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]

Hi,

Two questions for you.

1.) Could you glance at my profile and offer any tips to improve upon it?

2.) I've saved down a few different searches, but want to hone in on specific "tags" that a buyer has access to that as a freelancer we do not.  Is there specfic advice regarding this?

Thank you so much!

[#3]

Hey Mike,

Thank you for the suggestion!

I'll work on improving my profile overview.

[#4]

Hello Mike,

This is Asmerom, I was wondering if you could give a quick look at my profile and give me your feedback. As I am new to this freelancing business, your help is invaluable to me.

Kind regards,

Thanks

[#5]

Hi Asmerom,

Thanks for your message. I have reviewed your profile and have few tips for you:

• Your profile overview is short compared to the average. Consider crafting it as a pitch to prospective clients. Be clear on your expertise and try to concisely explain what you can do, how you do it, and for what type of business/client. Don't just talk about yourself and your skills, but include a paragraph to explain how you can help the clients.  Also, here is a great article for additional tips for writing a great overview. 
• You only have 5 skill tags and are allowed up to 10. Having the right skill tags can help you appear in search more
• I encourage you to add portfolio items as it gives you the opportunity to impress potential clients with real-life examples of your skills and expertise. To help you look your best, consider showcasing 4+ examples of your best work. Learn more about building a great portfolio here.
• For employment, add relevant details to help clients understand your background. For employment, Some types of information you could include in your details are your duties, if you worked independently or with a team, and any major accomplishments.
• Do you have any professional certifications that would help you stand out to clients? Add them under the Certifications section of your profile. If your certification doesn’t show up in the list, you can scroll to the bottom and manually add it.

I hope this is helpful!

I recommend visiting the Upwork Events page. There are great past (recorded) and upcoming profile makeover webinars that can help you better understand how to position yourself and make your profile more marketable. 

Best,

Tiffany F. | Upwork Success Partner

[#6]

Thank you so much Tifanny. Sorry for the late reply, I just saw your response today.

[#7]

Hi Tiffany,
I have made few adjustments as per your suggestion. I would appreciate it if you check it out when you can and advise me whether you think it's better now or not. And thank you for taking your time for going above and beyond to help freelancers such as myself.
Best Regards.

[#8]

Hi Asmerom,

I'm glad to hear you found the information I provided to be helpful in making updates to your profile. It looks like you've added some additional information to your overview which will be very helpful for potential clients to learn about who you are and what kind of projects you're looking for. 

I also see you've added some more skill tags.  Since my post to you the limit for skill tags has been increased from 10 to 15 so you're free to add more if you want to make changes in this section. I would encourage you to keep working on your portfolio and adding additional samples of your work. If you have items that demonstrate something specific about your skills or a particular technique then those are great items to have there.  This helps clients see you are capable of doing exactly what they are looking for. 

Keep up the good work and happy bidding 🙂

Best,

Tiffany F. | Upwork Success Partner

[#9]

I'm fairly new to Upwork and have a pretty comprehensive profile though I've only completed 1 project.

I feel like I am doing all the things required to maximize the chances of getting my proposal considered but the process is very slow right now. 

I'm asking this question here in hopes of getting some more insight into the procedure since I'm kinda running out of my free connects. 

[#10]

Hi,

I have submitted lots of proposals or applied on multiple projects but still not getting any response from Client side. Please suggest what should I do ?

Thanks,

Neetu

[#11]

Please suggest what should I do? Can I contact or send messages directly to client?

[#12]

Hi Neetu,

I apologize for the delay in responding. Your profile looks good and is well organized. One thing to keep in mind 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.

I would also recommend completing your profile. It is currently 90% complete. It must be 100% complete to qualify for programs such as Rising Talent and Top Rated.

I suggest you review this articles for additional tips that may help:

• 9 Tips to Help You Create a Freelancer Profile That Stands Out
• Tips from Freelancers: Best Practices for Success
• How to Write a Cover Letter
• How to Create a Proposal That Wins Jobs
• How to Write Proposals: Proven Advice From Freelancers on Upwork

I hope these help!

[#13]

Hello Mike,

I enjoyed your article, "Tips from Upwork's Talent Team". I am new on Upwork and will really appreciate it if you could go through my profile and give me pointers on how to make it better. Looking forward to building an extensive client base. Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,
Chiamaka Obinwa

[#14]

Hi Chiamaka,

Thank you for your message and welcome to Upwork!  I reviewed your profile and noted that 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!

[#15]

Hello Mike,

Thanks for the review. I will work on it.

Regards,
Chiamaka Obinwa

[#16]

I am concerned about listing past work places. My concern is I only want to add to my income sources not replace. Would not want my employer contacted. Feedback?

[#17]

Hi Taunja,

You needn't supply any contact information. You can also just list the name of the industry, rather than the company.

I hope this helps.

[#18]

Hi Mike, 

I am new to Upwork as a freelancer. Can you check my profie for review and some feedbacks? I actually also wanted to ask help in regards with sending proposals. Mind if you can help me in making a good proposal for a first timer? 

Best Regards, 

Alexa L.

[#19]

Hi Alexa,

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.). 
• It might help to organize your overview 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.

You might also find these articles helpful, particularly those about proposals:

• Upwork Profiles: Why a Great Title and Overview Can Make a Difference
• How to Write a Cover Letter
• How to Create a Proposal That Wins Jobs
• How to Write Proposals: Proven Advice From Freelancers on Upwork

I hope this helps!

[#20]

Hi Mike, I am Melissa and I am new to the platform and I would like if you can review my profile and give me some tips to achieve success! Thank you!

[#21]

Hi Mike,

Can you check my profile and recommend changes if any to win contracts. Please help me mike.

[#22]

Hi Hoang,

Thank you for your message. I reviewed your profile and you're off to a good start. Your profile is well organized, but I do have some suggestions:

• "Designer" is misspelled in your title.

• 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.). 

I also recommend these articles about submitting proposals:

• How to Write a Cover Letter
• How to Create a Proposal That Wins Jobs
• How to Write Proposals: Proven Advice From Freelancers on Upwork

I hope this helps!

[#23]

Hey Mike. Thanks for your tips. My profile was discovered 8 times in the 1st week and zero times in the past 4 weeks even though i am consistently applying to Jobs and also landed a Job by bringing an Outside client to Upwork. Can you plz look into this matter??

[#24]

Hi Usman,

Thank you for your message. I see you had 4 views on your profile last week. One of the keys is to have a really great profile so that it stands out in search results. Here are some suggestions based on my review of your profile:

• 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.
• Other examples of information you can include in your Overview 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 also recommend these articles:

• 9 Tips to Help You Create a Freelancer Profile That Stands Out
• Mistakes Independent Talent Make When Setting Their Rates—and Ideas to Fix Them
• How to Write a Cover Letter
• How to Create a Proposal That Wins Jobs

I hope this helps!

[#25]

Hi Mike,

I have landed my first job. But, I am not getting any invite or my proposals accepted after that job.  It would be of great help if you could provide me tips on getting my Upwork profile stand out and getting a rising talent badge. 

Regards,
Gaurav

[#26]

Hi Gaurav,

Thank you for your message. Your profile is well-organized and off to a great start! One important 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. As such, I would suggest moving your "Why chose me?" section below the first paragraph ("I have 3+ years...") as that paragraph will be better for displaying in search results.

You may also find these articles helpful:

• 9 Tips to Help You Create a Freelancer Profile That Stands Out
• How to Write Proposals: Proven Advice From Freelancers on Upwork
• How to Ace Your Next Client Interview

As for earning the Rising Talent badge, we look at a variety of factors when determining whether to award the badge. This includes client feedback, the overall strength of your profile upon submission, including prior experience and skills and your educational background, as well as the opportunities available in the market. To improve your chances of earning the badge, continue to submit proposals to job postings that are relevant to the skills listed on your profile.

I hope this helps!