About UpWork

What is Upwork?

Upwork is a popular freelance platform that connects a database of billions of freelance professionals with jobs from around the world. This global platform is a great way for independent contractors to find work, and for companies or individuals to find talented freelancers.

Below are some general questions about Upwork that we hear pretty often, followed by common questions from freelancers and companies. We hope these answers will be useful to you as you explore the benefits of remote work and outsourcing in your careers and businesses.

Upwork Instucation:

Upwork, formerly Elance-oDesk, is a global Freelancing  platform where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely. In 2014 or 2015, Elance-oDesk was rebranded as Upwork. It is based in  Mountain View and  San Francesco and California See More....  

Upwork has twelve million registered freelancers and five million registered clients. Three million jobs are posted annually, worth a total of $1 billion USD, making it the world's largest freelancer marketplace.

Operation

Upwork allows clients to interview, hire and work with freelancers and agencies through the company's platform. The platform now includes a real-time chat platform aimed at reducing the time it takes to find and hire freelancers

Clients pay a 2.75% per payment processing fee; some clients are eligible to pay a monthly flat processing fee of $25. Payments can be made using credit cards, PayPal, Payza, DachBangla Bank  or bank transfer. Payments are made through Upwork's system, which transfers the funds to freelancers after a 6-day period.

To ensure the freelancers are billing fairly for jobs billed hourly, the platform offers a time sheet application that tracks time and takes screenshots while the freelancer is working. 

History

Upwork was formed 18 months after Elance and oDesk announced their merger on December 18, 2013 to create Elance-oDesk. oDesk was founded in 2003 by Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis. Elance was founded in 1999 by Beerud Sheth and Srini Anumolu. With the launch of Upwork, the oDesk platform was upgraded and rebranded and the company announced that the Elance platform would be phased out within a couple of years, resulting in a single freelance marketplace.

In early September 2015, the Upwork service experienced an outage which led to an apology being issued by CEO Stephane Kasriel. This led to the introduction of an Upwork Status page to offer freelancers and clients greater transparency.

On 3 May 2016, Upwork announced that the service fee for freelancers will change from flat rate of 10% to a "sliding service fee" of 5% to 20% based on total lifetime billings with each client: 20% for the first $500 billed to the client across all contracts, 10% for total billings with the client between $500.01 and $10,000, and 5% for total billings with the client that exceed $10,000.

As of March 2017, Upwork reported 14 million users in 180 countries with $1B in annual freelancer billings.

Are You Ready To Work UPwork?

Are you struggling to find enough work on Upwork? What you may be lacking is not necessarily the skills to do the work, but the skills to get the job.
If that’s the case, you’re actually in a good position, because it’s easier and faster to learn how to get work on Upwork than it is to learn new professional skills. After that, it is just a matter of determining how to apply these methods to your circumstances. As you do so, you will increase your chances of getting hired, and get more opportunities to deliver high-quality work that clients will give you good testimonials for—thus creating a virtuous cycle of more hiring.

I will give you seven steps to help you get started quickly:

1.      Define your title. Creating a title for yourself is extremely important because, if done well, you can increase your chances of getting hired. Ideally, your title should be a two- to three-word summary of your core strengths, with maybe a few enhancing words on either side.

2.      Define your tags. Choosing skills tags is very important because it affects how you are found by potential clients as well as how you are perceived. Luckily, the process can be easily done by brainstorming 10-20 words that tie in with your freelance title and then cross-checking these with what successful oDesk freelancers in your field are using.

3.      Write a clear description. Writing a description can be easily done after you have made a headline and associated tags. When you write your description, try to present arguments for why someone should hire you by focusing on the best pitches first. Most clients are interested in arguments that focus on quality and bigger return on their investment.

4.      Take relevant tests. Taking a few tests that are relevant to the work you do is the best way to validate what you claim in your profile description. It can also be an interesting way to learn which skills you need to enhance (or learn from scratch) in order to get jobs in a certain field of work. If English is not your first language, you can use the English tests indirectly to prove your ability to communicate.

5.      Do 5-10 small assignments. Even when you’re just starting out, you have to think long term. Be honest, over-deliver, and grow your reputation. Start small by applying for assignments less than $50. Make sure they are given by clients with good feedback and who have spent a good deal of money on freelancers. You can then work towards a better rate of pay as you gain more experience and better feedback. To increase your chances of getting hired for these first projects, make sure to answer everything in the client’s brief and say why you should be picked by referring to your skills and experience.

6.      Create a portfolio. With the work you have done so far, see if you can add a few samples into the portfolio section of your profile so clients can get an idea of the work you do. Ideally, you want to showcase not only your best work, but your range of skills and project types. It’s also worthwhile to regularly update your portfolio with new jobs as your career progresses.

7.      Go for larger jobs. Larger assignments give you the chance to take on more jobs that are similar or to try something new. It’s largely a matter of being strategic and using your existing clients as springboards to get more work. If you have established yourself as a highly skilled freelancer, your future prospects could include continuing in that role, creating and managing an agency or taking your work offline, if you choose.

The above list might seem a bit overwhelming if you are just starting out, so if you only take away one point, here is the most important bit to focus on: When you’re applying for a project, read the job description thoroughly and reply to everything. See More......

I may You will success.