Tips from Upwork’s Talent Success Team

[Ali A]

Hello Mike

Hope you are fine.

Sir can you please review my profile and suggest to me what should I do to impress clients and do work more.

[Mike J]

Hi Muhammad Ashfaq,

Your profile is off to a strong start. Here are some articles that might help improve your success on Upwork:

• Tips from Freelancers: Best Practices for Success
• How to Create a Proposal That Wins Jobs
• How to Ace Your Next Client Interview

[Alok K]

Hi Mike,
Please review my profile.
And please help me, I had applied over 95 proposal, but didn't managed to win a single job. Please give me some help and advice for this.

[Mike J]

Hi Alok,

Thank you for your message. I see you are already off to agreat start. Congratulations on your 100% Job Success Score! I did review your profile and have some suggestions:

• Based on your noted skills, your title may not provide a full overview of your expertise. Precise titles that specify the services you offer are more likely to catch the attention of clients that need your expertise.
• 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 suggest removing "Hello Everyone" from the start of your Overview as it is unnecessary and takes up precious real estate in the search results.

• 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. 
  • 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!

[Ozan E]

Hello Mike!

I am fairly new. My account was not active and i started using upwork. Got couple contracts and its been going good.

But i couldnt find a clear "requirements" for becoming a "rising star" 

And i hear that the %20 comission fee is reduced to %10 somehow. How does that happen and how does it work?

Also, it would be an amazing bonus if you'd take a look at my profile and guide me towards a better presentation.

Thank you very much

[Aleksandar D]

Hi Ozan,

Welcome to Upwork! I'm happy to hear it's going well!

The Rising Talent status is assigned automatically when a freelancer meets the requirements listed here. This process is working as designed and we can't specify a reason why a freelancer isn't eligible for receiving the Rising Talent badge. Once you qualify, you should receive a notification letting you know.

Regarding the service fees, as a freelancer, you’re charged a sliding fee based on your lifetime billings with each non-Enterprise client. This includes all contracts you’ve ever had with that client, not all clients combined. Service fees are the same whether the contracts are hourly or fixed-price. You can check this help article for more information.

I've pulled a few resources that may be helpful to you. Check out these articles to help you create a profile that stands out and improve your profile title and overview. For some great tips on writing proposals that win jobs, check out this article. You can also visit our Resource Center and sign up for upcoming events and webinars to learn more about how you can boost your success on Upwork.

Thank you.

[Therese K]

Dear Mike,

Thanks for the sincere interest to help new freelancers like me.
Can you please have a review about my profile and help me with any thing lacking?
Am still struggling to get my first job.

Kind wishes,

[Mike J]

Hi Therese,

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.). 

• 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!

[Therese K]

Dear Mike,

Thanks for the useful tips.
This will help.I will take into consideration all the points you have enumerated and redraft my profile. Thanks again.

Kind regards,

[Lambert A]

hi