🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Re: What is the average wait time for a contr...
Page options
rayecooper
Community Member

What is the average wait time for a contract to be awarded to a freelancer? Is there a time limit?

I'm new to upwork and have only applied for 2 contracts so far, but I've been waiting more than a week to see if I've been accepted. Is it normal to wait for this long? Is there a time limit that clients have to choose a freelancer or can they leave just leave you hanging wondering for weeks, or even months? I've noticed that some contracts never even get awarded and the freelancer loses the connects for that application, which is very unfair. It seems that the client doesn't have to be responsible for their posts and how they treat freelancers either. I'm getting ready to give up. It shouldn't be this difficult. And clients should have more respect for the people who are applying to work for them and make the effort to communicate!

13 REPLIES 13
velibor88
Community Member

I really went through a lot to get to my first gig. I was writing proposals every single day, getting that first job is definitely the hardest thing - 2 contracts is really nothing, as you should be really hitting it hard. Keep it simple and short. 

 

Sometimes, I would forget that I even wrote a proposal to a client and a month later, out of the blue, the client would contact me and I would eventually get a job.

 

Again, keep it short, simple and confident. State what you know and that you WILL deliver the job and be prepared to send a LOT of proposals in the beginning. It pays off in the end - maybe you won't even have to apply for jobs when you build your reputation.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Hi Velibor,

I know I've only made 2 proposals, and I haven't expected I would be awarded the jobs, or that this would be easy, but none of the questions I have, had answers available in the help section. I just wasn't sure what amount of time it takes to get a response and then I was sidetracked reading too many bad experiences in the community discussions while trying to find answers, which made me a bit wary. So now I've seen somewhere that somebody said clients have up to 30 days to make a decision, and that's all I wanted to know. However, people like you have responded with some great information and advice, and I suspected it would be a long slog to get my first acceptance. A lot of people are saying what you've stated, and rarely is anything achievable without putting in the hard work, which is as it should be. I like short, simple and confident, and appreciate the advice. Thank you and best of luck in your endeavours too!

I'm sure you'll land a job very soon. Thank you for your kind words and best of luck to you too 🙂

Also, maybe lose the "newbie" part on your profile 🙂 Just a suggestion :)))

mtngigi
Community Member


@Raylee C wrote:

I'm new to upwork and have only applied for 2 contracts so far, but I've been waiting more than a week to see if I've been accepted. Is it normal to wait for this long? Is there a time limit that clients have to choose a freelancer or can they leave just leave you hanging wondering for weeks, or even months? I've noticed that some contracts never even get awarded and the freelancer loses the connects for that application, which is very unfair. It seems that the client doesn't have to be responsible for their posts and how they treat freelancers either. I'm getting ready to give up. It shouldn't be this difficult. And clients should have more respect for the people who are applying to work for them and make the effort to communicate!


Wait for what? Nobody waits - you're either going to get a response or you're not. Clients are bombarded with bids because there are millions of freelancers on this site. Of course they're not going to communicate with every single freelancer who leaves a bid, nor are they obligated to. That's not how this works.

 

Connects are free with a basic membership, and they're the cost of doing business. Submit your bids and move on. Why do you think online freelancing should be easy? It's not, but many of us succeed at it in part because we do not have unrealistic expectations.

reinierb
Community Member

To add to what Virginia said- 

 

You may want to focus your profile overview quite a bit. For instance,clients are not interested in your many experiences, nor do they want to know whether or not you've had a full and interesting life. 

 

The only thing clients are interested in are the very specific skills you  have that can solve their problems. From your profile, you come across as a jill-of-all-trades, and while generalist writers do find work here, those that specialize in a particular field or niche find work all the time. 

 

You need to pick a niche or topic, and you need to convince potential clients that you know more about this niche that anybody else on Upwork. There are millions of generalist writers here, and most of them are competing in a race to the bottom, so do what you have to do to make yourself stand out from this crowd.    

Hi Reinier,

It's pretty obvious I'm very new here. There are questions I've not been able to find the answers to in the help section. I actually thought that covering a lot of different topics and having lots of different experience was the way to go, but choosing a niche sounds great - I can do that and work on improving my profile. Thank you for the advice, much appreciated!

 

Yes, well, thanks Virginia. It's just a shame that none of this information is available in the help section or I wouldn't be having to ask here, would I now? And if it is, it's buried so deeply that the simple question of how long does it take fails to get you the answer, no matter how many times you word it differently. Am I the only new member who wants to know how long things take on this website? I highly doubt it. And why is it so difficult to find the answers to questions like this anyway? When I had my own successful business before an injury prevented me working for years, I never failed to contact or communicate with anybody, it's simply good business practice, so just because I expect it in return doesn't mean there is anything wrong with that!! I don't expect to be awarded jobs straight away and I don't expect it to be easy, but I should be able to ask a simple question without being made to feel like I'm being unreasonable!!!

holymell
Community Member

Impatient? After two proposals?

Took me around twenty to get my first job.

To this day (I think I do OK on this site) I would not expect a response from two bids.

It takes even the freelancers who are top rated, with great profiles and reviews, who have been here for years more than two bids to get a job.

Don't wait. Just apply to the jobs you are certain you can do and keep applying. Don't go too crazy, but if you run into five more jobs that look like a great fit for you, apply.

You'll get a job eventually. Took me about two months, if I remember correctly. Take a deep breath, look at when the job was posted and how many applicants it has. Look at the client's history on the platform, also. If they have a lot of bad reviews or a really low hire rate, don't waste time on them.

You'll get the hang of it. I always tell people to read the forums. I only started picking up more jobs after I'd learned as much about the platform as I could. The community here is a fantastic resource.

Raylee, to add on to what everyone else has already said, I think you'll only make yourself crazy if you hold onto this idea that clients have no respect.

If you've ever applied to a 'regular job,' you know that many places never get back to you. It's not due to disrespect but just due to the volume of applicants a company deals with. It's also pretty normal for places to open job searches and later close them when they find no suitable applicants or when their needs change.

Trust me, I know it feels frustrating. I joined, had no luck, and gave up for about a month. But then I came back in January, experimented with different approaches, and found what works for me.

Just keep applying when you see appropriate jobs. Read the forums, and if you're curious about the client perspective, read their posts. You'll get that first job eventually!

Hi Sapna,

I've applied for plenty of regular jobs and also been self-employed, and I never failed to contact or communicate with people because I believe it's good business practice. Hiring and firing is a part of EVERY business, so it should be standard practice to inform people of their job application status, despite how many applicants there may be, when it comes to "regular work". It takes less than a minute to pick up a phone and call or text someone to inform them they weren't successful in their application. I live in Australia and have never had an employer fail to let me know I wasn't successful in my application for their position. It IS standard practice here. Maybe that's why I expect it. However, more great advice from you, and I will check out the forum from the clients point of view. I'm sure they have just as many problems as the freelancers do and it goes both ways. I have to explore the site further and learn to navigate it better. Thanks, much appreciated!

 

Hi Melissa,

No, not impatient, and not expecting to get accepted so soon. Just simply missing information that can't be found on the site. Why would I just keep waiting and wondering instead of asking? But like others here you are offering some great advice, which I do appreciate, and I am finding the community  discussion invaluable, so long as I don't stray and start reading about too many bad experiences. I need to stick to the subject. Thanks for your advice and assistance!

usama_muneer
Community Member

Luckly, I got my first job on first proposal. First, I complete my profile completely by adding previous projects that really helps.

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths