Lessons Learned: A Month of Freelancing on Upwork

[e319c08f]

Hi everyone!

I have seen people on Upwork who have just started their freelancing journey just like me (started freelancing journey a month before). They are struggling with sending proposals and not getting accepted by the clients. I have started a month before and in my first month, I have completed 6 jobs with 100% JCC.
There are few important points that I have observed during this first month

• Build your portfolio like a professional. Do some projects of your services and add them to your portfolio.
• Make sure your profile is 100% complete.
• Add any past experience related to your service in the employment history.
• Don’t charge too much for the job because it is your start. You need some reviews on your profile. Once you get reviews, you can increase your rate. So, reviews are must for profile growth.
• Spend 8 hours daily searching jobs. This will give you an idea about the working of Upwork. You will also get the idea about the peak time of the projects.

These are some points that I feel important for a newbie on Upwork. More you make yourself involve in the platform; more you will learn. Just remain consistent.

Cheers,

Khaz

[edb64649]

could you help me? I didn't get any job

[allpurposewriter · Accepted solution]

Khaz,

You made quite a few very good points. However, I have been here for years with a profile 90 percent done and it doesn't seem to have hurt me in the slightest. I have a remarkably high return rate on proposals written.

Eight hours a day is also a great deal of time spent looking for work. I won't argue with the point that you should put a great deal of energy into finding work, but you should get to the point where you can write an effective proposal letter in two minutes or less. Remember, those eight hours of looking for work are part of your job -- it's part of your business. That means, the time you spent completing a few contracts has to include the 40 hours that you spent looking for work that week. That lowers your pay from $5 per hour to one/forty-th of that or about $0.12 per hour.

I also read recently that clients could expect 40 responses to a job posting in the first 10 minutes after the posting went public. I can't imagine many clients reading more than 40 proposal letters (or even half that). So, I hate to say don't try, but I don't apply for anything more than 20 minutes old. That just sounds like a poor gamble to me.

Having said that, I tell people to buy as many connects as you can. Yes, it's annoying to pay for connects. Yes, some new freelancers are strapped for funds. But whatever the price of connects, if they are actually buying you a career, then they are the greatest bargain in the world. $20 for connects and you get a career in return. That sounds worth it to me.

I do agree that reviews are more important than income to start with ... but I think I would aim higher than $0.12 per hour. But maybe you're onto something. I usually advise people to put a rate that is near average and slightly higher.

Sorry to be a party pooper, but another very stable piece of advice is that you should do freelance work for at least five years before you join Upwork. There are a lot of nuanced things to learn. Trying to establish yourself in the global market after taking a two-week course on graphc design just doesn't sound viable to me. I'm biased there, however.  The first 15 years I did freelance writing there was no Internet, let alone Upwork. So, I'm decidedly old school on a lot of this stuff. 

Anyway, nice post. Very helpful. 

[e319c08f]

Hello Anthony,

I appreciate your feedback. Your points reflect your great experience.

I agree the fact you mentioned that writing a strong proposal in less time is rather more crucial than spending eight hours a day. That is what I am trying to master.

I also do not apply for a post that is 10 minutes old or the client has started interviewing someone because it is only the wastage of connects. For sending proposal in 1 or 2 minutes of job posting, I have to remain active on upwork so, whenever a job pops up, I instantly put a proposal. For this, I have mentioned that the newbie has to spend time on upwork. 

Connects are very important in the start. You should buy as maximum connects as you can. I agree to your point regarding connects.

I have checked other platforms like fiverr, freelancer, and peopleperhour but upwork seems more professional and attractive to me but I agree, its challenging to get a start on upwork.

Your points are very helpful for me, thanks!

[allpurposewriter]

Khaz,

Yeah, I think we're on the same page. 

[mawieshams]

I love this. Good tips and advice for the newbies like me. ^_^

[e319c08f]

Thanks Shamimah for the appreciation!