offer free tests? Free being the functional word here.

 

Your entire response has been based on your claim that I adviced someone to offer free tests. Kindly do me a favour and point to where that advice was given. Personally, there is a big different between offering a free test and offering a refund or not accepting payment if the job does not meet the client's required standards.

If in your esteemed opinon you cannot see any difference between this two, then there is no point attempting to explain it. Is there?

 

So as an employer, how many freelancers have you employed based mainly on their profile?

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi All,

 

A few posts have been edited or removed from this thread for Community Guidelines. Please keep the conversation professional and avoid personal attacks. 

~ Bojan
Upwork
petra_r
Community Member


@Muhammad T wrote:


Any changes to my profile which you recommend ?


 YES.

Declutter! Decide what you actually are (hint: a "writer" you are not!) and then decide how what you actually are can benefit clients.

 

I'd  scrap the whole overview and start again. NEVER say you have "quite good" experience in something. "quite good" does not sell.

 

Reduce your overview to no more than a third and concentrate ONLY on what is sellable. Most of the stuff in that wall of text is irrelevant and doesn't give any reasons to hire you.

 

Take some relevant tests and include a portfolio.

 

Focus your profile and your proposals on your experience and expertise off of the platform.  If you are lacking these, get some real life experience and then come back.

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths