Multiple Freelancer/Developer profiles tagged to a company

[018a3b8e]

is it normal for freelancers to use one profile to respond to jobs and then ask to hire another freelancer profile which is tagged with same Agency/Company.

Can this way they keep a high rated(display) profile which has done small easy jobs, received food reviews, to respond to job posts, and another profile for actual work in case they get bad reviews for any low quality work ?

Can freelancers create fake client profiles, do fake jobs(move payments within their accounts), get high rated reviews, just by paying Upwork's 3 % commission ?

I am about to hire someone for an end to end Website developent job so want to vet their work. What are some ways to do it ?

[mtngigi]

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T G wrote:

is it normal for freelancers to use one profile to respond to jobs and then ask to hire another freelancer profile which is tagged with same Agency/Company.

Can this way they keep a high rated(display) profile which has done small easy jobs, received food reviews, to respond to job posts, and another profile for actual work in case they get bad reviews for any low quality work ?

Can freelancers create fake client profiles, do fake jobs(move payments within their accounts), get high rated reviews, just by paying Upwork's 3 % commission ?

I am about to hire someone for an end to end Website developent job so want to vet their work. What are some ways to do it ?

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There are lots of great, honest and talented freelancers on Upwork; and there are also freelancers you want to vet very carefully. If someone is caught out doing the things you suggest, they risk having their profiles suspended.

One suggestion is to short list profiles you're interested in, then hire a few of them to do small paid tests. Aside from being able to determine their skills, you'll also get a feel for how good they are at communication - so important for jobs to go smoothly.

I'll flag your post to get a mod's attention and hopefully one will be along soon to help you out better than I can.

[018a3b8e]

Thanks for your response Virginia.

Follow up question then is - I went to agency profile, tried to browse the profile of a client who gave bad feedback, got message - profile not found/available.

Then i went to one of the developer's profile on that agency's list, same message.

So I am confused why profiles are getting(allowed to be) removed. Then people can just come back with new names and faces, and probably agency names too after they get bad reviews. Is this what might be happening. Doesn't Upwork suspend activity on profile and retain the history of User's profile ?

Although this agency/developers do show 20k+ in earnings, 15-20 jobs, and 89%+ success.

I just got bit skeptical when i was in the end told to hire another person rather than the one i was talking to for 1 month. Just trying to understand what it means, why would freelancers do that ?

[018a3b8e]

I think i am able to see all developer reviews on Agency profile which kind of gives me an idea of the overall performance. So should be ok going with either of the developer profile.

Thanks for everyone's time.

[mtngigi]

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T G wrote:

Thanks for your response Virginia.

Follow up question then is - I went to agency profile, tried to browse the profile of a client who gave bad feedback, got message - profile not found/available.

Then i went to one of the developer's profile on that agency's list, same message.

So I am confused why profiles are getting(allowed to be) removed. Then people can just come back with new names and faces, and probably agency names too after they get bad reviews. Is this what might be happening. Doesn't Upwork suspend activity on profile and retain the history of User's profile ?

Although this agency/developers do show 20k+ in earnings, 15-20 jobs, and 89%+ success.

I just got bit skeptical when i was in the end told to hire another person rather than the one i was talking to for 1 month. Just trying to understand what it means, why would freelancers do that ?

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You're welcome. But know that I'm a freelancer; I have no knowledge of the ins and outs of agencies on Upwork and how they operate. The suggestion I made is one I've read many devs suggest to do, as part of the vetting process. It is also suggested that for really large projects it's best to use a project manager to keep things in line and running smoothly (and there are good project managers here as well).

A mod will be more informed about hiring agencies. It being the weekend, it might be a bit before one comes along ... but someone will.

Good luck with your project.

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi T G,

I'd like to address a few questions you had about freelancer and agency reputation. 

While you can see feedback other clients left for freelancer or agency, you will only be able to view the information about the client and feedback other freelancers provided to the client if the job was posted publicly. That said, feedback manipulation is a serious violation of Upwork TOS (as noted here) and a dedicated team would take action as soon as they become aware of any instances of it.

I'd also like to confirm that feedback for all contracts completed under the agency by agency members will show on the agency profile. That includes feedback on agency contracts completed by freelancers who are no longer part of the agency and even no longer on Upwork. Overall, agencies are teams working together and it's not uncommon for one member of the agency to bid on behalf of other agency members and handle communication with the client.

For more information on hiring a member of an agency, check out this help article.