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ankit48
Community Member

Tips: How to get good feedback on jobs

Hi everyone, I hope you guys are doing well. 

And thanks for stopping by.

 

I am sharing a part of my upwork experience about how to get good feedback. Or in general how to complete your job successfully. 

 

1. Starting with the very basics. Complete your job on time with desired quality. It's a no-brainer that completing the job on time with quality will increase your chance of good feedback. 

 

2. Understanding requirements properly.  Before starting an Upwork contract, take your time to understand the project requirements. If you start the contract before understanding your job scope, there are higher chances of you will hit a wall. You will work more for less money. 

Most of the time, fixed prices shown on job posts are wild guesses made by the clients. It's just a placeholder. Talk to them and tell them your estimate of timeline and budget. This will save both parties from getting into an uncomfortable situation. 

 

2. Keep your client updated with the progress.  Always tell your client what you have completed and what is next. You can set a time period of a day or two or a week for a project update meeting. This will keep them confident and will enhance their experience of working with you.  While working on hourly jobs, always keep your work memo updated. 

 

3. Be honest about everything.  Let the clients know about your schedule. I don't write "Not available" every time when I am not at the desk. I let them know about my Lunch break, evening break or workout time. This will help them avoid writing to me at my odd hours. In a long-term job, I also ask for breaks, like a long weekend to refresh my mind and come back with more energy. Never miss a milestone deadline, if there is something then let them know and adjust your working hours accordingly and finish it on time. 

 

4. Write a proper closing message.  When you have completed your job and the client is also satisfied with it, this doesn't guarantee you good feedback or feedback at all.   Some clients just close the contract and don't leave feedback, or some just put 5 stars. 

When you are closing your contract, write them how you completed their job and what extra value you added to their job. Spacially talk about pain points the client was telling in the interview phase. 

Basically, write a summary of the job progress and then ask them to leave feedback. 

Don't write directly to leave 5 stars! Never ever do this.  You can write " Hope I have delivered a 5 stars experience job" 
Also, tell them they can write to you again if some extra help is needed. 

 

Hope this will help you to be a successful freelancer on Upwork. 

Please add more points if you think can add value to this post. 

Happy upworking 🙃

10 REPLIES 10
759e32fa
Moderator
Moderator

Hi Ankit,

 

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm sure a lot of freelancers would benefit from this.

 

I totally agree with everything that you've said. Especially the part where you ask if extra help is needed as clients may need revision but may not know they can ask for it. This usually leads to them leaving negative feedback especially if they're new to Upwork.

 

I will surely direct freelancers on this post if they ask for tips on how they can get good reviews from clients!


~ AJ
Upwork
ankit48
Community Member

Thanks Annie. 

A good closing message has increased my long-term clients count to up to 40+%


Annie Jane B wrote:

Hi Ankit,

 

Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm sure a lot of freelancers would benefit from this.

 

I totally agree with everything that you've said. Especially the part where you ask if extra help is needed as clients may need revision but may not know they can ask for it. This usually leads to them leaving negative feedback especially if they're new to Upwork.

 

I will surely direct freelancers on this post if they ask for tips on how they can get good reviews from clients!


_________________________________________________

 

Many unscrupulous clients already know how to buck the fixed-price option, and how  to intimidate inexperienced freelancers by continuing to ask for  changes, to avoid paying for a job that was probably acceptable in the first place. 

 

What works for some freelancers is not necessarily a recipe for success for less experienced freelancers and clients should certainly not be encouraged to continually ask for changes, which could amount to scope creep, demands for refunds and a no-win situation for all. 

feed_my_eyes
Community Member


Ankit A wrote:

Tell them if you will have a long weekend for going out with family or friends. Don't make excuses like power cut, or internet was not working or you were not feeling well. Tell directly, you were out cycling, out with friends or just wanted to take a break in between weekends.

This is very much acceptable when you are working as a professional creative. Sometimes you hit a bottleneck with your ideas so need to leave your desk for a while. This refreshes your thought process and will eventually help with the job. 

Directly tell the client how you were feeling and you were just out, and avoid making excuses. They will understand everything and will appreciate your honesty. 


Sorry, but I totally disagree with this. Telling clients about how you're feeling, or that you were out cycling, or about your plans for the weekend, is over-sharing, IMO. If I were a client, I would think that this is very unprofessional, especially if it's used as a reason why my work isn't being done. If you're not available, just say that you're not available - no need to go into details.

 

But there's no one-size-fits-all advice for this, either. I suggest taking your cues from the client; if they're chatty and friendly and they tell you about their long weekend when you're in a meeting with them, then sure, go ahead and do the same. But if they seem busy and just get straight to the point, it's probably best if you don't start telling them about the camping trip you just took.

 


Ankit A wrote:

Some clients just close the contract and don't leave feedback, or some just put 5 stars.  


It's not possible to close a contract without leaving feedback. 5 stars IS the feedback. 

 


Ankit A wrote:

Don't write directly to leave 5 stars! Never ever do this.  You can write " Hope I have delivered a 5 stars experience job" 


That's the same thing as telling them to leave you 5 stars, IMO. You don't think that clients will see right through that?

 

I've had good feedback throughout my freelancing career, and I think you can just keep it simple. Do good work, meet deadlines, listen carefully, communicate clearly. A client shouldn't have to hear about whether you need a break from your desk, or whether you want a good feedback review - it should be about their needs, not yours. 

Hi Christine, thanks for adding your thoughts to this thread. 

I just shared my experience here on upwork. No, where I wrote follow these guidelines to get good feedback or something. 
The 3rd point has worked fine for me. If a client is writing to me when I am not at my desk, instead of writing not available right now every time sometime I tell them what I am doing. Like cycling or evening/launch break. So that they are aware of my schedule and avoid messaging again at the same time. 

This doesn't mean late delivery of milestones. 


About the line "Hope I have delivered a 5 stars experience job"
Writing *Hope* means it encourages clients to write their feedback in the chat before posting it to profile feedback. 
This way freelance can have another chance of improving things. 

We can agree to disagree. There's nothing wrong with having a different point of view.

Totally agree with this. 

roberty1y
Community Member

Asking for any kind of feedback is a bad idea, in my opinion. Even if you say, "Just be honest", the client knows you want a good review - who'd want a bad one? It makes them feel you're putting them under pressure.

 

The best thing to do is ask the client to close the contract (assuming you're sure they're happy with your work). Then they have to leave a review.

wickedlnl
Community Member

It should be common sense that you should complete your work on time and to know what exactly needs to be done before accepting the job. As for your free time, you need to set up a specific time frame for the work to be completed, theres no reason for a client to message you "during your lunch break", "weekend vacation" or at odd hours. And if they do, they will get a reply from you when they do. Nobody should send "not available", just reply when you have the time to reply. You are a contractor, not their employe 9-5pm their time.

e79a18ae
Community Member

Add #5 please. How does your client post feedback about your work?  I am trying to identify the talent, great service and gratitude to someone I hired but the directions to do so are not readily found.  Help. Thanks. 

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