Here are my experiences with using Upwork for 30 days

Background:

It's exam time again, and I don’t know why, but I am productive in every sense except for the exam preparation. And sometimes I catch this high tide moment to embark on new ideas and experiments from time to time. Being a freelancer online was one of those new ideas that hit me at the end of December 2023. And up until writing this blog, it's been a month since I've been continuing this. Here's my little journey in the online freelancing world, specifically Upwork.

So I have been working on audio video editing extensively for a few years now. Since last year, I have been working in a professional space beyond just my personal projects. Like every other creative space, I struggle with finding myself to not like the mundane and am always keen on learning new ways to grow. The idea of freelancing was not new to me; however, I hadn't done anything online; it was mostly just word-of-mouth freelancing among the circles.

TThe in-person freelancing work has its own pros and cons, with the major con being that the date of payment was uncertain. I mean, I was working with people whom I could at least trust a bit, but still, these uncertainties won't lead me to creating a successful business.

The shadows of bias have cast a long history, an indelible part of human existence.

Week 1: Creation

The first week on Upwork was like heading into the unknown, as I was just figuring out the way the platform works and how to utilise its features. I had to take some time to go through my dusty hard drive to find the things that would make me stand out.

IAfter setting up my initial profile, the next step was to write the proposals to the clients as I discovered the work that needed to be done. Now that I look back, it was easy to go for every opportunity you could find to make a quick buck. However, I was not making much progress on getting traction for a few interactions, leading to not much work. I was also running out of Connects at this point, which can be a major factor in whether you get clients or not.

Week 2: Connects

The concept of Connects acts as a token that is required by freelancers to get the clients to send the proposal. To some extent, this must be a way to prevent spamming of their inboxes, as it would seriously limit the people who are applying, at least the ones with malicious intent. But it can also be a major hurdle for a beginner freelancer, as it was for me. You need to have some money to spare or gamble on sending the proposals before you land a successful gig.


As I closed the book that had ignited this trail of thought, I realized that the shadows in Plato's cave weren't just an ancient allegory—they were living on in our AI systems, compelling us to unravel their mystery. The journey from the cave's darkness to the light of understanding requires not just algorithms, but a concerted effort to restructure our societies, casting aside the chains of bias and forging a new path forward.

Week 3: Rethinking Cover Letters

We are all familiar with cover letters in the traditional job application sense. Upwork has the feature of sending a cover letter with every proposal. As a beginner, you are compelled to stick to the format that we are all used to, which can be a bit of a challenge to actually land the job.


After facing a lot of unread proposals and wasted connections, I realised that I needed to up my cover letter game; hence, I started being more strategic about standing out among the crowd. This led me on to getting to the point where I could talk to people and further make the impression that I was capable of doing their work.

You see, Upwork is a fairly popular platform and has hundreds, if not thousands, of freelancers looking at the same job you are looking for, which means there's a lot of competition for even the simplest of gigs. The client is used to being bombarded with these same generic-looking cover letters and may not even go through your profile if it doesn't make you stand out.

So the trick really is to put yourself in the shoes of the client, understand their needs, and put their thoughts into your words. It has to assure the client that you are really what they need for this job and have read the full description, which gives them confidence that you are really capable of doing this. The format of the cover letter that we are taught to write can be a hurdle in our freelancing journey. We need to rethink the whole cover letter idea to stand out among the competition.

Week 4: Freelancer Pro

This was another phase for my upwork journey, as with the jobs that you get initially, you are compelled to put your prices fairly low, which means you don’t have a clue on setting the right amount for a particular gig. The freelancer pro gives you this ability to see what the bidding ranges are for a certain project, which gives you a general sense of where you want to put your pricing.


I wouldn't say this is a game changer or even worth it for everyone, but if you want to go the extra mile to do justice to yourself fairly, along with understanding the competition,. This can be a good-to-have tool.

Conclusion:

Upwork in 2024 is a great way to have a bit of passive income if you have the skills and patience to be tested by this platform. There are definitely challenges in navigating this platform, but the reward can be quite fruitful once you understand this path. The only advice I can give, as someone who's also a beginner and is figuring it out, is that you need to get your hands dirty. The ultimate hack or trick, whatever you may want to call it, is to just get started.