Hey

Sure :)

ok

Hej från Göteborg!

i recently see lots of job posts that offer like $20 for an e-shop and this attracts like 20-50 requests. Shouldn't Upwork ban such posts to keep the level high?

I agree @Konstant

Sometimes clients don’t know how much to charge, so they do that. Either quote the right price or don’t send a proposal. If they really want to pay that much, that’s a client you don’t really want.

I m currently reporting those, idk if it makes any difference. There should be an AI recognition of the job post that would set a minimum limit

i saw one for 5$the freelancer gets 3$who would do such a job ?

There are many spams in the ads... I report them too :)

it's ridiculous

Hello , I want to know how can I be part of an agency like is there an application for that or it works by personal connection ( I`m logo designer ) thanks for your help

yes i dont hit those jobs but looks like they want to drag the prices down . It wasnst like that few years ago.

freelancers get chosen due to their price. I've been contacted by many clients but costs come first

They are always people who want cheaper, for no specific reason. Sometimes, they just have no idea of the market price so we need to educate them.

Clients now have access to people in developing countries, and someone that needs 10 usd to llive a week may accept those prices driving the whole market down.

Well, some of those bids are just placeholder. If I am submitting proposal to a project, I bid the actual price I feel comfortable working on it and I still win some of those bids

UpWork might want to think about increasing their minimum price for a job, especially as they get bigger

I am fairly new to Upwork but I have NEVER received a gig and I have gotten ONLY ONE interview. As a graphics artist, I know I am competing with the best out there but I think I'm not doing something right. Is there something peculiar that a newbie graphics artist like me SHOULD BE DOING? I know I need sime help of some sort.

is this webinar getting recorder my network sucks atm

recorded

yes

yes it is

@Chiedu - I think the best place to start is your profile

Chiedu, you must ask in the FAQ if you want them to see your question

are we getting the link afterwards?

How long have you been on the platform?

I think, we'll all receive a link. You can ask in the FAQ.

I have. I am doing it here to get advice from a wider audience. Thanks

I lost a job to a freelancer in Pakistan for $100. can't do any work for that!

Drop your Qs in Q&A not here please :D

Yep, I was also told that my potential client had only a budget of $100. I replied that that's no budget...

@Innocent, I've been there for a long time but I started being active this year

yes. after upwork commission and currency exchange - it's approx. £40

Who moved my cheese is a great book for shifting your mindset to freelancing

Thank you Felice.Meeting the client in the middle in terms of creating value.

Name of the podcast: The tim ferriss show

@Chiedu Ohhhh, that's a nice idea

Great advice Felice! Totally agree

Good

It is written on the home page that (profile completion is 40 % , Add work history 60 %) What does it mean ? actually I did not work before , I have started work on UPWORK by the end of March 2021 , My work history is 4 jobs .

I actually joined this year, and it actually looks so much harder to get a client with lot of competitors and biders everywhere

I might add that it’s not faire for other professional in the area! You just make prices drop and no one wins!

@Chiedu I'd say that Graphic Design is really subjective. So you should communicate in both your profile and proposal how different you are. For example, robust creative process, and many more things.

Thank you Anouk,Working with templates is a great idea!

@Shimaa 4 jobs is already something! Would it be possible to add them in your work history?

@Fanny, thank you. I totally get that! More specifics and unique feature.

How can I write an attractive proposal

@Chiedu Like you're describing a movie or a book you love, all those little details :)

I need Guidelines to writing an attractive proposal

1st job is the hardest to get

afterwards it gets different :)

#2 is hard too hahaha

the day I got my first job, I did a victory dance. it came after a month :)

:) Carolyne it's always great to celebrate those wins

I know that feeling after the first job. So blissfull

A few Indians and Pakistans place a poor value on jobs, and this is a very problem in the marketplace. A job that ought to worth $100 now would be reduced to $20. This has contributed to the issues freelancers encounter.

@Fanny Thanks A lot , it is first time to know that I have to add jobs to work history by myself , I thought i would do have to do extra jobs to be added automatically.

@Shimaa Work history is automatic indeed, but Employment history, you add it yourself. That's already something.

I’ve found it helpful to ask clients who were happy with my work to leave reviews. Once I had reviews I got more jobs. You can also ask clients off of Upwork to write you a review.

I got premium account but the connects get finished.

I completed 3 jobs but no JSS on my profile

@Shimaa I think it’s mentioned while you’re filling your profile, step by step what to do exactly…

Ok , I got it , thanks

@Paula-Ann Nice tip, thanks!!

pay attention to the notes next to each category telling you what to do …

You might want to look at your user name @saddam hussain

https://www.jdsports.co.uk/men/mens-footwear/size/11,8-5-11,9-11,10-11,10-5-12,8-11,9-5-11,10-11-5,11-12-5/sale/?max=72&minprice-gbp=10&maxprice-gbp=40

Important is to build relationship with your client a client that can give you 100$ project can give you 10000$ in future

I had 93% success job rate but after I had a new ongoing contract, it plummeted to 72% is that normal or was it the previous client left a negative private review? it shows that he left 5 star review however

how do i verify my account

@mohammed you must have few inactive contracts they hurt JSS

@Mohammed Your client must've left a private negative feedback. It happens quite often.

@ross jenkins : Will there be a replay of this Webinar?

@Amor I dont really think inactive contracts hurt JSS. I have quite a few and I'm still 100%

Structure @Felice 👍

Contracts without activity can lower your scoreSometimes contracts start, but due to the client or freelancer, no activity takes place. After a reasonable period of time, these contracts impact your score. Ending these contracts quickly or requesting the client close the contract as soon as possible can prevent this situation.

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Does-inactive-job-affect-JSS-or-Top-Rate-status/td-p/732721

I think the private negative reviews hurt our ratings more than we know

JOSH you are right imo

an inactive contract only hurts your JSS if you started it, but earned no money from it

the low price is a problem with some client, and the lowest propose that accept this price

So if you have earned $1 on a contract and is inactive it does not hurt your JSS?

clients go to upwork to get cheaper fees

@ Josh. So true. one negative can shave off 20% in one sweep.

@Amor yeah. it doesn't hurt you.

@Therese That's not entirely true, but to each their own.

yes but I lose work to cheaper freelancers

Glad you like Stephen :D

@Therese Have you considered upselling your clients?

Regarding creating an Agency, how do you set the rules of payments making it attractive/fair to your team; considering that Upwork will get a cut then you will get another cut (because you want to make profit). so as an estimate, what is the fair percentage that you take as a profit from the agency.

Therese, it's about patience and not giving up. It can be frustrating sometimes. Just keep moving forward.

@Therese The winners of the race to the bottom are the real losers. Set yourself apart, others did it, you can do it too :)

@Samuel, So true!

@Fanny I believe in that theory

"Samuel, thank you for encouraging the brethren and sistren :)

lol

LOL

How were you managed to achieve transition from being a freelancer to an agency owner. What would be the indicators of this? Or starting an agency is a relatively independent effort?

Thank you for your session.

I did not know sisteren existed

@Salma Me too!

hehe

Adding this a bit late to the convo but: honestly, when I started out I’d do work for $5 just to get work and some reviews. Now my rate is triple that and I also land clients. I found that just as there are people who only pay low, there are clients who want to pay for quality.

@Orhan, I guess it’s an independent effort mixed also with other factors.

@Paula sure. We all started small, but at a point we has to grow

had*

Building relationship with clients is the most important thing on upwork

@Paula-Ann how can Ext-Clients add a review. Will they have to create a profile & post a job before writing a review?

I've had that type of experience Anouk is talking about, in language translation as well. I was not paid for the job

@Youssef good question, following as well

Does my name make it difficult for me to get clients ? Despite that i have a top rated profile with a 100% jss and did 9 jobs but it still so damn hard to get a client

@Orhan, I’ve been working in marketing and communications for almost 14 years, started freelancing about 7 months ago and I’m thinking of doing my own company becuz I think it will enable me to take it more seriously and for clients also to take it more seriously … and I believe it just puts you in a different direction

@Giovanna that's why I love hourly rates

@mohamed you have a cute name brother :)

@Nkwokoma If someone bids that low, do they even consider the Upwork's cut?

Jobs for 'exposure', this is just too sad

What is the benefit of expert vetted talent

Has anyone experience anything around it

@Amu, on your profile scroll down, then it says “request a testimonial.” This is especially for people who don’t have an Upwork account.

@Paula-Ann. thanks for signposting

Some client wanted me to do a sample for $5 Ans if it was successful the main job would be $65 ..... I told him sorry it wouldn’t work if it’s not the same price as the real job.

@Josh Usually jobs like that are scams

@Christian, I agree with you

You dodged a bullet there.

Guys as i’m new to Upwork, I’m not sure how to navigate the platform much to check profiles or proposals … to learn how it’s done … I haven’t really done any work yet on upwork and i wanted to get an idea…

If you have samples of your work linked on your profile you don't need to accept sample jobs for a low rate

But if you don't have anything to show your quality, why would anyone hire you on a blind whim? Get some samples of your work linked up

Lol

If you're a content write, write a few paragraphs and link them up in your profile

*writer

@Salma. Consider searching for a how-to guide on YouTube

Then just refer the client to your work

@Christian thank you for that.

No problelm

My profile is at 100% but I still haven’t got any jobs yet…

Are the proposals (old ones) done previously accessible on upwork? Is it something I can see?

@Colum, I understand what you’re saying. I have more than enough reviews for the clients to see and links on my profile.Plus being “Top Rated” on Upwork is no joke.

or it remains confidential between client and freelancer?

Me too salma hamdy i have the same problem and i actually got invited for a job and my proposals got active but nothing happened @salmaHamdy

Josh, in that case then of course you shouldn't take a $5 sample job, client has more than enough to judge you off

Thumbs up! Ross

@Cindy, I was wondering if the panelists can give us advice on that or answer that…

@Salma - ask in the Q&A box, they're not answering questions from the chat

They said that at the beginning

Yes this what i was actually looking forward too

@Colum I did since the beginning of the session but it’s not answered yet…

Salma and Cindy - what do you do? Like what freelance roles are you applying for?

I guess there are lots of questions so they might not see it

@salma my question not answered either, probably just getting a lot fo Qs

I’m a freelance marketing consultant

Do you have any testimonials from previous clients?

Hi, I want to start as a freelancer but I'm a bit scared about letting go my full time job to do it. Is it manageable to do both for some time to get a better picture and then pursue one or the other?

On upwork not yet

@ilyes - no. Work part time until you're making enough from freelancer. Don't just quit your job before starting

@Colum, well said

@Salma - if you have had clients outside of Upwork ask for a testimonial and then post them on your profile. Knock up a little portfolio in Word, convert to PDF, attach it in your proposals

@ilyes Most people do that. They work as a freelancer on the evenings and weekends. Then switch to part time and finally work full time as a freelancer. In any case, plan a lot of savings.

Thank you @Felice for clarity on budget for projects

Thanks =)

@ilyes do what fanny said basically - start on free days, weekends etc, it can take time to get the ball rolling

@Ilyes I recommend that you try on upwork (with your current job) for few hours a week and see how it goes. until you can manage both together and in the mean time establish some good portfolio … then you can consider leaving for a freelance job.

@Colum thank you so much, sounds like a good idea I’ll consider that.

No problem

Yes, I've never attached anything to my proposals... I'll try it.

Thanks!!

<3

Also, I don't know what your process is, but try to reply to jobs posted less than an hour ago with less than 10 applicants (or better yet less than 5). I get way better results that way. While you're working on one thing, keep upwork open in another window and keep refreshing the job search. Being one of the first applicants is really important

Www.upwork.com/fl/sadamengr plz click my profile

Perfect tips Colum

I see but as an animator, I couldn't find a specific animation job in upvote, most of the proposal are mixed with other disciplines, how do you manage that ?

Sometimes, clients look for several freelancers.

Yes that's difficult ilyes. I proofread and about 70% of the jobs that are listed are translation or something only semi-related. You just got filter through manually and find things applicable to you

My Huawei phone doesn't opens upwork app. What should. I do?

For exemple, they ask for the animation part but also the rig and the modeling part

I've been in Upwork for 5 or so years, at first as a language translator (Spanish <-> French), but was never paid for the couple of jobs I did. I recently changed my profil as a French language as a foreign teacher, but I wonder if there're clients for this field in Upwork

i'll try that thanks @Colum

Giovanna, there are language teaching jobs but they might be more rare. I went looking for English-teaching jobs and didn't find many.

But they do exist

@Colum, thanks for your answer, the point is that I Don't teach English, but French

@Giovani - expand your skill set to editing and publishing etc

I know

Hi, please what is the possibility of getting Data related job as a Data Engineer

I'm just saying, language teaching jobs in general

any body has an explanation to the private talent cloud and is it a good thing to have a job for it or not?

Gosh! I am waiting for the day a client asks me to raise my rates

Thank you Anouk, Felice, Catalin and Ross. Great insights!

@Panelists. Amazing talk guys.

https://www.upwork.com/workwith/muhammada189

@Joseph I guess you have to include keywords related to your specialty in your profile

I have the same problem with Salma I'm a Data Analyst Freelancer

thank you all very much. great insights

@Joseph You can also check the categories

thank you all

@Colum, I might not be at the right platform for my profil

Great time here! Nice learning

@Salma Thanks

Thank you so much Ross, Catalin Annuk Felice

Thanks everyone

Thanks everyone! Loved this

Thank you all :)

Thanks for this webinar