How to stand out from the more experienced freelancers on Upwork?

With the development of the freelancing market, it is not easy for new people to find their first project or job. There are many experienced freelancers that are many years present on Upwork and have a high job success rate. To compete and stand out as a new freelancer you can do some of the next tips:

• Learn a new skill. Learning new skills is essential for any business that wants to exist for many years. Try to learn new skills related to your specific professional experience.

Proposals

• Write better proposals. When you apply for a job, it is not enough to write that you are interested in that job position. Also, it is not enough just to add a link to your profile. Be proactive and write to the potential client about how can you help him with the specific project. Describe your previous related project and what were the achievements. Again, do not expect that clients will take a look at your profile and decide to hire you. Convince them and prove that you are the right candidate!
• Learn to negotiate better. When you are passionate about some project, you should have some skills to negotiate the job terms and the payment. The problem with the new freelancers is that they think the price for the job must be smaller. In some cases, they think that is a bigger chance of getting the first job and feedback so they do not need to negotiate. This is the wrong opinion because even for the first job you should negotiate as best as you can. Some clients will accept smaller bids, but you should think what are the costs of your work. Learn to negotiate the price according to your work experience and skills. Always be polite because nobody likes to talk with a rude person.

Professional profile photo

• Have a professional photo on your Upwork (or another freelance platform) profile. While registering on Upwork, make sure to get a professional photo. By this, I do not strictly mean going to a professional photographer or buying expensive clothes to represent yourself at best. You can do your professional photo with help of the other person, your smartphone, and by wearing a business shirt. This kind of photo will have a serious impact on your profile because it just enhances the skills written on your Upwork profile. Let’s be honest, would you choose a freelancer whose photo is made at the party or in the not appropriate background scene. Experienced freelancers on Upwork will have a professional photo that is representable.
• Make Upwork profile better. For having a chance to get your first project you should fill in a 100% Upwork profile. For the clients that are viewing your profile, it is crucial to see your education, skills, and previous job experience. Even the one that you have done outside freelancing. On the other side, do not write untruths about your skills. What is the point of not telling the truth if you do not know to finish some task? Maybe you can find out how to handle tasks but you will eventually get bad feedback from the client. If you are not sure how good an Upwork profile should look like, research the profiles in your profession or ask someone to help you.

Portfolio

• Build your portfolio. The portfolio is a great way to present your professional skills. If you did not yet have a job contract on Upwork, showcase your talents with some sample jobs. Do a project that you think is useful for some potential clients to see. Experienced freelancers on Upwork know how much is important of having a portfolio. If you did not create a portfolio check out the next link on how to: Upwork Portfolio.
• Proactively update the client about the project progress. After accepting the contract and start working on the task, you should have a communication on the time. Do not wait for the client to ask about the job progress. Be a better listener and tell a client some advice that will help him with the problem. Do not wait long to respond to the client’s messages. If you are in a situation where you can not finish the job on time, it is better to write to the client. In many situations, they will be okay with that. In the situation where you are not answering regularly, you will get lower feedback. In the end, do you like when some person does not answer your message in a day? There are specific situations, but every serious and experienced freelancer will have a few moments to write even a short reply message.
• Turn the new clients into repeat clients. Do every job as best as possible, because you never know when will the client need help with another task. You need to make sure to leave a good impression so the client remembers you.

Client feedback

• Ask for excellent feedback. After finishing the job, you can ask the client politely to give you good feedback. Explain to the client what good feedback means to your business. In cases where the client disappears after the job is finished, and despite your messages, he did not answer make sure to leave proper feedback. In that way, you are helping other freelancers to know that this client isn’t communicative. If the client is satisfied with you and your work, he will without any doubt give you excellent feedback.