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hasna-kh
Community Member

Why do clients not give new freelancers a chance?

Hello everyone,
I'm a new freelancer on upwork and i'm a highly skilled and qualified person in my domaine looking to get a chance in here.
However i'm living currently my worst nightmare on this platforme as i'm seeing alot of new people with potential and so much to offer (and i'm not only talking about myself) being "ignored" or not given the chance they deserve to prove themselves. Instead all the credits go to top rated freelancers (who might have less to give than the new ones looking to estabilish themselves)
Now i understand that there might be new freelancers who are unqualified, and have a bad profile or don't nail their proposals... etc but i can garentee you that there are even more talents that go unseen because they don't have the "top rated" Badge and a 30k+$ on there profile.
So i would like to see things from a client's perspective, do you give new talents a chance? Or do you make a quick evaluation based on blue Badges and earnings?
Now i know a client probably doesn' t care about the whole new talent/ equality of chances thing, and he just wants his job done by who "upwork standards" define to be the best.
But for those of you who care to be fair let us change this mindset which is crushing alot of dreamers under it's heavy weight.
I'de like to know your thoughts about the matter.
ACCEPTED SOLUTION
martina_plaschka
Community Member


Hasna K wrote:
Hello everyone,
I'm a new freelancer on upwork and i'm a highly skilled and qualified person in my domaine looking to get a chance in here.
However i'm living currently my worst nightmare on this platforme as i'm seeing alot of new people with potential and so much to offer (and i'm not only talking about myself) being "ignored" or not given the chance they deserve to prove themselves. Instead all the credits go to top rated freelancers (who might have less to give than the new ones looking to estabilish themselves)
Now i understand that there might be new freelancers who are unqualified, and have a bad profile or don't nail their proposals... etc but i can garentee you that there are even more talents that go unseen because they don't have the "top rated" Badge and a 30k+$ on there profile.
So i would like to see things from a client's perspective, do you give new talents a chance? Or do you make a quick evaluation based on blue Badges and earnings?
Now i know a client probably doesn' t care about the whole new talent/ equality of chances thing, and he just wants his job done by who "upwork standards" define to be the best.
But for those of you who care to be fair let us change this mindset which is crushing alot of dreamers under it's heavy weight.
I'de like to know your thoughts about the matter.

 I think a new freelancer with a snappy profile, a great portfolio, excellent skills and a nice profile pic will always be successful and find his niche.

The one thing that always works is the willingness to deliver excellent results, and the introspection and self-awareness of knowing what one is really good at. Any person with these attributes will be successful here, 100%!

That being said, again, please remove that portfolio piece where you butchered the German language beyond recognition. It does not serve you well. Don't assume translation is easy because your client does not understand the end result, anyway. Many employ a second person for proofreading, and this is where you get awful feedback that sends your JSS into the ground. 

 

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16 REPLIES 16
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Why do clients not give new freelancers a chance?"

 

Clients do give new freelancers a chance.

 

Every successful freelancer here was a new freelancer once.

Every freelancer who has earned $20,000, or $50,000, or more than $100,000 once had a total earnings number of zero.

As for you personally, here's your problem:

Screen Shot 2019-01-20 at 7.44.57 AM.png

 

Hello Preston,
Thanks for the reply.
If clients do give new freelancers a chance then i didn't experience that, may be it's because of what you adressed.
I appreciate the advice and i'll work by it.
Ps. I'm not attacking clients, i'm simply trying to understand the problem.
petra_r
Community Member

With all due respect - the main problem is not that you are new, it is that you are advertising yourself as a translator when you are a doctor, not a translator.

 

You may speak several languages, but that does not make you a translator any more than owning a scalpel makes me a doctor.

 

If you need any proof of that, have a native German look at your "German Translation" which is no more than horrific word salad.  I have no idea if your translations into other languages are any better, but you must never, ever, try to translate into German again.  This is right up there with the worst translations I have ever seen.


Petra R wrote:

 

 

If you need any proof of that, have a native German look at your "German Translation" which is no more than horrific word salad.  I have no idea if your translations into other languages are any better, but you must never, ever, try to translate into German again.  This is right up there with the worst translations I have ever seen.


I just had a look at the French translation of a fashion article Hasna has in her portfolio. Hasna is not a native speaker of French despite what she claims and she definitely cannot translate into French.

 

Yes, the article was a fun read for her French is shaky like heck, but one of these days, Hasna will stumble upon a client who is a native speaker of French. And there is so much a full refund to a POed client can do for your JSS...

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless

Hello Presna.. I have the same problem being ignored as a basic freelancer. I I registed 3 month ago and regurlarly apply for jobs but only got luck once. Very strange..

Is there something wrong with my profile? I want as least 3 jobs before upgrading to freelancer pro..

Thanks


Thorsten L wrote:

Hello Presna.. I have the same problem being ignored as a basic freelancer. I I registed 3 month ago and regurlarly apply for jobs but only got luck once. Very strange..

Is there something wrong with my profile? I want as least 3 jobs before upgrading to freelancer pro..

Thanks


 Set your profile to public, otherwise nobody can have a look at it. I can only see your picture and it is really hard to make out what is on there, so it would be a good first step to use a better, professional profile pic. 

martina_plaschka
Community Member


Hasna K wrote:
Hello everyone,
I'm a new freelancer on upwork and i'm a highly skilled and qualified person in my domaine looking to get a chance in here.
However i'm living currently my worst nightmare on this platforme as i'm seeing alot of new people with potential and so much to offer (and i'm not only talking about myself) being "ignored" or not given the chance they deserve to prove themselves. Instead all the credits go to top rated freelancers (who might have less to give than the new ones looking to estabilish themselves)
Now i understand that there might be new freelancers who are unqualified, and have a bad profile or don't nail their proposals... etc but i can garentee you that there are even more talents that go unseen because they don't have the "top rated" Badge and a 30k+$ on there profile.
So i would like to see things from a client's perspective, do you give new talents a chance? Or do you make a quick evaluation based on blue Badges and earnings?
Now i know a client probably doesn' t care about the whole new talent/ equality of chances thing, and he just wants his job done by who "upwork standards" define to be the best.
But for those of you who care to be fair let us change this mindset which is crushing alot of dreamers under it's heavy weight.
I'de like to know your thoughts about the matter.

 I think a new freelancer with a snappy profile, a great portfolio, excellent skills and a nice profile pic will always be successful and find his niche.

The one thing that always works is the willingness to deliver excellent results, and the introspection and self-awareness of knowing what one is really good at. Any person with these attributes will be successful here, 100%!

That being said, again, please remove that portfolio piece where you butchered the German language beyond recognition. It does not serve you well. Don't assume translation is easy because your client does not understand the end result, anyway. Many employ a second person for proofreading, and this is where you get awful feedback that sends your JSS into the ground. 

 

Spoiler
Hi Hasna,

I would make my profile more to the point. Clients don't wan't to know about your life, they are only interested in what you can offer.

Besides, now that you have done your first few jobs, please don't accept really low paying jobs just to have a job, it doesn't look professional.

And remember, we've all had a terrible time getting our first jobs on Upwork, it's to be expected as there is a lot (too much?) competition, here.

Thank you so much Luce, i appreciate your advice and i'll keep it in mind 🙏

Hasna,

 

You need to up the ante. Increase your price for a start. You will not be taken seriously otherwise; particularly as you are also a practising medical doctor with eight years training. Make medicine, and health-related subjects your niche for translation. Do not translate into any language other than your native languages - particularly medical texts. If you do, some client will eventurally call you out on it. It's not worth it. 

 

Lose the first two sentences of your profile. A client only sees the first three lines of your profile to begin with, so you should state what you can do for the client in those three lines. What you have at the moment is waffle.  Also, as you are a practising physician, it goes without saying that you have a medical degree - you don't need to add it (third line of your overview).

 

You need to start your overview with something like: "I am a medical doctor and translator of scientific, medical and health-related texts from German and English into Arabic or French, my two native languages." etc.   

 

As Luce says, you need to streamline your overview, so that your potential clients get an instant idea of what you can do for them. 

 

 

 

Thank you for the honest advice Nichola.

Despite Nichola's sage advice, Hasna your translation skills when it comes to the written word are sorely lacking. As Petra is a native German speaker and Rene a native French speaker I have to put utter faith in their critiques.

 

Being able to hold a conversation in a 2nd language does not and never will a translator make.

 

As far as clients giving new-comers to U. a chance ... as Preston so succinctly stated, each and every one of the freelancers on this platform began with zero jobs.  While our track records were tested and proven in real brick and mortar jobs - we were all novices on U. when we began.

 

 

tlsanders
Community Member

Hasna, if you are living your worst nightmare due to clients preferring experienced freelancers, you have been very blessed. How wonderful for you that you have never battled cancer, lost a child, been the victim of a violent crime, been involved in a natural disaster, lost a partner to a drunk driver, or any of the many other actual nightmares people endure every day.

 

As to your issue about clients giving new freelancers a chance, it's worth noting that one of the reasons many clients hire freelancers is because they lack adequate staff and do not have the time required to train and supervise someone to handle the project. Thus, hiring someone who may or may not be able to do the job and who will require more oversight entirely defeats the purpose of hiring a freelancer. 

 

I would love to hear more about how you feel it's "unfair" for a business person to prioritize his or her business.

 

That aside, freelancers with strong backgrounds generally have no trouble getting started on Upwork, despite having no earnings and no ratings on their profiles. We were all brand new with no ratings at some point, and yet here we are a bit down the road with tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings. 

petra_r
Community Member


Hasna K wrote:

I'm a new freelancer on upwork and i'm a highly skilled and qualified person in my domaine looking to get a chance in here.
However i'm living currently my worst nightmare on this platforme as i'm seeing alot of new people with potential and so much to offer (and i'm not only talking about myself) being "ignored" or not given the chance they deserve to prove themselves. Instead all the credits go to top rated freelancers (who might have less to give than the new ones looking to estabilish themselves)

 To be honest one of the reasons why some clients don't give new freelancers a chance is because they may have previously hired fraudsters who pretended to be able to do something they can't do and lost money. (And it is not just the money they paid to the fake, incompetent, dishonest new freelancer who claimed to have skills he or she does not, it is the loss of moving forward with a product that has been messed up by an incompetent freelancer.)

 

Experienced translation clients may take a chance after having a small translation contract professionally proofread, but most are more naive and / or have been bitten once and are now twice shy.

 

So the problem is not the clients who won't give a new freelancer a chance, the real problem are new freelancers who are delusional or dishonest enough (it is one or the other in this case) think they are something they are not, such as a translator into languages that are not their native language, and mess up contracts for clients who will consequently no longer give newbies a chance.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

 

kochubei_valeria
Community Member

All,

 

A few replies have been edited to removed from this thread and the thread has been closed from further replies.

 

Please, be mindful of the Community Guidelines when posting on these boards.

Thanks.

~ Valeria
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