New To Upwork

[clareconlan]

Hello, I am very new to upwork and freelancing in general. I wanted to know if there are any tips for extreme newcomers like myself. 

[williambernal]

CC,

Welcome to UW!

Unfortunately you've picked a fairly tumultuous time to join the UW freelancing ranks. There are a great many unstable variables currently at play on both sides of the UW fence (clients/FL's), so my personal "tip" would be-

1. Keep your expectations low

2. Keep your outside income options wide open.

And as always- Work Smart and Work Safe!

Best of luck,

wb

[martina_plaschka]

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Clare C wrote:

Hello, I am very new to upwork and freelancing in general. I wanted to know if there are any tips for extreme newcomers like myself. 

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Regarding your profile, find a better headline, nobody is going to search for that term, and also don't refer to material that you provide upon request. The client likely will get a large number of proposals, and will not have the time to request anything that is not in your profile and portfolio, so you kick yourself out of the race at that point. And you need a portfolio showing what you can do. 

[rlouw]

Hi Clare,

Welcome to upwork!

I recommend starting with Upwork's online tutorials.

Good luck!

[purplepony]

Clare, there's an abundance of information within the "Help and Support" areas and within this Community; especially Vlad's contribution at the top of "New to Upwork" in "Community Discussions."

Frankly, just about anything; if not anything, for newbies and those of us that have been around awhile can be found within these areas. All one has to do is search for the information, view/listen, absorb, and put it into practice.

Best of luck to you, Clare!

[mwiggenhorn]

Initially, the client only sees the first two lines of your profile.  Lose your first sentence completely.  Go into more detail about your experience and  expertise.

When you are new, pretty much any invitation you get will be a scam.  Don't agree to Google Hangouts interviews, don't get fooled by the scammer using the name of a real company, don't agree to any payments off the platform (including equipment, software, whatever), don't give out personal identification information to anyone except Upwork itself.  When you are new, keep all communication through Upwork until you have some traction and understanding of how it all works.