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MichaelJ
Community Manager
Community Manager

Share your onboarding experience

Hi Community!

 

We’re always looking for ways to improve the experience of creating an account and getting started on Upwork. Who better to help us find opportunities than freelancers and clients who are new to Upwork? We would really appreciate your feedback on any challenges you faced while getting started on Upwork. This includes the signup process, creating your profile, submitting proposals, searching for jobs etc. We’re open to all feedback, but you can use these questions to guide your thinking:

  • What wasn't clear?
  • What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
  • What would have helped you in the beginning?
  • What have you learned that has made it easier for you to find work?

We look forward to your responses and helping to improve the experience of new users.


Cheers,
Mike
194 REPLIES 194
8fc1f79f
Community Member

i am gald to be here...thank you

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

westinitbd
Community Member

New at upwork. Need help from all community member. There are some situation I not understand. Try to understand hole upwork system.

arsalanodesk
Community Member

HI, I am not new on upwork. But! I am still seeking that how to make cllients more to be ongoing work like longterm clients. Actually so many clinets are fixed here. So no longer available to give more work, Just worked with so many clients but not ongoing clients. I am looking for. Connects are too limited now. So I am suffereing to get more clients here on upwork.. Hope so to get new interview soon!

I don't think this should be the goal. See, if a client wanted to hire someone permanently, he'd get a permanent office employee on full payroll, who's more dependent and easier to keep tabs on, more loyal. So a permanent relationship on Upwork is possible only if it is much cheaper, so going for it, you in most cases resign to being a sort of cheap labor.

 

Do fixed price work. Carve yourself a niche where you will be the best and soon you will see clients paying a month's pay for a day of work - because it will be "save my ass" kind of work - and yes maybe, a week of looking for the next client, but still.

awal_ali
Community Member

Thanks for your  helping post

kingrandi16
Community Member

Hi Mike,

Randi K. here.

I created an account early last year. Didn't follow thru for various reasons.

Good thing I didn't. I had to find out how much I didn't know! 🙃

As I am a newbie, I have yet to do work for a client.

Now that I am back, having issues creating a new profile.

Support is working to find out about my phone number.

For some reason, I can't complete my profile because we keep getting an error message.

E/M says: The phone number is used by another account.

Support is still working on it.

So......

How I go about getting hooked up with an agency here at Upwork?

Hi Randi . Unfortunetly upwork not offers to make multiple accounts.
Secondly if you are a freelancer. U cannot go through agency. U should be
freelancer account first.

OK THANKS!
qali2010
Community Member

 Dear Support Staff

RE:  Finding a freelancer by name

I would like to find a freelancer by name.  Please could you let me know if this is possible on Upwork as it is not clear how this can be done.

 

The freelancers names have been recommended to me by a company.  It would be ideal if I could locate their profiles to discuss the work that needs to be completed.

 

Hope to hear from you soon.

Kind Regards

Q Ali

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Quamar,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. One of our agents reached out to you already to assist you with locating the freelancers you're looking for. You can locate the ticket here

 

Also, you can check this help article for more information on how search engine works and some tips on how to locate the best talent for your projects. 

 

Happy hiring! 

~ Bojan
Upwork
e4dd5645
Community Member

Hello sir Mike.. I am new here. I still haven't found any jobs. Can you help me? Thanks

daretodofitness
Community Member

I am trying to set up my profile and in the category options, the services I offer are not listed. I have seen other personal trainers listed on this site and this is why I chose to set up my business here. So can you tell me how they got listed on your site? What option do I need to choose?

Hi Jude,

 

We currently don't have a separate category for personal trainers. However, I've shared your feedback with our product team and they already have it on their roadmap. Meanwhile, I've seen freelancers who work in similar fields select Training and Development under Accounting and Consulting or Personal/Virtual Assistance under Admin Support. 


Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork
ca10550e
Community Member

Hi Mike:

 

I'm a newbie but I'm stuck. Just about everything I click on returns me to the main help splash page. Even the click here for more help button doesn't work. I've tried three browsers on two devices with no success. How do I get help on this?

 

Best wishes,

Ted Eubank

MichaelJ
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Ted,

 

It sounds like you might be on the Help Center site. Please go to www.upwork.com.


Cheers,
Mike
2341d6ad
Community Member

Thanks for the info.

clarekamala108
Community Member

Hi Mike,

 

I'm looking for some support actually!

I am so far really loving UpWork, I am uploading plenty of information and I would really appreciate some feedback on my profile.

 

I've submitted 8 proposals now, and not received any feedback, I am willing to submit several a day, as I am seeing interesting roles - but I feel stuck where I am as I am runnng out of 'connects'.

How can I keep progressing and am I missing something?

 

Thanks in advance for your support

Clare 

Hi Clare,

 

Thanks for your message. I reviewed your profile and you're off to a good start. Your profile Overview is a little difficult to scan. I would suggest using bullet points to more clearly define the services you offer and your past experiences. Also, the beginning of your profile overview displays in prospective client search results and it’s your first 200-character pitch. So, your first sentence should include clear, relevant information about your primary skill sets and expertise. To give a clear impression you’re the person the client wants to talk to, here are some additional tips for writing a great Overview.

Don't give up! It can sometimes take 15 or more proposals to win your first contract.  You will receive 10 free Connects each month at the start of your billing cycle. If you run out, you can purchase ConnectsFreelancer Plus accounts receive 80 Connects each month.

 

I hope this helps!


Cheers,
Mike

Great thanks so much for the feedback, really appreciated!
mywaqasahmedit
Community Member

agreed with you as i know, people only want to get work rather then to follow process and procedures.

ryan098
Community Member

Being a new member of this amazing platform, I feel the dynamics of the working environment is a bit hazy, then again I could be wrong since I have'nt started working on any project as of yet. But the platform experience is good in so far as the way freelancers and the community work together. I just passed my Upwork readiness test. Looking forward to a positive contrib to the community.

Regards
khalidchishti4
Community Member

Hello, 

Thank you very much for the support. 

First of all I would like to appreciate the support team who always guide me where ever I'm stuck in between. 

 

To be very honest for me it took one year to get my profile approved by upwork. 

I understand,since upwork is being globally so there many different kind of client who require different kind of skills. 

So I tried to enhance some of my skills and thank GOD upwork approved my profile. Lolsss!!

On the other hand it took two weeks for me to find my first US Client who approaced me for Business Development in Block Chain. 

 

Immediately just to make my best ranking I accepted all terms and Conditions. 

It is not a Regular work but yes whenever I have meetings I showup and add those hours in daily work. 

  • What wasn't clear? Well, there are many new bies who do not have much skills, how some one can start from scrach.
  • What do you know now that you wish you knew then? I didn't have idea about upwork either freelancing. I'm later on it but at least I'm here now. 
  • What would have helped you in the beginning? In the beginning client himself approached me and I accepted the cotract on immediate bases. 
  • What have you learned that has made it easier for you to find work? If the freelancer has already running client, the other clients can see that freelancer already in the productivity which helps to to find another job. 
50cdae9e
Community Member

Hello:

 

Most of the information provided was fantastic, however, the Upwork system allowed me to log-in as with (1) of my google accounts as ProfessorBabs and when I was made an offer for work my Legal name became mismatched as user name and legal name are different. Maybe I am the only one this happened to? or I misread something in the beginning, but maybe Before freelancers can submit a proposal they should be required to input legal name etc.?

 

a38aa3c5
Community Member

Hi Mike I am having issues with trying to move on from the sign up page. It will not allow me to go past my housing information and I have tried to type it in various amounts of ways? Any idea why or what I can do to fix that.

bryantdavis1986
Community Member

ell I think as a Software Engineer the skills being limited to I think 6, is very limiting. I have 50 on my LinkedIn and over that on my Resume. Seperating your skills into Languages, Frameworks, Tools and Other would be beneficial if you plan to expand on that.

rukminimaj
Community Member

Hi Mike. I really need to clarify a few doubts that I have. I have just created my profile and need someone to guide me for a few steps. Is there anyone I can ask?

Hi Rukmini,

 

Are you experiencing any problems on your end or something is confusing? You can follow the instructions Here on how to complete your profile up to 100%. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork
985be1ca
Community Member

Hi there,

I am pretty new to Upwork. I have got a response to the first proposal I sent. Then I have started two jobs too. But the problem I am facing is very silly. I only send proposals to that posts that I can complete with satisfaction. I have sent approximately 25 proposals. Most of the job posts are still hanging. There is no reply from clients, even I have a proposal where my client last open the job post 14 days ago. No one was interviewed, no one was hired. This is too much frustrating. I don't know maybe I am doing something wrong but would you like to share with me the correct way to find the best job posts.

ff4f195d
Community Member

Hey all!

 

The onboarding experience was just how it is supposed to be, and you have the forum for any questions that you might have.

 

Received my first job after a couple of days, probably lucky, had 2 jobs after this since then it has been quiet, get invited from time to time.

 

Wish everyone best of luck, I assume having a strong profile will help.

 

Kind regards,

Petrus van Rijn

m_sulaiman_
Community Member

There should be a status bar in Upwork for new users to know that their profile has been approved or not.

azamkhan97
Community Member

Recently I have completed a job on upwork but I don't have any feedback part showing up. why?

Hi Azam, 

 

 I checked your account, and it looks like the contract is still active. You may want to reach out to the client and politely request for them to end the contract. Once the client ends the contract, they will be asked to submit feedback for you to complete the process. Here's the help article to learn more. 

~ Joanne
Upwork
shadi-m-kiswani
Community Member

hello everyone i am new to upwork i could really use your help and tips i have completed my profile 100%  and having hard time getting my first job i have been sending proposals for over week now without respond

i think the problem  is getting the clients trust because my account is new my earrnings and previous jobs is 0 , i noticed the id verfication badge and thought thats my problem but i cant find verfication in settings  thanks in advance

shadi 

saidy123
Community Member

Goodnight , I am new to Up work and at first it was not clear what the conets were and that they were ending while you were applying for offers, at this moment I want to continue applying but I realize that I have to pay to buy more conets and I still have not got my first contract. I suggest that the platform should give special treatment to those of us who are just starting out and that maybe wait until we get a first contract to be able to request the purchase of connect.

 

toobakhan13
Community Member

I have started making my profile back in 2019 I guess but after attempting several times, It keeps on rejecting again and again. Then again in 2021 I updated my profile and submitted it again for approval and yaayy it gets approved this time. I think consistency is the key to get the profile approved. 

 

Now I am new at Upwork and submitting proposals to get my first job.

Haven't got it yet but I am hoping for the best.

Congratulations on this achievement!

Keep sending a proposal on the job and soon your proposal will be accepted.






profitpros
Community Member

I have found the onboarding frustrating.  There seems to be no one to ask direct, simple questions to.  The fact that online companies do not accept a simple phone call does not help.

 

For example, I have submitted four outside clients for testimonials.  Only one of them received the email from Upwork.  The other three have checked their spam folders and found nothing.  I have searched to see how I can request Upwork to resend the requests, but to no avail.

 

Wasting too much time in this app is very unproductive.

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Lisa,

 

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with the email addresses of the clients that have not received the requests you sent them? I’ll check that for you and assist you accordingly.

 

Thank you.

~ Bojan
Upwork
michelerumpf
Community Member

Hi Mike -

I am new to Upwork and just got my first offer. The sign-up process and profile develop was easy. However, here's not a whole lot of clarity on the hiring process. For example, my client (I unofficially accepted), offered me the job in her first message re my proposal. We had a Zoom meeting off platform today re scope of work and all the details. How does she make the offer on the platform? Through messaging? It would be awesome if there were actual people to talk to.

Hi Michele,

 

Please know, communicating outside of Upwork before a contract is in place is against the Terms of Service. If you need to interview using Zoom, the service is integrated directly into the Upwork platform! 

Yes, your client needs to send an offer via Upwork and you will receive a notification in your message room and via email once they do. We advise you always make sure your contract is showing under My Jobs before starting any work. If you have any further questions feel free to ask!

 

Thanks! 

~Andrea
Upwork
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