Tips from Upwork’s Talent Success Team

[Mike J]

Hi Community!

My name is Mike and I’m part of Upwork’s Talent Success team. It’s my passion to help new talent succeed on Upwork. In order to achieve this goal, I will be hunkering down right here on the New to Upwork board. Here, I will answer your questions and provide advice on creating your profile, writing proposals, interviewing, and other topics important to new talent on Upwork.

I wanted to start my support by offering some suggestions for crucial steps to complete as a new freelancer on Upwork.

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 2021!

I hope you’ve found my top tips to be helpful. I can’t wait to interact with you more here on the New to Upwork board!

[Endurance U]

Hey,

thanks a lot Mike J, i´m a new member in the community and i think your post it´s very helpful.

greetings, Nelson.

[Francis N]

Hello Mike, Thanks for your interest to help new Freelancers like me. I would be glad if you can help me build my profile, Please reply me so that i can share my profile with you for review. 

Thank you.

Francis.

[Mike J]

Hi Francis,

I will send you a private message.

[Will C]

Hi Mike,

Could you do a review of my profile and offers some feedback? I'd appreciate some feedback on the profile overall. 

Also, as someone just starting out, I'm trying to figure out how to position myself. I can do two things: I'm a great marketing specialist and I can also do a lot of great admin tasks like data entry and cleanup, internet research, VA, etc. Can I straddle both in a single profile or is it better to commit to being a marketing specialist or an admin/data entry-cleanup person?

Thanks,

Will

[Mike J]

Hi Will,

Thanks for your message. I reviewed your profile and you're off to a great start! I have a few suggestions:

• The beginning of your profile overview displays in prospective client search results. So, your first sentence should include clear, relevant information about your primary skill sets and expertise.
• Consider talking more about the outcomes you've provided. You talk a lot about your skills, but not how you've used those skills to assist clients.
• Your portfolio 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.
• Here are some additional tips for writing a great Title and Overview.

As for how to position yourself, I would suggest creating specialized profiles for each of your two main skills. This will allow you to write a focused overview for each of them.

I hope this helps!

[Md. A]

Hello Mike, 

Can you please review my profile, everything is okay? And suggest to me how to improve my profile to always get in touch Upwork talent success manager like you and the client to get more invitations. Please review and let me know. 

Thanks in advance,

Al Amin

[Mike J]

Hi Md. A,

Thank you for your message. I reviewed your profile and have a suggestion. 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.

I hope this helps!

[Prokash S]

Hi Mike,

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

[Mike J]

Hi Prokash, 

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

• You use the word "our" in your profile, but your profile must only represent your individual skills. Please update this.
• 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 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!