As I embarked on my new journey as a freelancer, I started searching on the net what are the popular freelance websites. I plan to make this a series of blog articles about available freelance websites. So for this week, let me start with the first freelance website I tried.
Our buena mano for this series is Upwork. Most of Filipino freelancers are very much familiar with Upwork. Based on my research from Wikipedia, Upwork, formerly known as Elance-oDesk, is a global freelancing platform where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely. In 2015, Elance-oDesk was re branded as Upwork. It is based in Santa Clara and San Francisco, California. The full name is Upwork Global Inc.
I admit I opened my Upwork account last year just to check what it is all about. Although I did not complete the details of my profile and never had the chance to submit my profile for approval. Since I decided to venture into freelancing, I finally submitted yesterday my profile. For those who plan to open an account in Upwork, you will be surprised that the review process is quite strict I could say. I received an email notification that my profile is subject to review for the next 24 hours. The review process will not take that long. This morning, I received another email from Upwork and lo and behold. My application has been denied.
I want to understand what I did wrong. Maybe because of my professional background and the services I plan to offer are not clear. Also, I did not list down in detail my work history thinking that it might have an impact on my current job. In short, as much as frustrating it is not being able to work in Upwork, it allows me to explore more to other freelance websites.
It seems I jumped immediately to Upwork without knowing the and ins and outs of it. After my profile application has been denied, I checked reviews about Upwork. Since Upwork receives around 10,000 applications a day, it would be best that there is a strict review of every application. Upwork rejection policy is good in the sense that only credible freelancers will be accepted and that, the competition is well maintained for a limited few freelancers. For those who were rejected like me, we are neither randomly nor arbitrarily denied. A certain algorithm is in place based on a specific set of criteria to determine who shows up, and in what order.
In the days to come, I will check and revisit my profile and see where I missed out.
