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[bellamy_kimberly]

Hello UpWork Community,

Could some view my profile and give valuable feedback that would help me stand out to clients and land my first job?

Thanks,
Kimberly B.

[nicksoucy]

Hello Kimberly!

First, double-check for typos and clean up redundancies, especially since you bill yourself as an editor. I caught a few (experience, Google,transcend beyond” etc).

It’s easy to make typos on your phone, so maybe print it out and give it a second look. 🙂

Instead of “Advanced”, maybe say Professional Writer and Editor

Hi, I’m Kimberly,

I am a professional writer with 5 years of experience writing in a corporate environment (does this include technical writing? That’s a good keyword clients look for), combined with over 7 seven years of academic writing (experience—spelling).

Maybe rewrite this section, suggestions below—-

My portfolio of work includes years of high-level proofreading, writing and editing, producing compelling marketing content, as well as various genres of academic and technical writing.

Deadlines are sacred to me, and I believe in being attentive to client needs. I also value building long-term work relationships when possible.

Should you need someone with experience outside writing and editing, my work experience trancends (beyond—redundant, just say transcends) writing skills.

I also have experience and/or education in the following areas:

* Adminstrative Duties (virtual assistant is another term clients look for)
* Project Management
* Goolge (spelling) Applications for Business (Adwords, Adsense, Analytics)
* Surveying

Welcome to Upwork, and good luck!

[bellamy_kimberly]

Hi, Thanks so much for the feedback and suggestions. This community helps.
After I make adjustments, would you mind doing a final check?

Thanks again,
Kimberly Bellamy

[bellamy_kimberly]

Nick,
Thanks a million for your honest feedback. I made some changes and if you don't mind, could you check out my profile one more time?

I did include info about my portfolio of work, but I don't have any work samples besides my college level papers. How would I go about proving credibility for potential jobs?

Also, how would a client view my profile picture?

Thanks,
Kimberly B.

[nicksoucy]

Hi,

I took another peek and you still have some awkward commas there, so comb through it carefully.

Re: your photo, it looks fine. You are smiling and it’s a clear photo.

Re: your price, since you don’t have much of a portfolio, you will have a hard time charging $40-ish an hour. You should look at other freelancers with talents similar to you and mimic their rates. Maybe start at $15 or $20 an hour for now. You can change your rates later if needed.

Re: portfolio, there are clients looking for people to proofread phD dissertations and such, so if you can show a college paper you edited with Track Changes, that could help. Otherwise, college papers won’t do much in my opinion.

Do you have any samples from your corporate job that you could get permission to use in a portfolio?

If not, start writing some different types of samples that you use just for your portfolio. It doesnt matter at this point that you won’t be publishing those anywhere else; it at least shows clients that Kimberly can write a technical product outline or a white paper or press release or a whatever.

Also, take some Upwork tests, and only choose to show the results if you do well. For you, take the U.S. spelling test and anything relevant to your writing/editing pursuits. That gives more credence to you purported talents.

Learn everything you can and always work your butt off, especially in delivering excellent work quality for your first 5 assignments (and all of them, obviously). You want perfect ratings for your job score and the likelihood of getting re-hired again and again. 🙂

Best of luck to you!

[petra_r]

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@Kimberly B wrote:

I did include info about my portfolio of work, but I don't have any work samples besides my college level papers. How would I go about proving credibility for potential jobs?

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 If you have no work samples, what did you write in the 5 years of professional technical writing? Did you really do 5 years of technical (!) writing or did you just stick that in there because Nick suggested it?

Interestingly not a single one of the jobs in your work history hints at you having spent the last 5 years as a "technical writer in a corporate environment."

If you have no portfolio items, write some.

Lose the "Hi I am Kimberly" - Clients can see your name. It is a waste of the first line and utterly irrelevant. You are not writing a letter, you are (supposedly) writing a professional overview.

[bellamy_kimberly]

I wrote investigative reports, which is technical writing, for a government agency. I also proofread and suggested edits to investigative reports for two seperate investigators who requested my help. That type of work is strictly confidential an therefore, can not be released to the public. I believe my profile clearly states this work history.

Next time you respond, do so in the correct tone or do not respond at all. I'm here for honest feedback, not to be made out to be a liar. In fact, keep the negative insinuations to yourself.

[gilbert-phyllis]

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@Kimberly B wrote:
I wrote investigative reports, which is technical writing, for a government agency. I also proofread and suggested edits to investigative reports for two seperate investigators who requested my help. That type of work is strictly confidential an therefore, can not be released to the public. I believe my profile clearly states this work history.

Next time you respond, do so in the correct tone or do not respond at all. I'm here for honest feedback, not to be made out to be a liar. In fact, keep the negative insinuations to yourself.

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 Honest feedback is exactly what you got. One of the quickest ways to fail here is internal inconsistencies in your profile. Petra neither said nor insinuated that you are lying about anything. She simply pointed out that your work history doesn't seem to support the claims you're making about skills and experience. A prospective client sees the first line or two of your profile. If that piques their interest, they'll open it and most will spend a few seconds scanning. If it doesn't seem to add up, they'll move on and likely never check you out again.

You came here requesting advice. Some of the most successful FLs on the platform regularly take the time to respond to such posts and their feedback is gold for anyone who understands it is not personal criticism but generous, honest input.

[petra_r]

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@Kimberly B wrote:
I'm here for honest feedback

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 Evidently not.

[BojanS]

Hi All,

I would like to ask you to keep the conversation professional and avoid personal attacks. Please be mindful of the Community Guidelines and respectful toward other members of the Community.

[martina_plaschka]

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@Kimberly B wrote:
Hello UpWork Community,

Could some view my profile and give valuable feedback that would help me stand out to clients and land my first job?

Thanks,
Kimberly B.

---

 The first line of your profile is the most important - what your client will see first before deciding to look further - so don't waste it on a greeting or your name. 

Research sucessful writers and learn from their profiles. Your hourly rate is a weird number - you don't want to come across as quirky (or maybe you do), so change that to an even number. 

Also, to stand out, take many relevant tests, and display all your excellent results - never the below average ones. 

Lastly, competition is huge in your field - your profile needs to really grab a client with words, right now it is not doing that. 

[bellamy_kimberly]

Thanks. How do I research other profiles?

[martina_plaschka · Accepted solution]

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@Kimberly B wrote:
Thanks. How do I research other profiles?

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 You go to "Find jobs" and select freelancers instead of jobs, then click the magnifying glass symbol, then select further relevant criteria.