Events Update: Get an insight into this year's upcoming events from Upwork Live Learning Team

[AveryO]

Hello everyone,

Exciting news from the Academy Live Learning Team! Get ready for an incredible lineup of events this year, registration is open to all!

Will Simpson, our enthusiastic Academy Events Lead, is bringing top talent to share success stories and expert insights at Expert Talks. Be the first to learn about the most recent product launches on Upwork at Product Events, and join the ever-popular Talent Toolbox events for practical tips on growing your Upwork business. Bookmark the Events page so as not to miss out on upcoming events.

Our Upwork Coaches have crafted diverse events across time zones, ensuring accessibility for Upwork users worldwide! 

Connect with Coaches in Ask a Coach Live Sessions, ask questions about getting started or growing your business, and get answers in real time.

Refine your proposal writing skills, get tips to improve your profile's marketability, and receive various rate strategies in Review & Strategies Workshops with Upwork Coaches.

And finally, we are thrilled to introduce our brand-new event format that will change the way you experience coaching - One-on-One Profile Strategy Call with an Upwork Coach and One-on-One Proposal Strategy Call with an Upwork Coach! This format offers a level of exclusivity and personalization that group sessions simply can't match. 

It's all about YOU and your unique goals! Join us in making this year unforgettable – register now and stay tuned for more updates!

[crart]

Thanks, but no thanks. I would much rather see someone from management facing all the people they infuriated with ridiculous changes made to this platform and explain why it turned into bot and scam fest. No need to "coach" me neither, I'm naturally resistant 😉

"It's all about YOU and your unique goals!" - certainly not about freelancers.

[the-right-writer]

I agree. The problems rampant in Upwork have nothing to do with the need for coaching.

Upwork needs to stop allowing warm bodies with no skills in and draw the scammers.

I love when Upwork wants to "help" us dumb freelancers. I was doing fine, as were most people, until the changes. Of course, it's to benefit Upwork, but the encouragement to apply, boost and try to get jobs when half of the job feed are scams is nauseating.

[elisa_b]

I already see thousands of unskilled freelancers creating good profiles and good proposals, only to disappoint clients because they cannot do the job.

[ravi_iitian]

Bring back the skill tests.

[the-right-writer]

And the platform and category limits.

[crart]

**Edited for Community Guidelines** Imagine all those kids trying to pass a simple test, what they wouldn't find in Chatgpt, they wouldn't "know" 😂

[luce-neidert]

A few years ago, it was much fun to watch videos on how to pass the skill test...

[c78df216]

So what do you think should be the solution??

[elisa_b]

The solution to what? 

[the-right-writer]

The solution to better jobs, decent clients, and few scams is to reinstate the platform and category limits, and the platform and skills tests. The rules that worked very well, until Upwork decided to allow anyone to be a freelancer. The scammer freelancers and clients swarmed the platform, changing the business forever. Upwork will not reinstate the rules.

[1cac6772]

Get rid of the boost system. 

Go back to the old system that matched the most qualified freelancer to the job.

Don't let everyone in to the platform. 

Delete bots and scammers.

When you have somene that's posted 1,014 jobs with a 1% hire rate and $30 spent.....this person has to be removed from the system. They are CLEARLY taking advantage of freelancers on the platform. But I guarnatee you that Upwork will do NOTHING to this person.

[2b0f3adb]

@Dale D. I love the concrete example in your attached image!  From this are we supposed to believe the client hired 10 jobs at an average of $3 each?

[75146cf4]

yeah, I think so. 

[5a23daa2]

yes, this is possible because they using Chat GPT

[10a539c3]

yes you are right! but if they make good profile they have something into them somewhere.

[b9af601d]

Yea you're saying the truth

[aprovado]

Nicely put.

>> It's all about YOU and your unique goals! Join us in making this year unforgettable

No thanks. Last year was already 'unforgettable' enough. Don't want another one I can't forget.

[mconicx]

Landing Jobs isn't the hard part. You offer what you have, you give your quote, possible solutions to the Job's requirements to convince the Client that you know your thing. Out of many applicants, you can't be picked all the time. 

The hard part is finding a normal Client who knows what they're doing. It's not even about lack of knowledge on how the site works as It's fairly easy to explain to them with reference links (If they care enough to learn), It's about them knowing what they really want from you.

My dumb little freelancer mind that inflicts 'dollar sign for eyes' syndrome to Upwork isn't the issue, It's them. It took three years of trying to land a Job and landing not even that much to realize that I can hardly put the "It's all about ME, and my whims and wishes for my brighter future!" to blame. 

At least I've got enough for the rating system, and actual history to back up for newer Clients.

[2b0f3adb]

Hello Marko C.  I find potential clients sometimes know too much of what they want.  For example, I find a lot of postings want a computer application done in a specific programming language.  What difference does it make what programming language something is written in?  As long as it does what it is supposed to do, programming language should not matter.  I mean except for the people wanting to pay someone to do their school work.

[f3cf95d1]

Good evening,
Thank you for your sound advice, but it's of little use as the proposals are not read, even when the customer receives less than 5 proposals.
Martin K. https://www.upwork.com/nx/wm/offer/101570036 hired me. He told me I had one of the best applications in accounting (I've worked with KPMG and Deloitte).
However, here are my ratios: 100% of my applications read by clients result in 100% hiring. And 91% of my proposals are not read.
That's the sad fact...
Laurent.

[feed_my_eyes]

So Upwork has reduced their marketing budget for bringing in new clients, but apparently increased their budget to coach and train new freelancers. Why, when there aren't enough jobs for the vast number of capable freelancers that you've already got? (Never mind, I already know the answer - so that you can sell more connects.) 

[celgins]

So, the tips to improve your profile's marketability in Review & Strategies Workshops with Upwork Coaches says:

Why Choose a One-on-One Profile Strategy Call with an Upwork Coach?
Price: $24.99 USD
Duration: 45 min

An Upwork Coach will focus solely on your Upwork profile, ensuring a customized experience. The goal is to provide you with custom-tailored tips for best practices that might help you create a more marketable profile.

Might help you? For 45 minutes at $24.99, Upwork can only say it "might" help create a more marketable profile? For $24.99, there should be a minimum guarantee. And, why does it take 45 minutes to walk through a freelancer's profile? Will the coach be writing profile content for the freelancer?

If profiles were not being randomly rotated across search results, and were being promoted on equal footing with the cool, new AI-infused profiles--which seem to be getting more attention these days--optimization might matter. But an optimized profile loses its fire when there are 15+ million profiles and all the low-skill, no experience profiles are ranked right alongside the experts.

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Clark S wrote:

For 45 minutes at $24.99, Upwork can only say it "might" help create a more marketable profile? For $24.99, there should be a minimum guarantee.

To be fair, $24.99 for 1-on-1 coaching is peanuts - I don't know how they found expert coaches who were willing to work for that rate, unless Upwork is supplementing their pay - and what sort of a guarantee would you expect after a 45-minute session? 

[the-right-writer]

I don't know how they found expert coaches who were willing to work for that rate,

Maybe they promised them a new Upwork community forum badge.

[celgins]

and what sort of a guarantee would you expect after a 45-minute session?

I would expect the Upwork Coach to provide a least one custom-tailored tip that brings value to a freelancer's profile. If that can't be accomplished in 45 minutes for a fee, then the coaching session is worthless.

To me, it would mean the Upwork Coachs' custom-tailored tips are probably no better than the profile tips given by other freelancers or the profile best-practices found in Upwork's own Academy Courses.

[the-right-writer]

It takes time to train freelancers to be chained to their device, constantly refreshing the feed, applying for any job, using chatbots and boosting, boosting, boosting!

Many freelancers would be happy to pay more for proposals, if Upwork would take action to remove scams, and stop the actions against the freelancers.

[celgins]

I was thinking the other day--after seeing the $24.99 fee for a profile review session--that many freelancers would probably pay a subscription fee for Upwork customer support. I think frustration with the support bot (or whatever it's called) would propel many to pay for support.

Of course, Upwork wiped out a bunch of their support staff last year, but I could imagine some freelancers opting to pay for live interaction with a human.

[qbakhsh]

Recently, I contacted Upwork's chat bot with steps that I had taken to resolve my issue. Chat bot wrote the same steps back to me. I complained to it and said that you are telling me the same things that I told you, it said, your query is of technical nature, so contact support. 🙂

Upwork has made it next to impossible to contact support and get a human response. I wonder is there a way to convey our suggestions to Upwork? When we are successful in contacting support, are our suggestions conveyed to someone who is responsible or concerned?

[luce-neidert]

What I usually do is I ask the bot for a human. The bot replies something like "Would you like additional support" to which I answer "Yes". Then my message is sent to humans who reply. Sometimes they have good suggestions, sometimes they don't. BUT THEY ARE HUMAN!

[2b0f3adb]

Sadly, I think there are too many Freelancers so UW can treat us poorly.  However, I recently had money owed from a client and UW was showing a problem for which I could not get support.  Posting in these forums seemed to help.  I think there are UW people who read these forums.

[ivanelortkipani]

I agree with this perspective that boosting in any form is an action against freelancers. Freelancers diligently follow Upwork's instructions, such as not working or getting paid outside of Upwork, flagging scams to assist Upwork, purchasing a plus membership plan, and consistently bidding on jobs. However, it seems that Upwork's current policy is primarily focused on maximizing payments from freelancers rather than supporting their effort

[ravi_iitian]

---

Ivane L wrote:

I agree with this perspective that boosting in any form is an action against freelancers. 

---

Fully agree.

[ivanelortkipani]

Hi,

I believe Upwork should implement a filter allowing only skilled freelancers to join the platform. Currently, many new freelancers with low skills and copied profiles apply for jobs, leading to disappointment for clients. This, in turn, can adversely affect the reputation of top-rated and plus freelancers on the platform.

[the-right-writer]

Upwork intentionally removed platform and category limits, as well as the platform and category skills tests. Upwork's management is not interested in skills, but how many connects you will spend.

[2b0f3adb]

I think everyone in the skilled freelancer group agrees with you. 😁

Now what determines who is a skilled freelancer? 🤔

[4092484e]

Im new comer of this siye pls everyone help me.

[luce-neidert]

Why should everyone help you? If you want to become a freelancer, it's up to you to find out how to do it. Upwork has made tons of advice available. The problem is that YOU have to read these. And sorry, noone can read for you.

[the-right-writer]

Why would anyone invest in a platform without bothering to read the rules, including the ones covering the financials? Why would anyone just sign up and not bother to learn how to use the platform? Why do people try to freelance without the marketable skills or the motivation to do the work themselves?

I don't expect answers. No wonder the place is inundated with scammers.

[b5bd16b1]

Hello