0
1
00:00:02,850 --> 00:00:05,720
Every job posting can get a huge amount of proposals.
1

2
00:00:05,850 --> 00:00:08,730
Here there are 15. That's already a lot, right?
2

3
00:00:08,850 --> 00:00:10,410
But it's actually on a smaller side.
3

4
00:00:10,410 --> 00:00:15,900
Clients can get more than that. Usually 20 to 50 and sometimes even more than 50 proposals.
4

5
00:00:15,990 --> 00:00:18,180
Is the client going to go through each one?
5

6
00:00:18,180 --> 00:00:19,020
Not really.
6

7
00:00:19,050 --> 00:00:21,120
They'll keep their eyes on the very top.
7

8
00:00:21,150 --> 00:00:21,860
What does that mean?
8

9
00:00:21,870 --> 00:00:24,070
You've got to find ways to end up on the top.
9

10
00:00:24,150 --> 00:00:29,940
Upwork puts best matches on the top, and even adds this shiny best match badge on their proposal. That
10

11
00:00:29,940 --> 00:00:35,490
puts those freelancers miles ahead over everyone below. As a freelancer, you don't see if you've got this
11

12
00:00:35,490 --> 00:00:39,540
badge or not. But potential clients do. And you should always aim for it.
12

13
00:00:39,540 --> 00:00:41,000
So how do you get that badge?
13

14
00:00:41,010 --> 00:00:45,740
No one really knows what's the algorithm behind this. Upwork doesn't really share that information.
14

15
00:00:45,750 --> 00:00:51,150
But after analyzing proposals that I usually receive, I have nailed down several key ingredients.
15

16
00:00:53,900 --> 00:00:58,330
When you create your profile, Upwork will ask you to choose your experience level.
16

17
00:00:58,430 --> 00:01:02,510
This same question is asked to clients when they post the job.
17

18
00:01:02,630 --> 00:01:08,090
You can easily see that experience level that the client has chosen for the particular job.
18

19
00:01:08,180 --> 00:01:11,010
Apply to matching experience level.
19

20
00:01:11,030 --> 00:01:14,950
This is probably the most important factor in determining this badge.
20

21
00:01:14,990 --> 00:01:21,140
The job that I had posted, I was asking for expert level and most proposals were from intermediate and
21

22
00:01:21,140 --> 00:01:22,610
entry level freelancers.
22

23
00:01:22,610 --> 00:01:23,740
What are they thinking about?
23

24
00:01:23,750 --> 00:01:25,280
It's a waste of everybody's time.
24

25
00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,600
There are enough jobs in each level, so apply to matching ones.
25

26
00:01:28,610 --> 00:01:32,600
If you don't like jobs in your experience level, then change your level in the profile.
26

27
00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,090
Easy as that.
27

28
00:01:36,150 --> 00:01:41,490
The second most important criteria seems to be the skills. When clients post the job, they are asked to
28

29
00:01:41,490 --> 00:01:44,970
select specific skills they are looking for in a freelancer.
29

30
00:01:44,970 --> 00:01:50,640
They are given the same database of skills as you have used in your profile. And you can see this information
30

31
00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:55,100
on the job post too. Apply to jobs with matching skills.
31

32
00:01:55,110 --> 00:02:00,270
For example, I don't have any of these skill selected in my profile, so if I apply to this job I wouldn't
32

33
00:02:00,270 --> 00:02:01,530
get a good match score.
33

34
00:02:01,620 --> 00:02:07,560
So, always check the skills that the client has selected for the job. And make sure that you have those
34

35
00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:13,380
skills in your profile as well and they match. Because that will definitely increase your chances of
35

36
00:02:13,380 --> 00:02:14,910
being the best match.
36

37
00:02:14,910 --> 00:02:20,820
Now, Upwork only allows you to select maximum of 10 skills. So there will be some related skills, that you
37

38
00:02:20,820 --> 00:02:26,640
might have to leave out. But sometimes you'll see a job that uses exactly those skills that you had to
38

39
00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:32,820
leave out. What you could do in this case, is to remove some and add those missing skills from the job
39

40
00:02:32,850 --> 00:02:34,430
and to create a match.
40

41
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:40,050
This might be a little hack that Upward might be aware of, so that algorithm might ignore last minute
41

42
00:02:40,050 --> 00:02:42,600
profile changes, but it's still worth a try.
42

43
00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,720
At least the client will see that you have the skills they were looking for.
43

44
00:02:48,540 --> 00:02:53,710
When client is selecting the desired experience level of a freelancer, underneath each level
44

45
00:02:53,710 --> 00:02:56,680
it shows a approximate price range to be expected.
45

46
00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,170
You want to match your bid to the Upwork's suggested range.
46

47
00:03:00,330 --> 00:03:05,880
If client selected expert and was fine to pay more than $50 an hour, Upwork it isn't going to
47

48
00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:06,360
like it
48

49
00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:12,300
if you bid $30 per hour. You're making both you and Upwork lose on higher revenue.
49

50
00:03:12,450 --> 00:03:17,700
To find out what's the current price range for your level, you can almost post a job at to get to this
50

51
00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:20,610
step. And you'll see the most recent price ranges.
51

52
00:03:20,700 --> 00:03:25,560
Doesn't take anything to do this. You don't have to post the job in the end, it's just one of the steps
52

53
00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:30,630
in the job posting wizard. And you can do this from time to time, to have most recent values.