How to Tackle the Hurdles While Searching for Your First Job on Upwork?

by Authors Book Publisher eBook Publishing & Ghost Writing

Upwork is one of the great freelancing marketplaces. For new freelancers, getting their first job on Upwork can be a great start to their freelancing career. While bidding, new freelancers are very excited, they assume to be hired immediately. It’s true in a few cases but not in all. Getting the first job on Upwork can be very exhausting for fresh freelancers, as many experienced freelancers also bid on the job on Upwork. If he knows how to stand out differently from the crowd, he can be the one who gets the job. So, getting the first job on Upwork is the toughest target. Once you surmount that barrier and get positive feedback, it will open the door of opportunities for you. Of course, there are reasons for the obstacles in getting job opportunities. In this article, we will discuss those hurdles and the way to overcome them.

NO RESPONSE FROM THE CLIENT:

The biggest problem which new freelancers face is… The client doesn’t respond.

Many new freelancers complain that they have sent many job proposals but they do not get responses to their job proposals or cover letters. Even, they have experience and they thought themselves to be very competitive for those jobs. Response of the client is like the gateway to getting the job on Upwork because it’s the sign that the client is thinking about hiring a freelancer. So, getting the response of the client is the most important. Once a freelancer gets the response, it’s totally on his shoulders to convince the client of his expertise and get the job.

The solution to this problem is sending a proper job proposal or cover letter. Yes…The fact is: a job proposal or cover letter is your first introduction to the client who is very far away from you. If he is not responding to your job proposal, it means your job proposal is not successful in making your impression on the client. So, change it impressively. Generally, in job proposals, new freelancers give a detailed introduction of their skills. They must know one important point: the client is not interested in your qualification or skills. He wants to know whether you can do a job for him or not? So, make a proposal that does not focus on yourself, it must address the needs of the client.

HOW TO WRITE A JOB PROPOSAL?

Here are a few guidelines which will help you to write a responsive proposal.

DON’T USE THE SAME TEMPLATE FOR EACH JOB

Some new freelancers use a common pattern for each proposal. Or they use some online available ready-made templates. If you are also doing this then STOP…!. THIS IS A GREAT MISTAKE. This is ruining your freelance career. This is the hurdle that is preventing the client from approaching you.

Write your job proposal according to the job description. For this, you have to read the job description with concentration. If there is any technical detail or requirement, prepare the questions which you must need to know about the job. For example, if there is a job teaching a course then you can ask the client, whether it is a university/ college course or for a hobby? Does he have any curriculum? Whether he knows of the prerequisite course if any? etc.

Start the job proposal just by “Hi…”, and start asking your questions instead of telling him about yourself.

After asking him about the technical questions for the requirement of the job. In the middle, you will tell him your way of doing the job and your past related achievements (not in detail, just in a few words).

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ASKED IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION

If there are any questions of the client then answer them politely and descriptively. For example, if he asked about the availability on Skype for teaching but you prefer others such as Zoom then don’t deny it directly. Just state your preference and its reason.

DON’T MENTION THE TIME RANGE.

If in the job description, time of availability is asked, don’t mention any specific range because then the client will hire someone else whose availability is greater than you, just ask for their time zone and adjust it.

MENTION ONLY RELATED PORTFOLIOS.

If there is any technical detail then refer only to your related portfolio. If there is no technical detail then mention your top-rated portfolio.

CONCLUSION:

Success in getting the first job on Upwork brings a lot of opportunities for a freelance career. It not only requires technical expertise and skills according to job requirements but also requires technical skills for writing a responsive job proposal. Many new freelancers don’t get responses on their job proposals because of some mistakes while writing a job proposal.

Never use a common template for job proposals.

Don’t start by telling about yourself, your experience, and your achievements.

Read job descriptions carefully and prepare technical questions related to the job.

Asking necessary and related technical questions instead of telling about your experience, give a positive impression to the client and make him clear that you know his need and the way to complete it.

Never mention a specific time range of your availability. Otherwise, they will hire another one who has greater time availability than yours. Ask their time zone and adjust according to it.

Always mention the technically related portfolio.

Remember…! Your job proposal must reflect you as a mature, responsible, and competent freelancer who understands the needs of his client and can competently complete the task. Good Luck…!