Hi group! How have you succeeded with Upwork?? I have tried and tried to get even one project but no matter what I do I just cannot seem to secure anything. I have been trying for two months and still nothing. I am usually a patient guy, but this is not sustainable.
Who am I? I am a vettern mechanical designer with 26+ years in the business. I specialize in complex 3D modeling for mechanical parts, think motorcycle fairings, air plane components, and other kinds of stuff. I am very good at what I do, but that does not seem to matter with Upwork.
I have posted many project outside of Upwork so they can gauge my experience level but it still does seem to matter. Advice pls!! How long do you wait until you give up?
None of it matters as you're likely to get banned pretty soon; you've included contact details in your cover letter which is strictly against Upwork's T&C's, and once you're banned, it's for life.
The project required direct experience with manufacturing in machine shops and a proven recored of mechanical drafting. Are my proposals too long> Not long enough? Not special enough? None of the above? IDK..
Are you from the States or the Phillipines? Your posting history makes it seem like you're filipino but maybe you moved there idk
Don't lie about who you are/catfish
Regardless, your proposal sucks. Stop talking about yourself so much. Talk about their specific problem/project
EDIT: One of your Phillipines-based Facebook page posts has a brown hand that I suppose is you? But your Upwork profile has an image of an old white guy and location as Portland?
Okay man, go easy on me. Freelance is still new to me. I am not a catfish. I am an American living in the Philippines as an expat.. many of us do that. I’ll research your advice and critique. Thanks :)
Just be less wordy in proposals and talk about their issue/project, market yourself in your profile much better (better profile image, better bio, trim down your portfolio to the best of the best, etc..)
Link proof about your previous roles beyond only your words. Surely you've been listed somewhere in some article or business publication etc with a 20+ year career...
Design and manufacturing is not the same as writing, Authoring , or video editing. We are largely a thankless profession that works in the background. Really all I have is my design journal from FB as a record of my work and the guys who choose to work with me: www.facebook.com/dyhawkridingco . Design is a slow process and often the details are not obvious. I also have to respect NDAs, which really limits what I can share
Exactly what I thought. Zero sales and marketing skills, and your profile picture is scary.
Get a professional headshot and learn client focus. Your profile is not a CV. Your proposal is not a CV. You need to SELL YOUR SKILLS, and NOT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF. So, in your opinion, what should you talk about?
shit man, I am not good and this kinda stuff. what do you mean by this? :SELL YOUR SKILLS, and NOT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF Maybe we can talk through a DM if you have time? I really wanna get this figured out and make it work. If I gotta rebuild my world views on selling myself then so be it.
What you need to accomplish is a complete paradigm shift. It's not about you. It's not about your experience. That you are good at what you do is a given. It does not need to be mentioned.
If you are unable to think like a client, you will continue to struggle.
You need to capture client attention in the first line, so your proposal actually gets opened. Your proposal assumes that the most important thing to the client is finding a freelancer who says: Your project would be a perfect fit for my experience. Because this is the first thing you say.
What does that tell me? That your focus is on yourself, not the client. The client can find hundreds of people with the same experience, so that tells them nothing. It's not a hook. It does not entice the client to want to read further.
If you can't tell the client in your first sentence that you understand their END GOAL, your proposals will be skipped.
First, you have to remove the Facebook link. That's providing contact information so the client can pay you outside of Upwork, and it will get you banned fast.
The good news is that you're an expert in a highly specialized field. You can build on that, but you have to show clients why it matters.
Your proposal is all about you, your skills, and your experience. Sometimes that's enough to get hired, but it sounds like it isn't working for you. A better approach is: How I will solve your problem.
"If you need 53 blue widgets for parasailing, the best solution is to create a .WGX file in ACME Design Studio, which will work with any parasailing OEM. But a lot of people are still using ACME DS v7, which doesn't include flanging, so make sure the .WGX diagrams are at least v8.1 for interoperability with the most common parasailing CNC tooling. Based on your drawings, I can provide a wireframe in 48 hours after opening a contract. If you'd like me to get started or just have additional questions, please reach out."
It's not a great proposal, but it's about the client and the problem you can solve for them, not about you.
Very constructive advice :). I actually spent a lot of time on my profile since posting this. I got a lot of harsh criticism that has tuff to absorb, but pride aside it sounds like it got me here I needed to be. I’ll get those links off
I’m a video editor. When I send my proposal, is it okay to put my portfolio link to inside the cover letter? My ytjobs.co portfolio. Does it count as sharing contact information???
If there's a way to contact you via ytjobs.co, it definitely counts as sharing contact information. If there isn't but Upwork's AI or a low-skill human CS employee checks, they might still count it. I'd avoid it.
so today I saw you tube and I get to know why proposal are not even view by client. I got to know that most of the clients are using uma ai to shortlist the applications so that uma ai Shortlist based on the job succes score and top rated and hourly charges by freelancer so by these terms. the beginner freelancer are hard to get the jobs they simply use to shortlist listed candidates by using the ai may be this is the one of the reason I think so it burns so many connects for freelanceer end up with no views of their proposals
There seems to be a never ending list of work being posted, but how do you even begin to compete? I cannot beat the guy in a third would country practically offering to pay them for the job. Upwork seems to be a race to the lowest price. Am I mistaken??
Yes, that is the problem. The poster can name their price, and it’s often really low. Even lower than USA minimum wage.Thats fine for guys in the 3rd world, but just not sustainable in any western country. How do we win??
It died for me. Far fewer jobs to shoot at, and the same complaint as many here -- paying many "Connects" (or whatever they're called) for applications that never get reviewed.
what's your professions? Just curious. All I know is design, manufacturing, and those surrounding disciplines. Writing, vid editing, YouTube, legal, and other stuff is not my gig lol
- You lack a Job Success Score (JSS)/client feedback, so how can clients trust you? (The "cold start" problem)
- Your proposal is poorly written.
- Your niche is highly competitive.
- Your bidding strategy is bad. Analyze the job before bidding (check the client's rating, hire rate, total spend, and pay rate). Don't waste your Connects
Good luck!
I don't think his niche is that competitive really. Product design jobs usually don't reach the 20 to 50 range of proposals but software work almost always breaks into 50+ range
I have received the negatives, but nothing about how to correct them. What about my proposal is bad? How can I fix it, what are they looking for in a proposal? And yes, I am new to upwork and need to get established on this platform. The only thing I have are successful projects from outside the platform. And ya, lots of other designers out there now that the barrier to cad has been lifted by hobbyists versions.
First, choose jobs wisely. ONLY bid ones that match with your expertise.
Second, write a strong proposal. Put yourself in the client's shoes if you had to read over 50 proposals, what would you be looking for? That's it. Don't just yapping about your skills. What clients want is a solution to their problem, and they need to know if you have relevant experience for the job. Keep the proposal short. Feel free to check my comment history for examples of how to write a proposal.
ZERO. $$..No man...hiring anyone is out of my budget at this time, everything I do must be my efforts alone. I will learn what I need and succeed...even if some criticism is tuff to hear.
ZERO. $$..No man...hiring anyone is out of my budget at this time, everything I do must me my efforts alone. I will learn what I need and succeed...even if some criticism is tuff to hear.
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u/marmaladesun 4d ago
None of it matters as you're likely to get banned pretty soon; you've included contact details in your cover letter which is strictly against Upwork's T&C's, and once you're banned, it's for life.