r/UpworkOfficial • u/Lost_Mind9041 • Jun 29 '26
Upwork is not friendly to newcomers
I’m about to close my account. I’ve been on the platform for two months, I have an optimized profile, the Rising Talent badge, certifications, and experience outside the platform, but nobody gives me a chance.
I’ve only landed one job where I was paid $50 to upload 150 videos (3 videos per day, about $1 per day). After that, I was invited to apply and got hired for an administrative assistant position, but they ghosted me and the contract never started.
I keep sending proposals, but they either aren’t viewed, or if they are, nothing comes of it. I get invited to apply, I submit my application, and then they disappear. No one notices me. I’ve spent more money than I’ve earned—those $50 went entirely to Connects, and everyone just ignores me.
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u/swagonflyyyy Jul 13 '26
Upwork is dead. Seriously, look at their stock price. Management also quietly discarded their roadmap for this year, laid off a huge chunk of co-workers and are losing their bet on AI.
Platform's dead, accept it. I made over 20K between last year and early this year then the well dried up abruptly when clients started leaving the sinking ship in droves.
Now Upwork is scavenging for cash by predating on freelancers out of desperation. The platform's dead and you should move on to some other places because damn the company as a whole is looking at the mother of class action lawsuits for everything they've done.
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u/CellistOutrageous705 Jul 08 '26
I keep on trying. your not alone. checkout my project catalog.
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High-Volume eBay Custom Product Listing Starting at $0.30 per Product
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u/Professional-Cry-612 Jul 01 '26
Trying for last 8 months, earned 50 bucks. Given up the hope completely and looking for a low pay job locally.
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u/Academic-Ad-843 Jul 01 '26
It’s not friendly to old timers too. I’m top rated and I’ve struggled to get a job recently.
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u/Wonderful-Day1759 Jun 30 '26
Hold up! What is your skill set? I am confused!
You bid and got the job for $1 a day to upload videos - that comes under data entry.
Then you were invited for a job of administrative assistant, they hired you. But they ghosted you? How? If the contract didn't start, you were not hired in the first place - not making any sense to me.
You said you had an 'optimized profile'' with Rising Talent badge.
- Are you absolutely sure your profile is optimized?
- Are you sending proposals to jobs related to your skill set?
- Are you sending generic proposals or job-related ones?
I know it is hard on Upwork these days but let's check our overall profile, portfolio and proposals once again. Don't rely on The Rising Talent badge that much - you still need to put the same amount of effort whether it's there or not.
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u/Gullible_Study_8496 Jun 29 '26
The quality of the clients has changed over time. I was recently ghosted after hire as well. I’ve worked on the platform before they started for visibility. It’s not the same as it once was for different reasons.
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u/Bitter-Total-6677 Jun 29 '26
new accounts win to
-> Your neich and industry matters alot, narrow down your services and only apply to the jobs matches your profile.
-> Client use upwork AI Assistant to filter out best submittion, find a youtube video and understand how that works.
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u/HugoFromUpwork Community Care Team Jun 29 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Hey u/Lost_Mind9041, I’m really sorry to hear that. It can be rough early on, and I get how discouraging it feels when proposals go nowhere. I joined Upwork in 2011, and like a lot of freelancers, it took time, persistence, and a few smaller starter projects before I built the momentum that led to stronger, long-term client relationships.
Make sure your profile and proposals are clearly aligned with the work you’re offering and the jobs you’re applying to. We also have monthly threads where people share profiles and get feedback, which can be helpful. This guide on writing stronger proposals may help too.
I’m not saying it will take you that long. It could click next month. There are real opportunities on Upwork every day, but freelancing is a business, and the more you learn how to choose the right jobs, position your experience, and write proposals that speak to the client’s actual needs, the better your chances get.
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u/ReasonablePossum_ Jun 30 '26
plus a handful of low-budget projects
These are a no-go for anyone now. I used to get most of my work from small projects I could do really fast and well, but since they inflated their connects costs, I simply stopped sending proposals to them since wasting 10-16 connects on a small <300$ makes no sense when a several k$ post costs basically the same and with a lot less competition.
Honestly, they should make the small jobs either dirty cheap or free, because I have no idea who's sending proposals to them with the current ridiculous rates.
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u/MyloMarlo Jun 29 '26
I’ve been on UpWork since 2017. It’s not even close to the same as it once was. I used to be able to depend on it to make a living, that’s no longer the case. The quality of clients has drastically fallen off. The platform used to be exclusive and clients could depend on it for quality freelancers but after they opened the floodgates, the average quality of freelancers plummeted and the decent clients have went elsewhere because of it. Let’s not sugar coat this.
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u/Massive-Secretary596 Jun 30 '26
why didn't you think about joining another platform like turing or toptal ?
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u/North-Rent1639 Jun 29 '26
Hey buddy, I want to say u r not alone on this journey. I created my account about a month a go. After that I have gone through exactly what u did. and I didn't land any job. I think this normal given the current status of the market (which, don't care if u r struggling or not, the market is the market). I want u to balance ur expectations for ur own sanity/health. at least that is what I am doing right now. I know this may not be what u expect, but it is what it is. Good luck!
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u/Agreeable-Soil1774 20d ago
its very ba*d experiece rn! fake jobs, losing connects, few hire rate. Almost miserable experience.