Impossible to find work - Nothing but SCAMS

[decca4eb]

I'm starting to think I wasted my time getting on this site. I have a BA degree in Literature Writing and would like an editor or proofreading position. Still, everyone here is looking for people with insane experience despite offering paltry pay. I have also tried applying to similar jobs off this site, and I am losing hope because I can't get a response from anyone. I don't think it's possible unless you are lucky or know the right people. I have applied to many of these positions, and nothing works.

I can't show "examples" because I am new to it and want to get into freelancing, but I can't because no one gives me the time of day. 

To make matters worse, all the jobs I applied for on this site have been SCAMS. I got all my Connects refunded each time. 

I noticed there's supposed to be "coaching" here, but none of them are open. What even is the point? This site is so unhelpful to brand new people with no prior freelancing experience. 

Does ANYONE know a place where to get started and get legitment work? 

[luce-neidert]

Tara, at the moment Upwork has a problem, a huge quantity of scam jobs are being posted. This is not always the case, otherwise no one would be using Upwork. The easiest way not to be bothered by these is the following:

. select only jobs where you see green stars at the bottom of the offer. It means that this client has already hired and paid at least one freelancer.

. if you have the time, please flag the jobs that seem to be a scam, this helps Upwork get rid of them.

. you can minimize the offers you don't want to see by clicking on the thumbs down to the right top of the offer, and then on any explanation you  want. This will minimize the size of the job offer so that it won't be as visible.

Another advice is not to spend too much time looking for a job during the week-end, as most companies are closed during the week-ends.

[decca4eb]

Thanks for the head's up. I'll also try to look more during weekdays. 

[martina_plaschka]

You can upload any of your prior work into the portfolio section, provided you own it or have permission from the owner. 

You don't need personal coaching. After spending a good amount doing all the Academy courses, studying the help articles and the forum, you will know the basics of freelancing on upwork. After doing that, refine your profile, which - I promise you - will look very different then that it is looking now. One word: customer focus. Two words. 

[decca4eb]

You proved my point: I don't have any prior experience or work in the field I want to enter. That's precisely my problem. How can I get experience and have something to show for it if I can't find a single job willing to take me in?

I also find it overwhelming that now I have to take courses just to use a website. This is all highly discouraging. 

[martina_plaschka]

You have no prior work to show? Nothing? That seems hard to believe, how can you offer a service you have never done before?

I also find it overwhelming that now I have to take courses just to use a website. This is all highly discouraging. 

Well, you are not just using a website. You are trying to sell a service and earn money.

There are a number of important things to learn before diving in. I can't recommend learning by doing, there are too many mistakes newbies make, sometimes unwittingly, that end their upwork career before it even began. 

The courses are not meant to annoy people, they are meant to help them with their first steps. 

[decca4eb]

I found this site through an article that advertises it as an excellent place for newcomers to find work. I was led to believe I could start something here, but I'm quickly learning that I can't.

I genuinely have no prior work to show regarding editing and proofreading. The most I've done was office-related, confidential documents that I can't share even if I wanted to. 

[martina_plaschka]

Can you link this article? I don't believe they advertise upwork as a place for people without experience to find work. It simply isn't. If they use the term newcomers specifically, they probably mean people new to freelancing, but not new to working. 

[feed_my_eyes]

I don't think that most clients require someone to have "insane" experience, but they do want to hire people who can demonstrate that they're capable of doing the project. With no portfolio, and a profile that mainly talks about your customer service skills, you are not giving clients any reason to hire you. 

It doesn't matter that YOU want to gain experience or that YOU want a job - what matters is what clients want. Why should someone hire you, instead of the 75 or more other people who apply for every project? Until you figure this out, you will continue to have difficulty getting anyone to hire you.

[decca4eb]

How can I provide a portfolio when no one is willing to hire me? What kind of advice is that? Put a portfolio that doesn't exist? You proved my point that unless you have prior experience, you have little to no chance of landing a job here. That's why I said this feels like a waste of time. 

When I signed up, I didn't see anything that said I had to pick a single field to be good. Without putting in any of my prior work experience, my resume would be blank because customer service is not a valuable skill. What the hell is the point, then?

[martina_plaschka]

Well, if you have absolutely no experience, you are right, this is not the right place to gain it. There are no internships or trainings. It is presupposed that people who create a profile have skills that clients are willing to pay for. 

Many people creating a profile research the job postings, and the freelancers who are offering the same skills, to get an idea what the marketplace offers in terms of supply and demand, and then make an informed decision what service they can best competitively sell. 

[decca4eb]

The person who wrote the article that led me to this site should be fired. If this is not for newcomers with no experience, why did they say it is? What a load of crockery. 

[feed_my_eyes]

You say that you have a degree in literature writing, so how was it possible to get that, without having to write anything? 

But yes, it's true that without any prior experience, and if you don't want to make much of an effort, then there's little chance of you finding work here. When I first decided to try freelancing, I spent months reading everything that I could get my hands on about how to run a business, took marketing courses and put together a portfolio. I also had 5 years of experience. Even then, it took me over a month of bidding to land my first job. If you read an article saying that this process would be easy, then I'm very sorry, but it's not. 

[elisa_b]

You seriously need to improve your profile, it mentions 3 or 4 different specializations that don't go along with the title. The first one is about sales and customer service - why should I hire you, when I expect from the title you are a professional writer or proofreader?

Clients don't care if you are able to read and understand complex texts. They are interested in someone satisfying their needs.

Administrative assistant and digital artist are also off topic. Choose a path and pursue it, discard all the rest.

That said, competition is fierce here on Upwork. Having a great profile could not be enough to get good jobs. But not having it reduces the possibility close to zero. Consider it an investment.

[decca4eb]

Where did I say I am a professional writer or proofreader on my profile? I put that as a title because it gave me the prompt to do so when I signed up. I didn't see anything that said I have to be a professional to land a job! 

Again, like the other comments, you guys just proved my point. So unless you already have some previous experience in a field, don't expect to find work. I might as well delete my entire resume based on your advice since none of it matters, given that I have NEVER had a job in this field and am looking for one. Great advice to a newcomer: delete all your prior work experience and put a portfolio that doesn't exist. 

Maybe this site should stop advertising itself as a way to get into the freelancing gig when all the advice is to polish a profile with experience you don't have. 

[martina_plaschka]

It should be obvious that you can't sell a service you have no experience in. 

But don't delete your profile just yet - you can only have one in your lifetime on upwork. If you delete it now, you can never have one again.

Who knows, in 5 or 10 years, you might have aquired a skill that is in high demand, or maybe in 40 years, when you retire from your real job, you want to do something satisfying on the side. It would be a shame if you didn't have the chance to do that. 

[decca4eb]

This is the most discouraging reply I've received yet. Essentially, give up because you don't have experience. Real job? What the hell does that even mean? I came to Upwork to FIND real work.  What an utterly ludicrous statement. 

[sullivanliz]

With all due respect, it doesn't sound like you're ready to freelance on Upwork. All the advice you've been given is sound, but you're more interested in complaining. People (me, for example) have made a go of it from a similar (or even 'worse') position. With the attitude you're displaying here though, you're going to struggle.

[8617b902]

good suggession, one should wait till his kneejoints deny to hold him sit.

[kkears]

Tara, 

You've received a lot of sound advice here. If you are wanting to immediately start making a living wage, Upwork is not a realistic place for that. It takes time to build up your profile and experience on this platform -- are you in a position to put in the time and effort to get the ball rolling? 

If so, I'd first recommend putting together a portfolio before you offer services here. Reach out to friends, local businesses, etc. and offer to edit a writing piece/some kind of content of theirs. That gives you a sample in your portfolio (like a before & after).  You don't have to have official "jobs" to create samples. 

As it's been mentioned, scams are a major issue here, but I've particularly noticed more of them in the editing/proofreading niche vs. writing. Are you confident in your writing skills to focus on that as your service instead of editing/proofreading? 

[elisa_b]

Don't be fooled by what you read in an article, found somewhere on the internet, saying that this platform (or any others) gives you easy access to freelancing, earning money online, and so on. I have seen tons of articles like those, representing a non-existent reality, written by inexperienced copywriters rephrasing something they found elsewhere online, without even checking facts. 

All that glitters is not gold.

If you want to pursue a career in a specific field, let's say copywriting or proofreading, you can take courses, offer your free work to charities or associations, and so on. You can get experience in these and other ways, and then come back to Upwork again when you have a portfolio and confidence in your skills.

Surely you don't want to build your experience on the shoulders of paying clients - that's not how it works. In order to work on Upwork, you need to have something to offer first.

I am sorry if you found that reality here is not as expected, but please do not kill us messengers.