Landing my first gig

[0c421e3b]

Hello to you

I wanted to reach out to the community as I am having difficulty finding my first project.  I have spent a lot of time crafting my profile, and being conscious of how it looks to a prospective client.  

I have a deep background in digital marketing/search engine optimization, but after applying for nearly 15 gigs, I'm not having any success, whatsoever.  I've also made an assumption that it's important to have at least one gig so that prospective clients can see some kind of track record of success?  

I suspect that part of the difficulty in finding work has a lot to do with the number of proposals a project might receive. However, as I've been unable to find any work, I wanted to reach out to you to ask for feedback.  

thanks much for any help you can provide

[martina_plaschka]

15 proposals is nothing, but you can definitely to a few things to improve your profile. A good professional picture can really help. But most importantly, you need a portfolio. It can be anything you have done you have permission to publish or own the copyright.  

[0c421e3b]

Sorry, I didn't mean 15, I meant 45 proposals.  Once I have resources, I definitely will take a professional picture. That's a really good piece of advice.   I will also look at putting together a portfolio, something I can do sooner than later. Thanks again, have a lovely day

[abu_usama · Accepted solution]

Hi Todd B the only thing i have to advise you that just be patient with your bidding and try Upwork advance searching features to filter out only bid those projects whose payment method is verified in that post less than 5 proposals were submitted  or you can also set clients who have hire at least 1 to 9 sellers and by ending of that you should bid only the job in which you are confident there are a lot of jobs on daily basis so don't worry about job posts just only select those jobs in which you are confident or familiar with that type of project in this case you will find a better and a quick job stay blessed 

[0c421e3b]

TY, muchly.

Todd

[catsie42]

Definitely what the others said above. You're off to a good, conscious start so definitely keep at it! One thing I wanted to add is that Upwork Academy may be a great resource in case you haven't gone through the learning paths yet. It can walk you through a lot of helpful do's and don't's and may even help you get a portfolio started or boost your change at landing your first gig. 

[0c421e3b]

Thank you....I will do that.  I am merly feeling discouraged,

[carlosmst]

Honestly, everything takes time. All that was said here is true. A good image doesn't need to be professional, it just needs to convey confidence. Highlight all the work you can to show a good portfolio. It took me 3 months to get my work and from then on it's been going well. Keep it up.