Job Post Generator (Beta)

[#1]

Starting in late April, some clients can use a job post generator when posting a job.

Check out the product update for Job Post Generator (Beta) and let us know your thoughts about this update in the comments below.

[#2]

Jeanne, you've said it so well.

We (some of us, anyway) wish for a charge to post, to slow down the spam-and-scams, we wish for more high-quality employers to hear about the site and love it... we get AI help in posting more and more garbage by employers who are of such low-quality they can't put together their thoughts on their own.

But we're supposed to keep "optimizing" and making sure our proposals are of increasing quality to infinity, no matter that we know from our track records that the site used to work properly for us... because all that's wrong with the drop in open rate, invites, and jobs is inside our own selves. Did the gas lights just flicker?

[#3]

So the freelancer needs to know that the work is written using artificial intelligence.
And the freelancer should have an AI response function for that job.
And let the two bots talk to each other.
That would be fun.🤣

[#4]

Okay, Upwork -- now you're just being funny. 😂

When this announcement was first released, the title wasn't Job Post Generator (Beta). You also removed the language: "This five-week test aims to assist clients in defining their job requirements, helping them post more jobs and ensuring that the right freelancers can find them." And, you got rid of the phrase "advanced AI."

Did you do this because we were being so critical of it?

(No, I'm not expecting an answer, but if the actual integration of the feature didn't change, I'm not sure why the announcement had to change.)

[#5]

Perhaps they're using "advanced AI" to write these announcements...

"The job post generator makes it easier for clients to post their jobs, with the goal of ensuring more work is available to talent."

🤔

[#6]

It was inevitable that Upwork did this given that everything with a textbox has to be hooked up to ChatGPT these days. But I really hope y’all pull this feature.

As Kim said, it removes cues that freelancers use to filter job posts. Tone and wording can indicate that a client will be demanding and difficult to work with or that they are obvious scammers. These generic templated posts hide all of that with the pablum LLMs spew.

Having an text generator write part of the text makes the requirements listed in the post suspect. We have no way of knowing from the post whether the requirements listed are truly from the client or if they were plucked out of the LLM’s hat just because they statistically go with what the client put in their prompt. Sure, the client should have reviewed the post and fixed the requirements. But how many will really do that given the blind trust some people put into these madlib generators?

If you do proceed with this silliness, I hope you’ll at least follow the transparency recommendations of your CS and trust and safety teams and disable the option for clients to remove the "Some of the content in this job post may have been auto-generated using advanced AI” message so that freelancers are aware the post is from a random word generator rather than a client. Please also give us a toggle on the advanced job search to exclude these posts from our feeds so we don't have to waste our time with them.

[#7]

I prefer a short job description, even without much detail, written by one person. If the work generates any interest, I will ask what is necessary in my proposal.

Just looking at the amount of nonsense we've seen on the forums because of this, I don't want to think what we might see in the jobs.

And something to keep in mind. Not all of us here are English speakers, we just do what we can.
English speakers, I assume you will be able to distinguish one thing from another (even I have been able to do it here in the forums), but it is not easy for us. So I'm hoping that if a job ad is generated by AI, it's specified in some way, like Wes said.

Bad idea, very bad.
And really, stop having so many good ideas and selling them as if they were a panacea, thank you!

[#8]

When I hire someone (which I have not done on Upwork, and now, I never will), I want to 'see' the person behind the proposal. AI generated proposals will be binned automatically. For the moment, they are identifiable.  If I have to waste time to go further, then I will ask for a test - unpaid.

Upwork, I simply do not understand your MO. You charge clients $$ to hire. How on earth are they supposed to hire when faced with at least 50 + cloned proposals? Your strategy is seriously, and frighteningly shortsighted. 

[#9]

This is terrible. Look at these two job posts:

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

I saw them today at different times, and thought to myself: "I'm sure I have read this exact phrasing in another job posts".

When I compared them I was sure at the beginning it is the same client for both ("No way two different persons used the exact same phrasing" I told myself), but you can see the differences between the client meta-data, so it is definitely not the same client. 

When I remembered the announcement about this AI-generated job posts feature, it all makes sense now. 

And if this is our future, it is really terrible.

Now there will be more job posts that will result in me thinking to myself "I cannot tell anything from this general wording about the job or about the client", and therefore I might either not submitting a proposal at all, or submitting one of my general proposals (which I hate) that only shows my profile and portfolio, but tell the client nothing about the way I'm going to solve their specific problem. Upwork might get some more connects, but the end result - No contracts. And for the long run - no clients and no talents in the platform. 

[#10]

Hi Shannon,

This is my updated post for this thread after having more exposure to clients using the generative AI to assist them with writing their Job post. My initial intuition was that maybe this concept might not be the best idea. However, after receiving enough of the generative AI Job posts, I give the concept a thumbs up.

The jobs requests are written more clearly and the AI assisted the clients in writing better specs versus a frequently confusing request. Basically, the Job requests are clearer and more tightly written. My vote is to keep this feature for the clients. Thanks!

[#11]

I think this is a great idea

[#12]

it's a good idea

[#13]

I think people without profile photos shouldn't be allowed to reply.

[#14]

it's a good idea

[#15]

I know it's been years since I joined, but I remember going through all kinds of machinations to get an acceptable photo. I tried recently, and it allowed me to use a photo with a hat, and one with a book covering most of my face. So, I guess the Upwork algo for photos was changed.

I like your suggestion. This forum should be for freelancers, not people selling stuff, spamming, phishing and other scams. Or making statements based on no profile/photo/etc. These people could be anyone.

[#16]

As this has been in use for a while now and more and more AI-assisted jobs pop up in the feed, here's another piece of feedback. 

The assist is glaringly obvious. The templated 3-4 paragraphs that all use the same structure and sentences are tedious to sift through, because they contain very little actual info. The added filler that's supposedly there to make the job post feel more complete and professional is instead empty, repetitive, and makes it harder to understand what the client actually wants to see, and for the freelancer to make an initial communication compatibility assessment. That especially is harmful for all involved, I think - you waste everyone's time by applying to a job where it's obvious from the first two sentences exchanged with the client that you won't be a match. 

Look at this: 

To apply for this job, please submit a proposal outlining your experience, qualifications, and how you can help us with this project. Please include links to past completed projects that demonstrate your skill set. We look forward to reviewing your application and working with you to create a pitch deck that stands out.

---

What is this? A whole paragraph to repeat the application steps every freelancer should already be familiar with. Entirely empty, completely soulless, 100% waste of space.

If you're going to foist AI on us where we can hardly avoid it, at least wait a bit to get a better trained model that can actually add something other than padding.  For now, due to the reasons above, I personally avoid applying to generated job posts. 

[#17]

Is that what's going on? I saw an interesting job listed yesterday and when I clicked on it I got the garbage word salad that is an immediate warning bell that these are not people I want to work for. The whole point of freelancing is that we get to choose projects and clients that we find interesting. I also automatically disqualify anyone who uses the canned questions Upwork provides. If you don't know how to ask for what you want without the "help" of canned questions then I don't want to work for you.

Worse is that clients may not know that they're WAY better off not using the AI generated content so they go against their better judgment and use it, only to find they get terrible freelancer response in return, because the seasoned and qualified freelancers will ignore projects like that.

[#18]

Ciertamente

[#19]

The AI listings in my feed also tell me how long the job should last (amusingly, way longer than I would ever require) and then ask for me to have experience in [a bunch of things that aren't relevant to the job title].

I stopped applying to the ones where I can see AI is involved, instantly.

For one thing—I can't tell what they want from me, unless the title is all I'm supposed to read now—why would I WASTE beaucoup connects to say something irrelevant that gets me disqualified for the job, when I can find job descriptions where I *know* what they want, so I can explain that yes, I'm an expert in the skills they need?

And secondarily—so many listings curtly state that auto-generated proposals will be summarily ignored (as they should be). Yet I'm supposed to waste my TIME reading auto-gen job listings? Nope.

Folks, you can rename the site to Downwork now. You'll be missed.  😞

[#20]

I have no idea how Upwork could think this was a beneficial idea for the platform, for reasons I have stated in another post. Somehow they believe this will generate more income, that's a given.

[#21]

Really, really bad idea. Agree with the word salad comment. I'm already seeing posts that have nothing to do with the client's actual project needs. At least Upwork sees that many job postings are insufficient. But, why not give clients a required number of characters to post their jobs? If it's important enough of a requirement for movie reviews on IMDB, it should be important enough for a site like Upwork that freelancers and agencies use to help put food on the table. 

[#22]

Stop this AI madness! All job posts now are almost identical and misleading.

[#23]

Totally agree! Upwork please listen.

[#24]

Came here to share that i'm literrally skipping all ai assisted job posts now as they tell me nothing about the job itself. It seems that client just types one single word and the rest is made up (generated as a fancier word). Not wasting my connects to this nonsense.

On the flip side as these jobs include a disclaimer at the end mentioning they were created using advanced ai, really makes my job easier to skip such posts using keyword exclude! Always look at the bright side 🙂 

[#25]

Sometimes you don't need advanced ai, you just need to tell the clients clearly when they are writing their job posts : 

"Warning!!! There are super-talented freelancers in this platform who can literally change the future of your business! They will not apply to your job post unless you clearly describe your project and enter a reasonable budget."

[#26]

This is getting even worst than I imagined. AI paragraphs are getting longer and longer now, and saying more nothing than before. 

Here is a great example from this morning:

We are looking for a skilled professional to assist with a SharePoint Process Automation project that is less than 1 month long. The ideal candidate should have expertise in Business Process Automation, Microsoft Power Automate, Microsoft Forms, PowerApps, Microsoft SharePoint Administration, and Microsoft SharePoint.

As the candidate, we would like you to submit a proposal that describes how you can help with the project. This should include your approach to process automation, your experience with Microsoft Power Automate and SharePoint Administration, and your overall strategy for completing the project within the given timeline.

We would also like you to include links to past projects that demonstrate your skills in process automation, Microsoft Power Automate, and SharePoint Administration. This will help us to better understand your capabilities and determine if you are the right fit for our project.

We are excited to hear how you can help us automate our business processes and streamline our workflow using Microsoft Power Automate and SharePoint. Please submit your proposal and links to past projects for our review.

---

Only the first sentence (bolded by me) actually says something about the required job. The rest is auto-generated.

Then, it gets ridiculous: Which approach and which strategy are you expecting from me, if all you give me is one sentence?! 

And I think that the auto-generated disclaimer at the end ("Note: Some of the content in this job post may have been auto-generated using advanced AI.") can be deleted by the client, because now I sometimes don't see it, even though it is obvious that it was used.