Was I hired?

doug-warren · ‎09-04-2019

I am a new freelancer to Upworks, and need some guidance on how things work. Unfortunately, my first prospective hire has not gone exactly as I'd hoped. I am wondering if this site has a moderator that can look at, and evaluate interactions between clients and freelancers. Or, can I share a link to our communications so someone can tell me what I should've done differently?

petra_r · ‎09-04-2019

Douglas Joe W wrote:
I am a new freelancer to Upworks, and need some guidance on how things work. Unfortunately, my first prospective hire has not gone exactly as I'd hoped. I

What happened? (Without giving away personal details, naming names or posting private communications?)

Do you / did you have a contract?

doug-warren · ‎09-05-2019

My inexperience at this forum makes me unsure how the interviewing and hiring is supposed to go. I sent a propoasal to a prospective client, and the discussion began. It appeared that I had convinced the client that I was the man for his job, but I was never officially hired. In fact, I'm not even sure that I was on his list of people being interviewed. The job is/was fixed price, and only $150.00, so I'm not particularly worried about whether or not I get paid, I just want to make sure and figure this out before I send proposals for any more jobs - It's made me a bit gun-shy. The client and I communicated back and forth to determine what he needed for me to do, and after several days I was able to ensure him that I could create the 3D model for the small part that he needed, so I just started working on it and updated him regularly. When I told him I had completed the work, he notified me that he would give me 50% of the fee, if I would submit the file. (I chose to be paid at the end of the job instead of milestone pymts in my proposal, but whatever). At any rate, that is the last that I've heard from him. To answer your question, I was never officially hired. I have never submitted any results to him either, but I am out the time I spent working on it. What should I have done differently? I don't even know how I would know if I had been hired.
BTW, when I look at our thread of messages, his light beside his avaatar is and has been grey ever since our last correspondence (every time I look, anyway), which was last Friday.

It wouldn't bother me to disclose his info, and he did have some history, positive feedback or whatever - again, not sure what is apropriate.

martina_plaschka · ‎09-05-2019

Douglas Joe W wrote:
My inexperience at this forum makes me unsure how the interviewing and hiring is supposed to go. I sent a propoasal to a prospective client, and the discussion began. It appeared that I had convinced the client that I was the man for his job, but I was never officially hired. In fact, I'm not even sure that I was on his list of people being interviewed. The job is/was fixed price, and only $150.00, so I'm not particularly worried about whether or not I get paid, I just want to make sure and figure this out before I send proposals for any more jobs - It's made me a bit gun-shy. The client and I communicated back and forth to determine what he needed for me to do, and after several days I was able to ensure him that I could create the 3D model for the small part that he needed, so I just started working on it and updated him regularly. When I told him I had completed the work, he notified me that he would give me 50% of the fee, if I would submit the file. (I chose to be paid at the end of the job instead of milestone pymts in my proposal, but whatever). At any rate, that is the last that I've heard from him. To answer your question, I was never officially hired. I have never submitted any results to him either, but I am out the time I spent working on it. What should I have done differently? I don't even know how I would know if I had been hired.
BTW, when I look at our thread of messages, his light beside his avaatar is and has been grey ever since our last correspondence (every time I look, anyway), which was last Friday.
It wouldn't bother me to disclose his info, and he did have some history, positive feedback or whatever - again, not sure what is apropriate.

While a certain amount of time is neccessary to agree on basics, you should have limited that time and not done any work before you were hired.

g_vasilevski · ‎09-05-2019

Hi Douglas,

I would also recommend to check out our resources on this Thread and learn more about Upwork, how to protect yourself ect.

In order for a contract to be formed your client will need to send you an offer. Once you have accepted the offer the contract will be formed and listed under your "My Jobs" tab. Thank you.

~ Goran

AveryO · ‎09-04-2019

Hi Douglas,

I checked your account and can confirm that there was no contract set up for the job you are referring to on your post. We typically recommend new freelancers not to work on any project unless the client has sent an offer to you, you have accepted it, the contract is showing active on your My Jobs page, and the client's payment method is verified.

Since you are new, I would recommend that you read up on these freelancer resources and these tips for avoiding questionable jobs, for help getting started, and for more information about working safely through Upwork.

~ Avery