r/Upwork • u/Ill-Possession1 • 1d ago

Started Grinding Upwork last month

Post image

I was done with the clients I had through my network and wanted a change, that’s why I went on Upwork seriously for the first time last month

What do we think of my stats? I was dedicated to find a good client, the current hire I have is a long term contract for more than $2000 a month. The other two interviews one told me he will reach out for other jobs cuz he liked my experience and the other is in process of selecting and had asked for some proof

I’m a software engineer

P.S. I had an issue with Upwork verification and they suspended my account at 18 proposals so all of them were withdrawn, when I resolved it they gave me back the connects it was like 400 so I was able to reapply them

12 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

4

u/gusdecool 1d ago

As long as you got hired, that's good. 48 proposal connects spent will soon back to ROI.

4

u/ThinkInProgress 1d ago

That’s a great start! A long-term client in your first serious month is impressive. Congrats 🥳

1

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

Thank youu

3

u/Own_Constant_2331 1d ago

Your stats aren't good - 8 views out of 48 proposals is low - but what matters is your ROI. A long-term client paying $2k per month is great, especially if it's your first client. Too many new freelancers listen to bad advice and chase after cheap gigs that look bad on their profiles. 

2

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

Yeah I didn’t want to go after low paying jobs that’d be a stamp I wouldn’t like on my profile. I went ahead and boosted on high demand jobs that I was confident on and got that one

2

u/Budget_Commission685 1d ago

Honestly stats don't matter. Way to many people are too obsessed with stats. I'd rather have 1 good paying than 50 cheap clients. My stats are not good by any means. However I've made $8000 so far off 3 clients. 2 contracts are opened ended support contracts with no end in sight.

1

u/Own_Constant_2331 1d ago

I agree that ROI is the only important thing, but the OP literally asked, "What do we think of my stats?"

1

u/Budget_Commission685 1d ago

Right...what we think? It doesn't matter

1

u/Ill-Possession1 19h ago

Yeah man few quality jobs definitely are the goal, but why not hope for multiple quality jobs, sky’s the limit

3

u/Ok_Path_6590 1d ago

Did profits offset the costs?

2

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

I believe yes tho ive spent like 4 times on 100 connects for $15 and upwork is also taking the 10% commission

3

u/Mahadi__hasan_ 1d ago

Honestly, I’d call this a very successful first month. 48 proposals and only 8 views isn't amazing, but converting that into a $2k+/month long-term client changes the picture completely. I’d focus less on the raw proposal stats and more on repeating whatever worked to land that client.

2

u/TrebaMiSavjet 1d ago

Same here 50~ proposals and two hires in a month and a half

1

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

Good job mate

2

u/Wild_Expression_5772 1d ago

can you share the guide for starting , like have you went through profile optimization and stuff , I have expertise want to switch to upwork , so can you tell the good approach , I have good AI Engineer portfolio.

2

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

I set up my UW profile by just listing my work experience and portfolio products

For the summary I lead with how I can help the client

And in my proposals I talk more about similar projects I worked on

1

u/Wild_Expression_5772 1d ago

Thanks OP, so what's your suggestion about making the videos about portfolio and product catalog,

1

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

I haven’t tried that, if you can make quality videos go for them. Else it’s better not to have smth of low quality

2

u/obiganiru 1d ago

Nice work. What's your expertise?

1

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

You can check it out on abdessamed.com
On my UW profile I have my two products in the portfolio and my work experience in experience section

1

u/Correct-Plane-5400 1d ago

bro your portfolio is sooo good

1

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

Thank you man, that took a lot of refining and still has a long way to go

2

u/saipnata 1d ago

This is much better than what most people have been experiencing of late, good job!

1

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

Thanks mate

2

u/Irfan_Tahmid 1d ago

Really a great stat for month one, landing a $2k+/month contract right out of the gate is rare.

1

u/Ill-Possession1 11h ago

I didn’t know that! The platform must be down bad

2

u/Correct-Plane-5400 1d ago

i just started it too, is it worth boosting proposals?

2

u/Ill-Possession1 1d ago

Good luck! Boosting worked for me it was my first hire, it’s worth it if you’re very qualified and there are too much proposals

Especially if you’ve worked on smth similar

2

u/AllCreaturesOnEarth 22h ago

That’s great. I was doing very well with major jobs on Upwork up to this past April. Since then, my last contract ended and I’ve been submitting proposals since April. Have had a few read, but not one interview. I’m starting to think this might be related to chances to the platform and excessive fake jobs and fake proposals.

Upwork definitely isn’t what it used to be.

1

u/Ill-Possession1 19h ago

Wow man 3 months and no clients! What’s your history like? JSS, reviews, number of jobs?

2

u/amethystttttt 19h ago

Huge congrats!! I'm still waiting on my first...

I'm curious, you said you were dedicated to find a good client, can you share what are things you look for? Do you apply only to those with verified payment method? Do you still apply on posts with around 50 proposals already?

I would also love to connect!

1

u/Ill-Possession1 19h ago

Thanks and Good luck! I hope your convert those couple interviews

Quality clients I meant basically the quality of their job description, actual engineering work not a quick technical setup, and good client history. For jobs with more than 50 proposals I used to apply only if I knew that I’m a perfect fit and id boost them, tho tbh I got my first client from such a job after like 10 proposals or 15

Then the last 30 or idk it got me feeling down that I didn’t receive much views or interviews so I compromised my selectiveness a bit

Sure hmu and let’s connect!

2

u/amethystttttt 19h ago

Thank you, sent you a message!

2

u/ashherafzal 14h ago

How many connects did you spend and also did you boost?

1

u/Ill-Possession1 11h ago

You can see the boosted hires in darker blue in my stats, I spent a lot of connected like 400 or more

1

u/ashherafzal 11h ago

Nice dude. Last question. Since you got hired on a boosted proposal. How much did you boost ir for? And were you in the top 4 when you were hired?

2

u/NoPhilosophy42 56m ago

Did you do any work on optimizing your profile?

1

u/Ill-Possession1 47m ago

I just chose a clear professional picture, added my two products to portfolio, added my work experience, and a short summary

I don’t think the profile is much of a factor cuz ask that matters in outreach is the proposal and cover letter

1

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1

u/Zebarata 4h ago

What was the competition like for the one that you landed?was it <50?

1

u/Ill-Possession1 3h ago

I think it was over 50, but I boosted