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9cad714b
Community Member

Still haven't got my first job

I have a lot of experience in a lot of areas but I am having trouble getting my first job.

 

Could someone please check my profile to make sure it looks legit?  https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01e3ba2560bb722e59

18 REPLIES 18
kingconsulting
Community Member

Your profile looks very good! For administrative type work, you seem qualified at first glance!  Just a few things I might add:

 

  • Add how many Words Per Minute you type, and your accuracy. 
  • Have you taken any shorthand, transcription, or stenography courses? Even if it's not a certificate or a college degree, if you've taken some general courses, you may want to add those details. Also, that includes any advanced Excel courses, which you should find easily online. 
  • Your $3 seems very low. Cheap is good, but that's practically giving away work. It makes me feel suspicious. Canada's minimum wage is $13+, right? Consider upping your rate to something like $9/hour and see if that changes any algorithms on the site.  Or, hell, say something like $14/hour + 50% discount for first time clients and projects.
  • Consider crafting an Upwork portfolio with a package deal. Maybe something like $150/week for 10 hours worth of virtual admin services.
  • Consider adding "report writing, editing, and research" to your list of skills. 


Trolls some other freelancer profiles that do the same kind of stuff you do. I looked up "Upwork Dispatchers" and found this person...she has 100+ jobs under her belt. See what she puts on her profile and see if you can do something similar. Her rate appears to be about $12/hour. 

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01f25fddbb0c09b917

Wow, that's awesome and detailed feedback. Thank you so much, Christine! 👍

tinahkivumbi
Community Member

Your profile isn't bad but it's disorganized. Our clients don't have a lot of time to read all those details. Remember we are many freelancers, they will just move to the next one without wasting time. Please try and organize your introduction part. Consider having the first three sentences define you because clients are more likely going to read that little about you and determine if you are a good fit. YouTube have so many guidelines that will help you improve your profile, kindly refer to them.

Thank you so much Christine! 👍

You're welcome, i hope it helps you.

I already made the changes. Thank you again Christine.

faizan_tanoli
Community Member

Hey Tharshi, your profile looks good.

 

One thing I'd like to add: Did you know you can ask people outside upwork to share their working experience with you as a testimonial ?

 

Social proof is an important part of the puzzle, when it comes to getting the clients.

 

Good Luck

Hello Faiza,

 

Thank you so much for letting me know. I actually didn't know that. How can anyone outside of upwork share their experience with me, considering they don't have upwork?

 

This is my LinkedIn profile and there are testimonials there from the past from my previous jobs.

 

 **Edited for Community Guidelines**

The only condition for sharing testimonial is that your clients should have an Upwork profile.

 

Go to your profile Settings -> Scroll down to Testimonials -> You will see the option of "Request a new Testimonial". Click it, fill in the details and send the it to your previous client.

Image attached for the reference.
Upwork.png

Thank you so much, Faizan! 👍 I really appreciate it!

Most welcome🙂, Tharshi.

vladimir_eric
Community Member

Offering discount to a new client definitively seems like you are desparate to get a job. If you are good, why you seek for a gig so desprately?

 

Of course, this is NOT what I think of you, but all employers WILL!

Out of many skills that you have, Google for the one that is the most in demand. Freelancing is not about convincing everyone that you are the best in quite a few skills, but to excel in those that are in demand - and then present yourself the best way possible to all (so many) interested parties.

 

Getting a job is a process, not a defined goal. Completing the job, getting paid, spending money, and start looking for the next one - are all parts of the same process.

As carefully and successfuly you reach the next job - as much "luck" you will have with the next one.

 

In short:

if your writing skills are GREAT, check which industries seek for that (instantly, I can think of writting blog posts for WordPress sites, aiming to improve SEO. You need no programming skills, not even Wordpress skills, only a basic understandin on how a web page (textual) content triggers search engines (depending on the topic).

 

Offer a service to a friend that started a blog, or to a fellow freelancer - for a coffee money, and make sure you are allowed to add the blog's link to portfolio.

Ask these friends to write a testimonial for your UpW profile...

 

//

Once any of the attemlts succeds, ask yourself about the other great skill you have - and again devote all your fime and energy to it ONLY.

Do the same thing as explained above.

 

//

As for the hourly rate, NEVER ask your parent or a friend what money they work for. Find the best match to your skills, and watch carefully how much these people charge.

 

When I joined Elance (former UpW), my hourly rate was very close to the bottom, but gained almost no work.

I started to compare myself to people that seemed like of a similar quality, taking in consideration not only their rate, but also success and how frequently they got hired.

 

Whenever I got more work than I could cover, I incrsead the rate.

 

With all this: do an honest work, not looking for a shortcuts, and never taking advantage of your clients lack of experience.

 

 

 

 

Wow! That's awesome feedback! Thank you so much, Vladimir! 👍 I really appreciate it.

8ffc5a22
Community Member

I hear you. I am also new to the platform, and getting started is a bit hard I know. But, keep going, there will eventually be a breakthrough. 

Thank you, Abhishikat! Wish you all the best! 👍 

👍 good one

👍

Nice one

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