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 Muhammad Rizwan,

I took a look at your profile and have some suggestions.

• Your profile is only 90% complete. It must be 100% complete to qualify for programs such as Rising Talent or Top Rated. Check out this article for guidance on the multiple ways you can reach 100%.
• 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 removing "Hi, I am Muhammad Rizwan" as it is redundant and takes up precious space.
• There are some punctionation and formatting issues in the first half of the Overview. I would suggest reviewing and adding additional bullets to help with formatting.

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.

Best of luck!

[#3]

Is there anyone Who can review my profile and let me know why I am not getting Jobs?

[#4]

Hi Muhammad Jawad,

Based on my review of your profile, here are some best practices to review:

• 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. 

Consider the following when crafting the pitch:

• 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. You can also request peer review of your profile by other freelancers in this thread.

[#5]

Hi Mike, I am a new Upwork member it would be great to have some feedback on my profile so that I can make it 100% complete and have clients.

Thanks in advance.

[#6]

Hi Sumaiya,

I checked out your profile and have some ideas:

• Your profile is only 40% complete. It must be 100% complete to qualify for programs such as Rising Talent or Top Rated. Check out this article for guidance on the multiple ways you can reach 100%.
• I notice you haven’t added any pieces to your portfolio. Your portfolio is one of the most important profile components that clients review. Our research shows that missing portfolio pieces can be a negative signal for clients. Consider adding a few relevant pieces. It might help in getting more profile views and high-quality job invites.

[#7]

Thanks, Mike, I will do that.

[#8]

Hi Mike could you plz provide me some tips on how to get a client in Upwork as a begineer without having any work history to set in my profile? Most clients tend to hire people with a work history. So how can portray myself to clients if I don't have any working history?

[#9]

Hi Sumaiya,

As I mentioned in my previous message, your profile is incomplete and you don't have a portfolio. Profile completion is required to qualify for any badges and a portfolio is essential for a graphic artist on Upwork. Take a look at my previous response and work on those items.

[#10]

Thanks for the tips.

I just start active on freelancing here, hopefully I can get success here.

[#11]

Hi mike, I'm new here, please can you be my mentor cos I don't know any at all. Thank you .

[#12]

Hi Segun,

I took a look at your profile and have some ideas for improvement:

• Your profile is only 70% complete. It needs to be 100% complete to qualify for programs such as Rising Talent and Top Rated. You can learn about the multiple ways to reach 100% here.

• 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.

[#13]

Hi! I’m new and just agreed to terms via messages on UpWork. I’m scared that I’m doing something wrong. Do not want to get scammed. The client has not sent me a contract yet. When I asked for one they said they preferred to pay me at the end of every month. They also asked if they could pay me by the minute. They are waiting for my reply on if paying me end of month is ok. What should I do?

[#14]

Hi Rebecca,

What the client is requesting would be a violation of the Upwork Terms of Service. All payment must take place via an Upwork contract unless the opt-out fee is paid.

You can remind the client of the requirement to keep payments on Upwork or simply decline to proceed. I advise against starting any work until they have issued a contract through Upwork.

[#15]

Well I believe she will pay us on UpWork, but she is wanting to do it all at once at the end of the month. Is this still a violation?

[#16]

Hi Rebecca,

This would be possible if the contract is set up as fixed price. Then she could release milestone payments at the end of the month. Hourly contracts are paid on a fixed schedule which cannot be changed.

I hope this clarifies.

[#17]

Hello Mike.

I have followed the guidelines and still couldn't have a single interview. Will you please help to identify the reason as well as will you please spare some time to check my profile.

Thanks

Ahmad

[#18]

Hi Ahmad,

I took a look at your profile and noticed that it's most just a list. This can make it hard for clients to identify key information. It might help to add some information and 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.

I also suggest you check out these articles:

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

[#19]

Hi,

I am a new Member, thanks a lot for these tips.

[#20]

Hi Mike,

I hope everything is going well.

I just submitted my Upwork profile and I know that I´m missing many things, so better to move forward.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

Wish you the best,

Regards,

Mari

[#21]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your help to all fellow mates.
Appreciated if you help me to kick start my first job by providing a feedback to my profile.

Thanks & Regards,
Naveen

[#22]

Hello Mike, Please Check my profile... and give me some advice,,, Thanks
https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~011eeb09fc27abb4d9

[#23]

Hi Razu,

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.). 

[#24]

Thanks Mike. 

I am commenting here as a Professional Architect so If any freelancer (Specially Architectural niche) seeks help may ask me and any client who needs Architect may invite me too. 

[#25]

Hi Mike, 

Great article. I am also new to Up work and would love some feedback on my profile as well.

Julianne

[#26]

Hi Julianne,

Welcome! I took a look at your profile and have some ideas:

• 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 removing the first two lines from your overview (the welcome message and statement that you'd love to work with them) as these take up valuable research and don't provide useful information.

• 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.