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Scott's avatar
Scott S Community Member

Why Does Nobody Hire Me?

I am a highly qualified and reliable worker. I have applied to 30 jobs and used up my connects, and have not received a single interview request! How do I get that first job to be qualified for offers that are looking for people with at least one completed job? It's a catch 22. You don't get the job until you get a job which you don't get because you haven't got a job yet!!

 

 

 

13 REPLIES 13
Virginia's avatar
Virginia F Community Member

It's not a catch-22 because you can still submit bids for those jobs. There's nothing easy about freelancing online, and for some it can be a long time before that first job happens (and sometimes never).

 

One thing I would suggest - revise your overview considerably. Clients are not interested in reading a wall of text. Focus on what you can offer, not what you do. Remove the bio and mention of hobbies, they're not relevant. I would also suggest that you focus in one one or two skills, because right know you're all over the place. I would lose the data entry - there are a million data entry freelancers who work for peanuts. It does nothing for your profile.

 

I know you didn't ask, but that's my ¢2.

Robert's avatar
Robert V Community Member

You definitely don't understand what a catch-22 entails.  It DEFINITELY is a catch 22. Upworks should only start tracking those rates after a number of clients have rated a new freelancer.  Uber and Lyft start new drivers off with a flat approval rate that keeps this type of descrimination down.

Charles's avatar
Charles K Community Member

It's not a catch-22 in any way, because you can buy more bids if you need to.

 

I bought hundreds of bids when I was getting started.

Darren's avatar
Darren w Community Member

Hi, Scott, 

 

Virginia, is spot on, how you describe yourself does need some work.

 

Personally, I introduce myself, with a couple of easy to read and explanatory sentences, Followed by a bullet list of my skills, and what I am offering.

 

My advice to you is, as a freelancer focus on a particular niche, you have some expertise in. Don't try to be something to everyone. It's extremely rare for a client to be looking for a jack of all trades.

 

I hope that helps.

Phyllis's avatar
Phyllis G Community Member

First, welcome to Upwork!

Second, get ready to play a long game, success doesn't happen overnight here.

Third, what Virginia said.

 

Use the search box at the top of your main screen, toggle it to 'find freelancers' and search on 'accounting' or 'bookkeeping' or whatever 1-2 areas you want to focus on. Find freelancers who seem to be doing what you want to do, with comparable qualifications to yours, and browse their profiles.

 

It takes a little while to find your zone here. It can be worthwhile to charge a bit less on your first few projects, to attract some clients who are price-sensitive enough to take a chance on a newbie. (But don't drop your rate so low you wind up among the bottom-feeders--not worth it.) You can ramp back up to where you feel you ought to be, fee-wise, once you start building a job history.

 

Good luck!

Robert's avatar
Robert V Community Member

If Upwork insists on allowing blocking for new freelancers based on their job success score, then they should also put that into a search feature on the freelancer end of the search.  Time is money to us as well.

Pandora's avatar
Pandora H Community Member


@Robert V wrote:

If Upwork insists on allowing blocking for new freelancers based on their job success score, then they should also put that into a search feature on the freelancer end of the search.  Time is money to us as well.


Sigh. Upwork does NOT block new freelancers based on job success score. Sure, a lot of jobs ask for 90%, but that is not enforced. Clients typically don't bother to change it from the default 90%. You can still bid on those jobs, and those bids will be seen by clients.

John's avatar
John K Community Member

Incidentally, Scott, who created this thread in February, did manage to land jobs subsequently, including 2 this month, so in his case it was NOT a catch-22
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Renante's avatar
Renante V Community Member


@John K wrote:
Incidentally, Scott, who created this thread in February, did manage to land jobs subsequently, including 2 this month, so in his case it was NOT a catch-22

^ What I was about to say.

Scott's avatar
Scott S Community Member

Hello again - I just wanted to say, that my persistence has paid off. I have several ongoing clients and I am really enjoying my Upwork experience. I maybe only get as far as an interview with 1 out of 30 submissions (guestimating) and have not passed all the interviews. But it seems there is a snowball effect once you get a few jobs. So my advice to my self 3 months ago, just be persistent and patient, keep tweeking and improving your profile. And I also liked the advice to just focus on one skill. Thanks Upwork!

Richard's avatar
Richard W Community Member

I'd second what Scott just said. I've been on Upwork nearly a year now. It took a month to get my first job, a couple of weeks for the next, and I thought I'd cracked it. Then I got nothing more for two months. But I persisted and eventually things started to take off. I'm not using many connects these days, as a lot of my work comes from existing clients and some from invitations, though I anticipate there will be times when my connect usage goes up again.

 

I found it helpful to specialise too.

Tiago's avatar
Tiago L Community Member

I have the same problem I have applied to many jobs, I almost dont have connects and nobody even talked to me, except someone trying to buy my account (probably a scam). I dont know if its anything with my profile, I would apreciate if someone could help me and tell me what I am doing wrong... What can I do?

Sheheryar's avatar
Sheheryar S Community Member

I am currently facing the same problem. I am an experienced mechanical engineer with two projects completed in 2021. Since I had a personal connection with the clients, I encouraged them to hire me on Upwork instead of directly. This way, I could build up some work history here. Despite these efforts, I wasn't able to secure any work, and I eventually gave up at that time.

Now, I find myself in a situation where I am seeking work again due to my current unemployment. I have used up all my connects and have even submitted bids, but so far, I haven't had any luck. I haven't even received any messages from potential clients, which means I haven't had the chance to introduce myself further.