🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Re: Looking for a client's perspective regard...
Page options
seejanewrite
Community Member

Looking for a client's perspective regarding preferred qualifications

Good morning everyone!

 

I have a question for clients:  when someone who doesn't meet your preferred qualifications sends a proposal anyway, do you even look at it?  Is there some sort of flag that comes up and you just delete those right from the start?

 

I have just completed my first job with a perfect rating but it hasn't shown up yet.  Because of this, I'm not meeting the 90% JSS. I also see Rising Talent being a preferred qualification that I don't have.  

 

I've sent out 20 proposals since I've been here and have had one job.  For the ones I have sent despite not having the JSS and Rising Talent, I always acknowledge the lack of preferred qualifications, but I explain why I am still the right candidate for the job.

 

My skills are a dime a dozen here and it's not uncommon for a posting to have 20+ other proposals within a short period of time.

 

I've only been here for less than 2 weeks so I shouldn't complain.  I just don't know if it's worth using connections on proposals that are going to be automatically discarded.

 

Thanks!

2 REPLIES 2
gilbert-phyllis
Community Member

Becky, you won't have a JSS until you have completed at least 5-6 jobs with several different clients. (I can't remember the exact threshold but you can find it in the Help section.) Before then, you may be flagged as a Rising Talent, at UW's discretion. The RT badge vanishes as soon as you qualify for a JSS.

 

I expect the use of Preferred Qualifications varies from client to client. As a FL, I have never paid much attention to them. I believe the clients who live and die by them are inexperienced themselves, which is in itself a big red flag to me.

 

It took me nearly a month to land my first job here, a small hourly contract at slightly more than half my current average rate. It was another two months to land my second client but meanwhile, the first one hired me for a larger, fixed-rate project and for several others after that. It was another six months before I really started to get traction--and I was diligently searching and submitting proposals the whole time. 

 

You might want to think about specializing a little more. Your profile seems to be about writing, but then you mention data entry and spreadsheets--which is an entirely different direction.

 

This is a long game. Good luck!

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Hi, Becky.

 

If you can consistently get 1 job for every 20 proposals you send, that might be pretty good for someone new to Upwork, especially if you get paid a rate on those jobs that you think is in line with your needs.

 

Being new on Upwork, I don’t recommend you limit your proposals to only jobs where you fit all of the client’s “requirements.” Not because those “requirements” are not important, but because clients often don’t know exactly what they want. Every work specialty in Upwork is probably different in this respect, but if you are certain you can do a job then submit a proposal and tell the client why you’re the right person.

 

If your skills really are “dime a dozen here,” you are unlikely to have great financial success on Upwork. Dime-a-dozen skills are very low-paying (duh!) and frustrating because on Upwork many low-paying clients are also low in professional skills, low in work experience and low in people skills.

 

Good luck.

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths