Tips for Getting Started on Upwork

[#1]

Getting started on Upwork can be challenging. Here are some top tips that can help you succeed.

Complete Your Profile

First, it can be very helpful to complete your profile 100%. It’s important to understand that there are certain sections that must be completed in order to reach 100%. You can even technically exceed 100% completion. The more fields you complete on your profile, the better your chances of winning work. Also, your profile must be 100% complete in order to qualify for badges such as Rising Talent and Top Rated. Check out this help article for more information on the numerous ways you can reach 100% or more completion. I also recommend this article about why a great title and overview can make a difference.

Set Your Profile Visibility

Second, we recommend updating your profile visibility. Once you’ve crafted the perfect profile, you’ll want clients to be able to see it. When setting your profile visibility, you have three options: Public, Only Upwork Users, or Private.  If you set your profile to private, it will be excluded from the Upwork marketplace and search engines. This means clients won’t see you when they search for freelancers. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to set your profile visibility to Public or Only Upwork Users.

Submit Proposals

Third, submit proposals! This may seem like an obvious step, but it’s one that often doesn’t receive enough attention from new freelancers. By regularly submitting proposals for projects that fit your skills, you not only increase your chances of winning work, but you also prevent your profile from being automatically set to private, which can happen if you are inactive from the platform. As you submit more proposals, you will also learn what does and doesn’t get the attention of clients. Also, remember, that you may have to submit more than 5 proposals before you win your first project. Persistence is key. To help improve the quality of your proposals, I invite you to read about how to create a proposal that wins jobs and take in this proven advice from freelancers on Upwork. Also, check out this great article about How To Get More Jobs on Upwork in 2022!

[#2]

Can you please review my profile and suggest me about the title and overview of my profile?

[#3]

Hi Sayyam,

Your profile is off to a good start, but I would suggest requesting peer feedback in this post.

[#4]

Hi Mike J, I want you to review my profile as well. And let me know if needs to fix any error you find.

Thanks

Rakib

[#5]

Hi Rakib,

I have reviewed your profile and have some suggestions:

• Your profile overview is short compared to the average. Upwork’s research shows clients see it as a positive signal if the profile is well written and comprehensive. Therefore, consider crafting your overview as a pitch to prospective clients. 

  • Help clients understand your abilities better by listing information about your skills and experience in an original and creative way. 
  • Focus on how you can help clients achieve their goals. For example, expand on who you are, the services you offer, and what you’re most passionate about. 
  • Be clear on your expertise and mention specialized software or tools. 
  • If appropriate, let your personality shine through (include some excitement), and show your qualities and praise the work you do, instead of focusing on yourself.
  • Other examples of information you can include are past accomplishments and projects, preferred working style, and your business’ values (e.g. I believe in strong communications or thorough upfront planning), industries or lines of businesses you have worked in before, and the types of clients you have worked with before (start-ups, solo entrepreneurs, large businesses, etc.).

• Your written English skills are strong and you are easy to understand. However, I did see a few minor errors. If you'd like to add extra polish, you might want to consider using Grammarly. I use this myself and really like it because it's free and it offers a Chrome add-on so it works in webmail, messages, proposals, and more.

I hope this helps!

[#6]

please can you help review my profile

[#7]

Hi Lambert, 

First things first please make your profile public (Go to Profile> Profile Settings> Visibility> change to Public) so that any client can visit your profile to see your expertise.

Not all clients advertise their jobs, they search individual profiles that meet their needs and hire from there.

Secondly, make sure you have uniquely laid out your expertise, skills, and experience on your profile.

Thirdly, you have to showcase portfolios of jobs you have completed successfully (either within Upwork or without) to showcase your level of expertise and how meticulous your work is.

Fourthly, if you have worked on previous jobs please ask your clients to give feedback wrt your excellent turnaround time and quality of work you submitted/executed for them.

Fifthly, make sure you draft a short, efficient, smart, and skill/service-oriented cover letter as a template to applying for jobs in Upwork which you know match your skillset.

Sixthly, always set your availability (on your profile) as per the amount of workload you might have at that particular moment (.there are 3 choices:More than 30 hrs/week, Less than 30 hrs/week Or As needed - open to offers)

Last but not least, make sure you apply to 3-5 jobs per day if you are not assigned any work at that particular moment.

Best,

Boniface Maina

Project Manager Specialised in Data Entry and Research

[#8]

Hi Lambert,

Thank you for your message. I reviewed your profile and have some suggestions:

• 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.

• Your profile overview is short compared to the average. Upwork’s research shows clients see it as a positive signal if the profile is well written and comprehensive. Therefore, consider crafting your overview as a pitch to prospective clients. 

  • Help clients understand your abilities better by listing information about your skills and experience in an original and creative way. 
  • Focus on how you can help clients achieve their goals. For example, expand on who you are, the services you offer, and what you’re most passionate about. 
  • Be clear on your expertise and mention specialized software or tools. 
• Your profile overview is difficult to quickly scan and understand what your primary services and experiences are. It might help to organize it with paragraphs: for example, have your introduction paragraph, a separate paragraph for skills, and one for experience. In this way, you might emphasize certain areas, but use caution with adding lists of skills with few to no related work examples because clients may question the sincerity of your skills list.

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.

I hope this helps!

[#9]

Hi Mike,

Can you please help me too? 

Thanks,

Kevin

[#10]

Hi Kevin,

Thank you for your message. I have reviewed your profile and have some suggestions:

• 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. As such, consider removing "Hi, I'm Kevin; Thank you for visiting to my profile it's my pleasure." This is redundant and unnecessary.
• Review your Overview for formatting issues. There is a new line started in the middle of this sentence: "I am knowledgeable with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint) Google Apps( Docs, Sheet, Slide, and Forms."

• Your written English skills are strong and you are easy to understand. However, I did see a few minor errors. If you'd like to add extra polish, you might want to consider using Grammarly. I use this myself and really like it because it's free and it offers a Chrome add-on so it works in webmail, messages, proposals, and more.

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.

I hope this helps!

[#11]

Hi Mike,

I've been using Grammarly but it doesn't work normally in my overview. I re-created my overview and remove the beginning of my overview and replace it with a new one. Can you review it again and see if there are more things to change? btw I have a hard time finding the issue in my format.. I'll attach a screenshot so you can see my new overview. Thank you so much for helping newbies in Upwork.

Thank you,

Kevin

[#12]

Hi Kevin,

Thank you for the follow up. Your profile looks good. Good use of the portfolio too, by the way!

Please check out this screenshot where I highlighted a spacing error by a opening parentheses "(" and following that there is no closing parentheses. 

I hope this helps!

[#13]

Can anyone view my profile and please let me know what's wrong and what should I do to get a client with that profile. I've been consistently applying for 2 months but until now. I still don't get hired. I think there is something wrong with my profile or my cover letter. Please help me.

[#14]

Hi Mike,

I hope you have a good day ahead. Can you help me to review my profile. Is there something that I need to improve to attract more clients?

Thank you.

[#15]

Hi Marydol A, 

I am not able to see your profile because it is set to private. You need to change it from private to public for experienced freelancers to see your profile and give feedback.

Kevin.

[#16]

Hi Marydol,

Thank you for your message. You're off to a great start with your profile. One thing I wanted to mention is that 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. You can remove the inclusion of your name as this is visible elsewhere and it takes up valuable space on your Overview. 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.

I hope this helps!

[#17]

Hello Mike,

I need your help in setting profile and getting more jobs by proposals.

Regards,

Usman **Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#18]

Hi Usman,

Thank you for your message. I reviewed your profile and have some suggestions:

• 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.

• Your profile overview is short compared to the average. Upwork’s research shows clients see it as a positive signal if the profile is well written and comprehensive. Therefore, consider crafting your overview as a pitch to prospective clients. 

  • Help clients understand your abilities better by listing information about your skills and experience in an original and creative way. 
  • Focus on how you can help clients achieve their goals. For example, expand on who you are, the services you offer, and what you’re most passionate about. 
  • Be clear on your expertise and mention specialized software or tools. 
  • If appropriate, let your personality shine through (include some excitement), and show your qualities and praise the work you do, instead of focusing on yourself.
  • Other examples of information you can include are past accomplishments and projects, preferred working style, and your business’ values (e.g. I believe in strong communications or thorough upfront planning), industries or lines of businesses you have worked in before, and the types of clients you have worked with before (start-ups, solo entrepreneurs, large businesses, etc.). 

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.

I hope this helps!

[#19]

Hi Mike thank you for your advice, I would like you to review my profile. And let me know what I need to fix to have a profile.

Thanks

Jules

[#20]

Hi Adonsi,

Thanks for your message! Your profile is off to great start. One suggestion I have is to add a total of at least 4 entries in your portfolio. We know that clients like to see at least 4 separate entries (they don't always open them to see if there are more images inside). You might also be interested in this article: 4 Ways to Create a More Successful Freelancer Portfolio

[#21]

Hello Mike.

I am new to work, can you please help me review my profile? Thank you.

Regards

maru

[#22]

Mike

Allow me to share with you my profile link for few Advices

[#23]

Hello Mike,

I'll be really thankful to you if you please review my profile. Kindly send me a private message to check my profile.

Regards,

Atif Zia

[#24]

Hi Atif,

I sent you a private message.

[#25]

Hi Mike, how much time have you spent as a freelance consultant and in what field? 

[#26]

Hi Amanda,

Thank you for your question! I've been a freelance translator since 2009 and have spent the last 2 years providing program support to Upwork's Talent Success team, specifically representing the needs of and advocating for freelancers.