Hi there! 👋
Freelancing! What a beautiful thing! Seemingly: you are a free bird. Just pack your suitcase and book a last-minute flight to an empty island with a great internet connection. 📡
Nowadays, it’s very easy to work like that. Using Upwork, for example. Describe your expertise. Land some jobs. Gain reputation. Then your career should strive upward. That’s how Upwork works. 🚀
You will be getting a lot of offers and invitations to do some job in your specialization. Everything looks pretty much, but. Here are some obstacles.
We are Scalifier, and we keep an eye on Upwork 24/7. Therefore, we know right from wrong. It’s like a reflex. We’d like to share with our readers some useful tips about work specifics on Upwork.
The first and foremost «dangerous» thing for the Upwork freelancer is… clients, literally. 🙊
« — How? I’ve come here to do some work for those clients, why should I consider them as dangerous?»
Not every client is a potential gold mine. Unfortunately. We are all human, with genuine problems, behavior, and habits. Goal-oriented freelancers have to avoid strange and annoying clients. That way you can keep yourself on track and save your time, money, and nerves.
People who are using Upwork as a recruiting service and are always asked to work outside the platform.
Why do you call them Dementors?
Remember those inhabitants of the Harry Potter universe? They consume human souls and pull your personality out of the borderlands.
Upwork Dementors are looking for gullible freelancers to steal them to work somewhere else. Where? Nobody knows.
How do you recognize them?
It’s not hard. Usually, their profiles are plain, like paper sheets. But you can notice interesting things if you’ll check «About the client».
A typical dementor always has:
🔹 Large number of posted jobs🔹 Low hire rate🔹 Minimum of spent costs🔹 Empty feedback
1️⃣ You’ve applied ➡️ Dementor asked to work outside of Upwork ➡️ You’ve agreed ➡️ Dementor didn't hire you on Upwork ➡️ Your profile remains empty ➡️ Less invitations and Job Success Score.
Why should I avoid those clients?
At least due to asking to work outside of Upwork. It’s your own risk, but without any regulation, your work might be insecure.
✨ Just imagine! You are a web developer. You found a client on Upwork who wants you to work outside.
«Why should you pay about a 20% fee if you may receive it straightaway».
It sounds so spicy!
You pick up that project, work hard, provide for the client first, but take very serious steps (Like Wireframing) and… Blacklist. Dementor has a product — you have nothing. Big deal, isn’t it? You can report that bad man to Upwork support, but what do you want to prove? It will be your fault.
By the way, a lot of agencies use «Dementoring» as a way to hire freelancers without fees and any warranties.
One of Scalifier’s missions is to make Upwork more powerful. Why? This is our daily bread! To that end, we only work with our clients and agency members through Upwork.
Usually, meticulous clients know what they want. They always have well-written cover letters, precisely described requirements, and clear communication. But not a picky one!
This is the category of Upwork clients who want everything in one moment.
They expect maximum effort from you in exchange for… literally nothing. Three or 5 dollars per hour, when another client will propose a $15/hour minimum rate.
How do I recognize them?
It’s not that difficult. First, pay attention to the job posting. If you see hard requirements for the role with an unfairly low price — 90%, this is a Picky One’s job posting.
Another way to detect them: look at the average hourly rate. When It’s low — it’s always better to avoid it.
Why should I avoid it?
As we said, you may achieve extremely low money and high levels of anxiety and irritation. It’s not worth it! By the way, low rates are also common to clients who always need low-paid services. Keep that in mind.
Type of client who only discovers Upwork.
They think that it’s a magical place, where water can be turned into wine, and a vague job description can bring you the best product you’ve ever seen!
In practice, cooperation with those clients is a true lottery. You might be able to win new, superb customers when you are given the chance.
On the other hand, you have all the possibilities to blow your brains up! It’s very hard to work with clients who don’t fully understand themselves and what they want. Newbies usually act like spoiled brats, because they have a great belief that Upwork freelancers could do everything instantly.
How to detect newbies?
It’s very simple. Just look at the date when the member joined Upwork. It should be fresh — less than 1 month.
«Newbie» is not about time. Always pay attention to the job posting. If you see a vague job description like this:
«Hello, I want to make a website in blue colors. Help me, I will pay»
Add here a fresh joining date — in front of you is Upwork’s newbie.
It’s common practice to avoid working with new clients on Upwork for obvious reasons. Otherwise, the client needs to start from somewhere.
Many freelancers are asking Scalifier to help with a successful beginning on Upwork. We will never let our customers start with Upwork without an awesome profile.
🔹Profile image;🔹Informative and valuable description;🔹Portfolio;🔹Quick response and clear communication.
☝️ The perfect launchpad for even newbies on Upwork, right?
Client with a bad reputation on Upwork: less than 4 stars. Far from David Bowie’s aliens, isn’t it?
The first thing we notice when using Upwork is the rating. Client or freelancer, whatever. We can assess services on merit. When clients or freelancers behave badly and can’t clearly explain requirements, they deserve only negative feedback.
Gratefulness to Upwork for this feature as we can track all feedback about each other. It may not be just a one-star opinion. Very suspicious when someone is under 4. However, here is the existing 1% and the possibility of giving second chances. Be very careful when you’d like to apply for the job posting of a 1-Star client.
Starman, how will I recognize you?
The rating of every member is very notable when you are just looking at the «About the client». Don’t forget to scroll down and check out the feedback. In most cases, freelancers leave comments about clients and their job.
Always read comments because freelancers might leave a negative opinion just about a little misunderstanding on both sides.
However, if you see an Upwork profile with a 1 or 3-star rating, the best option here is to circumvent it.
Types of clients who haven’t verified their payment methods.
However, there exist people who don’t like to assign their payments to third-party providers like Upwork. Okay, that’s their right.
Why should you stay away from Penniless clients?
A client with an unverified payment method can’t hire you at Upwork. Dementors might exploit this when they’re looking for outside work. Otherwise, they can be the Newbies too, which complicates things.
How do I recognize this type of client?
All useful information is kept in the «About the client». You will see immediately whether it is a verified payment or not.
There are 5 types of clients you should avoid on Upwork.
Based on our experience, working with these clients harms your:
⏰ Time
You may be hired by someone who won’t be responding, or their communication will be unclear: vague requirements and low feedback. You’ll only waste your time.
💰 Money
If you agree to work outside of Upwork, you might be tricked. Because nothing can ensure warranties if you are making a deal with a total stranger.
🎗️Mental Health
At Upwork, there are a lot of clients who don’t understand what they want. If you can recognize this type of client in advance, you will save your nerves.
📈 Upwork rating
Just imagine if you meet one of the ones described above. You’ll be disappointed and maybe leave them negative feedback. Unfortunately, you might get negative feedback too. Just for revenge.
Of course, you can dispute that. However, feedback removal is a complicated process that may damage your Job Success Score.
However, you already know how to avoid bad experiences using Upwork.
Scalifier works every day with Upwork, discovering more and more useful features which help us get more customers and revenue.
Would you like to improve your Upwork experience? Stay in touch with us!
Just subscribe to our blog. We will be sharing new information with you as soon as we find it.
Stay sharp! 💪
there is even more to see
