This article covers the most common mistakes made when updating your Upwork profile. You can use this as a reference when you’re updating your profile or help someone else update theirs. If you’ve never worked on Upwork before and want to try it out, we recommend starting with our getting started guide for freelancers.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Regularly update your profile to reflect current skills and experience. |
| 2. Avoid using generic or vague language in your profile summary. |
| 3. Include specific examples of your work and achievements. |
| 4. Use a professional and friendly tone in your profile. |
| 5. Double-check for spelling and grammatical errors. |
| 6. Highlight relevant certifications or qualifications. |
| 7. Avoid including irrelevant or outdated information. |
| 8. Optimize your profile for relevant keywords. |
| 9. Provide clear contact information for potential clients. |
| 10. Showcase positive client feedback and ratings, if available. |
1. Not Having A Profile Photo That Is Appropriate For Your Skills And Personality
Before uploading your profile photo, it is important to consider the following:
Do not wear sunglasses; Your photos should be taken in natural light with no filters or effects added.
No pets; This includes animals, toys, and other living creatures—as well as pictures of yourself with pets!
No group photos; You want a profile photo that accurately reflects who you are as an individual, so don’t include any other people in it unless they are clearly part of your professional life (for example, if you have a business partner).
No selfies or mirror shots; You’re looking for an image that best represents who you are professionally and personally, so avoid using images taken by yourself (or even by someone else) when taking pictures for this purpose. Selfies tend to project more about what’s happening on the outside than what’s going on inside; mirror shots often make people look heavier than they actually are.
Neither will help convey confidence or professionalism in an Upwork profile photo! If absolutely necessary for some reason then at least try wearing sunglasses but again this isn’t ideal either since most employers like seeing into people’s faces when reviewing them online :)”
Whether you’re a seasoned freelancer or just starting, our guide on landing clients on Upwork and succeeding offers five essential strategies to boost your chances of success.
2. Not Having Photos Of Your Workspaces
First and foremost, remember that your profile pictures don’t have to be professional photos. In fact, many Upwork users choose to use a photo of themselves in everyday clothes or at work. You don’t need to crop out other people in the picture; this will only make it look more staged and unnatural anyway.
Your main goal is just to make sure that the image looks like you and is easily recognizable as such by potential clients who may want an idea of what you look like before hiring you.
Instead of trying to wear something that makes you look like a professional businessperson (which often includes wearing suits), find a photo where we can see your face clearly and get an idea of how friendly and approachable you are as a person. This will help clients feel comfortable working with someone they can relate to!
3. Using The Same Photo For All Three Spaces
You can use the same photo for your profile photo and workspace photo, but you should use a different photo for your banner. The profile pic is meant to show potential clients who you are and what you look like.
The workspace image helps them identify their personal connection with you (if they’re familiar with your workspace). It’s only natural that these two would have similar photos since they’re both about understanding how well you can do the job at hand.
However, the banner photo is about showing off your brand or business in general. This isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s also an opportunity to showcase what makes your business unique compared to others on Upwork. This means using something eye-catching and professional not just a picture of yourself working!
4. Giving Yourself An Unprofessional Title
Titles like “I’m a Rock Star” or “The Best Freelancer Ever.” Use an acronym to describe your title, such as “UI/UX Designer.” You should be descriptive and straightforward in your title. For example, instead of writing “I’m a Digital Marketing Consultant” write “Digital Marketing Consultant.”
This way there is no confusion about what you do for clients or potential employers. The same goes for being creative with the rest of your profile overview–think about how many candidates have used the same words and phrases on their profiles as you have?
Unless it’s something really unique that could help get noticed (like being able to speak multiple languages), it’s probably not worth it! If you want to add some color to your profile, try adding some personality through videos or images (but make sure they’re professional). You can also show off something personal in the About Me section (or even share a fun fact!)
Discover how to set up a dedicated workspace for freelancing and unleash your true potential by creating an environment that fosters focus and creativity.
5. Focusing On Tasks Instead Of Results, Accomplishments, And Recognition
You should be focusing on what you’ve accomplished and how your work has improved the lives of others. It’s not enough to list the tasks you completed and show how they positively impacted someone else.
For example, if a client hired you to write blog posts for them, don’t just list “blog post writing” as a task; instead, make sure to include specific examples like “wrote 7 blog posts for ABC Company over 6 months that received 5,000 views each month and increased sales by 20% within six months of launch.”
This can have a much bigger impact on your Upwork profile than simply listing “blog post writing” as one of your skills (if it even shows up).
6. Leaving Out Relevant Details From Your Work History
When you are updating your Upwork profile, be sure to keep it relevant to your work history. This can be as simple as including only the most pertinent details of your previous jobs and leaving out any information that is not directly related to the job at hand.
Avoid making it too long or including irrelevant information such as hobbies and interests, personal relationships or political views, or anything else that may make you appear unprofessional in the eyes of potential clients.
Also avoid including information about family members or friends; this type of personal information makes an employer uncomfortable when they see it on a resume and will make them question whether you are fit for their position in addition to questioning if they want someone who would include such things in their resume anyway!
7. Overlooking Or Not Understanding The Importance Of The Overview Section
When you’re updating your Upwork profile, you’ll want to make sure that you’re not making any of these mistakes.
The overview section is where freelancers can describe themselves and their skills in a simple way. This is also where employers will see what kind of work experience and education a potential freelancer has. It’s important to use this section wisely because it can help or hurt your chances at getting hired by future employers.
The best way to write an effective overview section is by making sure that it includes keywords relevant to the service that you are providing. These keywords should appear in both the title and description sections so they stand out among other freelancers’ profiles as well as search results on Upwork’s website itself!
After all, if employers don’t see what makes us special when they first visit our page then there’s no chance we’ll get hired right away.”
Freelancers, check out our article on 13 things you should never reveal to clients to maintain a strong reputation and build trust with your valued customers.
8. Not Reviewing Proposals You Send Out To Clients
The next time you send out a proposal to a client, take the time to review it. Make sure the project you submitted matches their request. This is especially important if you’re submitting projects based on your skills, but it’s also good practice in general.
If they asked for a logo and you submitted a website design, they might wonder what kind of designer they hired (and why). They might also wonder why their site isn’t live yet if you were supposed to build it two weeks ago.
Addressing their needs and requests in your proposals will help increase the odds that clients will contact you back with jobs or at least consider hiring other freelancers who have taken care of business when sending out proposals themselves!
9. Failing To Use The Right Keywords In Proposal Templates And Projects Submitted
If you’re new to Upwork, this can be a frustrating time. You’ll find that getting your first client is a lot easier than getting your second, third and fourth. It’s easy for the competition on Upwork to seem insurmountable, especially when you’re trying to compete with it for jobs.
But there are some things that you can do right now to stand out from the crowd and attract the right clients for your skillset and one of them is using keywords effectively in proposal templates and projects submitted.
The most important thing about effective use of keywords is knowing what they are in advance! Here’s how:
Start by looking at similar freelancers’ proposals or job postings (and their descriptions) to see what types of words they use frequently – “designer,” “illustrator,” etc., but also think about whether these words really apply specifically to YOU as well.
If someone looks at a proposal from another illustrator who only works digitally vs yours which used traditional methods but digitally scanned artwork into Illustrator (which was then colored traditionally) would they notice any difference?
10. Using Monotone Language Instead Of Injecting Some Curiosity And Excitement Into Your Pitch
Use a tone that sounds like your actual voice. This is a personal preference, but I don’t recommend using any type of text-to-speech software for this purpose. There are two reasons for this: first, it’s not natural to read text out loud in the same way that you would speak with someone; and second, your potential clients will likely be able to tell when you’re reading from something (even if they can’t pinpoint why).
Sound excited to do the job. As noted above, Upwork has many thousands of freelancers who are vying for any given job posting on the platform so while it may seem important to clearly highlight all of your skills and experience related to a particular project description, there’s also much more value in demonstrating your excitement about working on it!
Your enthusiasm should come across clearly through both what is written on your profile page and how well those words are spoken when communicating with potential employers through Upwork’s messaging system.
Learn the essential tips for successfully finding the right copywriter on Upwork to bring your ideas to life and create compelling content that captivates your audience.
11. Missing The Opportunity To Showcase Client Testimonials
Your clients are the best people to help you showcase your work. They can provide valuable feedback on a recent project, and some will even write reviews for you. If you don’t have any clients yet, that’s okay! You’re not alone. Many freelancers find it hard to land their first gig or two. So how can you generate client testimonials when it seems like no one wants to hire you?
The good news is that Upwork makes it easy for both freelancers and clients to request testimonials from each other after completing an order together. When someone leaves feedback on your profile, they’ll be prompted with this option: “Would you like me (the buyer) or another user (the seller) of Upwork™ who has worked with me recently in the past 12 months?”
If they choose “Another user,” then they should be taken directly into their profile where they can leave a review or message them directly if there’s something specific about their experience working together that needs addressing before proceeding further – which is exactly what happened here!
12. Not Linking To Your Website Or Social Media Platform
When you’re updating your Upwork profile, make sure to include links to your website or blog. Linking to your LinkedIn profile is also a good idea, as well as any other social media platform that shows off your professional qualities and works ethic.
However, don’t link a LinkedIn profile where all you do is post selfies on Instagram; this might not give clients the impression that you are serious about getting work done. Instead, consider linking an Instagram account that only has professional photos, such as headshots of yourself.
13. Leaving Out Skills That Are Important Or Relevant To The Type Of Work
It’s important to keep your skills up to date, but it’s also crucial not to list skills that are irrelevant to the type of work you want and need to be doing.
For example, if you’re a designer and want to focus on web design, then listing HTML5 as one of your web design skills isn’t going to do much good especially since the client will see that you don’t have any other web design experience in addition.
Instead, focus on listing specific programming languages like HTML5 or CSS3 specifically related to what type of job you want (and/or have).
14. Being Unclear About What You’re Trying To Do With Upwork
For example, is it something you do on the side? Are you trying to become a full-time freelancer? Is this where you want your career trajectory to point? Giving off a lack of focus won’t win any points with potential clients.
Discover how to use Upwork client feedback to improve your business and turn valuable insights into opportunities for professional development and success.
15. Not Having A Clear Answer As To Why Someone Should Hire You
Why are they hiring an in-house developer when they could just hire their own team internally? Why should they choose you over other freelancers who have more experience or are cheaper? It’s important that there’s an inherent value proposition when pitching yourself and your services.
16. Having No Feedback Whatsoever From Previous Gigs
If there is no feedback or reviews from previous clients, that makes it harder for people looking at your profile to know whether or not they want to work with you. It also doesn’t help that most potential employers don’t really care about how many jobs one has completed in the past; what matters more is how well those jobs were completed and whether or not there were any issues arising from those jobs (and how well were those issues handled).
Final Thoughts
Your profile photo is the first thing that potential clients see, so make sure it looks professional and appropriate for your skillset. If you’re a developer, make sure to include photos of the computer screen. If you’re an accountant, show off your office space with lots of filing cabinets behind you. And don’t use the same photo for all three spaces!
Focus on results, accomplishments, and recognition as opposed to what you do in a day-to-day basis this will help set you apart from other freelancers who are also trying to stand out from their peers
Further Reading
Top 13 Worst Mistakes Upwork Freelancers Make (You Should Avoid): Learn from others’ mistakes and avoid common pitfalls that freelancers often encounter on Upwork.
Upwork Profile Mistakes to Avoid: Enhance your Upwork profile by steering clear of the most common errors that can hinder your success on the platform.
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Sending Proposals in Upwork: Improve your proposal game on Upwork by understanding and sidestepping these five critical mistakes.
People Also Ask
How Can I Improve My Upwork Profile?
A good first step is to read our article on how to start your Upwork profile. This will help make sure you have all the right elements, including a strong headline and bullet points. You should also look at other freelancer accounts and see what they’re doing well (and poorly).
How Can I Get More Jobs On Upwork?
The best way to get jobs is by applying for them on the platform itself but doing so will require some careful planning beforehand: submitting an application off-platform means that an employer may not see it unless they search for applicants outside of Upwork; making changes after submitting an application does not guarantee those changes will be reflected in searches.
And updating any information about yourself after submitting an application could cause delays in processing time due to verification reviews by Upwork staff members before it’s sent off again (which may result in additional charges).
In short, do everything possible before sending out any applications so there aren’t any hiccups later down
What Is The Best Way To Get Jobs On Upwork?
Answer: It’s best to post your profile as soon as possible. The more popular you are, the higher chance you have of getting a job offer. If you’re new, post your experience and don’t worry about having a fancy resume; focus on getting jobs posted in your name instead!
Posting regularly will help keep your profile active and show potential employers that you’re interested in working through Upwork without them having to reach out first!
How Can I Do Better At Upwork?
Answer: Try completing some small tasks before applying for bigger ones! This will show potential employers that not only do you know what they’re looking for but also if there could be long-term benefits associated with hiring someone who has experience working together before (which makes it easier for both parties involved).
You can also use these smaller projects as practice runs where mistakes won’t cost anyone anything but time spent learning how each system works.”
What Are The Benefits Of Upwork?
Upwork is a global online workplace, connecting businesses and independent professionals across the world. It’s an easy way to get work done on any project at any time, no matter where you are or who you are. You can hire people in more than 180 countries, pay securely via credit card or PayPal and even exchange funds with other users using our escrow service.
I am a content writer, and I love what I do! Writing makes me feel like the words are flowing through my fingers, and then onto the keyboard, like magic. My experience as a writer has taught me that writing makes me feel good, as well as helps others to feel better too!