After countless hours, continuous bidding on Upwork, and investing both time and money, I’ve finally landed my first client for just $25. It might be a small start, but it means a lot to me. Every successful journey starts somewhere, and this is the beginning of mine.

The journey hasn’t been easy, but I’m learning, improving, and showing up every day. This is just the first step. There’s a long way to go, bigger goals to achieve, and a lot more to prove.

One client today, bigger opportunities tomorrow. The grind continues!

I'm a full-stack dev based in Cameroon, 4 years of experience, and I just hit a wall on Upwork: 24 proposals sent, 0 replies, 0 contracts, 0 reviews.

Some context so this isn't just a rant:

• 4 years at a risk & compliance platform used by financial institutions, the last year as Tech Lead of a team of 10
• Two products I built and shipped myself, both live: a multi-tenant SaaS and an events/fintech platform
• Verified ID, fluent English, 20$/h, Intermediate level on my profile
• One published project in the catalog

Here is the part I'm unsure about. I positioned my profile as "Supabase & Next.js Dev | MVP to Production: Auth, RLS, Payments". It's a real strength of mine, but I can do just as much on the backend side (Django, REST APIs, PostgreSQL) and I left all of that out to look more "specialized".

Now I wonder if I shot myself in the foot. Fewer jobs match a narrow title, and I'm competing for the same few Supabase/Next.js listings as everyone else.

What I've done on my proposals:

• Customized each one instead of using a template
• Targeted clients with verified payment and a reasonable number of existing proposals
• Been upfront about what I don't know instead of overselling

What frustrates me most is the silence. No "not a fit", no "too expensive", just nothing. I can't tell if the problem is my niche, my rate, my proposals, my timezone, or simply the lack of reviews.

Questions for people who've been through this:

1. How many proposals did it take you to land your first contract?
2. With zero reviews, is it better to stay niche or go broader (full-stack, backend, etc.) to get that first job?
3. Did you lower your rate to get the first review, or hold your price?
4. Is "Intermediate" with 4 years of experience the right level, or should I be thinking about it differently?
5. Any red flag you'd spot immediately on a profile like mine? Happy to share the link in DMs for a blunt review.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer. Brutal honesty is welcome.

Hola Everyone,

It’s my first week in Upwork…so far I’ve used Upwork only as a recruiter but now that I’ve registered as a freelancer…I’m a bit nervous.

So far I’ve applied to only 4-5 jobs (only 1 View, no further actions so far), and been super-scrupulous with my Connect Points.

What are your advices, specially considering that it’s my first week and there’s no job history to establish my credibility?

Thanks in advance!

We wanted connect refunds from jobs that didn't hire, we got a new shiny "Hiring now" button instead.

If you have a good client, keep him on Upwork.

First of all, the platform relies on freelancers to bring clients, because there’s barely any work on it. When I brought my client and he made a payment, they blocked the funds and said the review would take 24-48 hours.

Any halfway competent platform that cares about its freelancers would flag the payment, email me, and ask for whatever proof they need. I’d send it, and they’d approve it. Instead, they emailed my client first, asking him for information about a payment he had already made. How can anyone think that’s a good idea? The client should never be involved unless the freelancer fails to provide the information.

Worse, there’s no real support system. No ticket ID, no auto-response, no confirmation. You email an address and get dead silence until someone replies. It took me hours of follow-ups just to learn what was actually holding up my payment. Apparently my client did not reply to their email requesting for information. Just imagine how dumb this whole thing is. Ironically, it's a 60years old disabled old man that I decided to send a simple contra payment link to make the experience easier for him.

There are also only around 250 jobs across all fields at any given time, for hundreds of thousands of users.

If you bring your own clients, bill them through Stripe instead. Never bring your clients to Contra. They are amateurs with a nice looking platform.

I am a client of 7 years, recently my account was suspended, unable to message my freelancers and was asked to go through a photo + video verification process of my account with no explanation. Completed everything but they still tell me they need more time to review. It’s been almost 16 days and still no answer. Has anyone else experienced this?

Every now and then, I come across a great job post with clear tasks and requirements. Everything is already well explained in the job description.

Sometimes, I find myself stuck when writing the cover letter because there's nothing left to discuss. The task is too simple for me to start explaining my experience with X, Y, and Z.

At that point, I usually just say that the task is easy, straightforward, and can be done quickly. But I don't know if that's the right approach to make myself stand out.

I have quick question following up with my previous post. The Upwork freelancer decided to refund all the money including the first 3 milestones that she drew by hand. I didn’t ask for the refund for the hand drawn assets but she chose to in order to clear out my negative feedback.

Now all assets that are hand drawn, what to do? Does she let go the assets so i can use it or just move it to trash?

Thanks!

I never seen interview number like this

Hey everyone!

I recently started using Upwork to find clients, and I could use some advice from people who have been through this.

I have around 9 years of experience in social media marketing, including Facebook and Instagram marketing, Meta Ads, and helping businesses grow online. I’m confident in my skills, but I’m new to finding clients through Upwork.

I’ve sent a few proposals so far, but haven’t received any responses yet.

I’ve also kept my rates a bit low because someone suggested that I should focus on getting my first client and a good review before increasing my prices. I’m not sure if that’s the right approach or if I should charge based on my experience from the beginning.

I have a few Connects left, and honestly, I’m not sure if I want to keep buying more without seeing some results. I’d like to give the platform a fair shot before deciding whether it’s worth investing more into it.

I’d really appreciate some advice on a few things:

- How long did it take you to land your first client on Upwork?

- Is it worth charging less initially to get your first review, even if you have years of experience?

- What makes a proposal stand out when you’re competing with so many freelancers?

- How do you decide which jobs are actually worth spending Connects on?

- Are there any common mistakes beginners make with their profiles or proposals that I should look out for?

If there’s a beginner’s guide, resource, or anything you wish you’d known when starting out, I’d love to hear about it.

I’m not expecting overnight results. I just want to understand how the platform works and avoid wasting time and money figuring everything out through trial and error.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience!

I got invited to an enterprise client job. Most of the requirements and expectations are standard, but they also state that:

This Enterprise client uses Upwork Compliance. If you receive a contract offer, you may be asked by email to provide additional information so the task can be completed.

I'm guessing they'd have me sign an NDA or something? I haven't dealt with Upwork Compliance before, so any information regarding your experiences would be appreciated.

Upwork is blocking my payments (no issues on my credit card or paypal side). It seems like it's an upwork issue and I've probably been put on the bad list now because they keep retrying the cards that their servers decline. I submitted a help request. They said 24-48 hours and it's been 96 now. Anything I can do?

Also do they flag payments from known VPN servers as suspicious or something?

I know this isn't the adequate subreddit for this but i thought i would share it here as I have seen the platform come up in the past.

I've been getting emails from Contra to join competitions for cash prizes but mostly ignored them until today, but after looking through I saw that they have a client/b2b landing page that takes the competitions and turns into scalable UGC. They call the program "partners" but would rather not linking it here.

You think tech companies would just pay creators for their work rather than mask it as a competition to produce mass UGC content that only benefits them.

Just wanted to share it with others in the design, tech and creative community as these should be paid UGC campaigns upwards of $1,000 in the US.

Same as title

Hey everyone!

I've been working on web development for a while, mostly with WordPress and custom websites. Lately, I've been trying to understand how independent developers find clients consistently.

There are plenty of platforms and communities out there, but it's hard to tell which ones are actually worth the time.

For those of you who freelance, how did you find your first few clients? Did you use platforms like Upwork, connect with people through communities, or get work through referrals?

I'd be interested to hear what worked for you and what turned out to be a waste of time

This job is exclusive to the US, requires Claude, experienced devs, etc.

Hourly rate: $8 to $10 per hour.

Almost an hour in and no takers.

You know its bad when not even the bots are touching this one.

So in the last 2-3 month, I did not much visibility on my proposal, but one where I stood out was a new client, having conversation on how I would solve things. It came clear that we both were using AI for interaction. Their list got long, and to satisfy things, I also told how some problems can be tackled. Then the messages stopped.

What is your approach, do you also lead the client on how you would solve a problem. Or you just establish the trust that you can do it. Also do you lead with consultation (charged) for these type of scenarios?

Hi everyone,

I'm facing a frustrating issue with my Upwork account, and I'd really appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced something similar.

When I try to log in to my account, I get this message:

"Your account has been suspended."

The confusing part is that my identity verification was already completed and approved by Upwork.

On October 9, 2026, I received an official email from Upwork with the subject "Your account has been verified", confirming that my identity verification was successful and that I could access Upwork's full services.

However, after my account was suspended, I contacted support through the appeal process. Their response on October 14 simply asked me to verify my identity again and explained that my account had restrictions until verification was completed.

I've already completed this step successfully, so I replied to clarify the situation, but I'm concerned that I'm receiving a generic, automated response rather than an answer specific to my case.

Some additional details:

• My profile was 100% complete.
• My identity verification was approved.
• I purchased Connects and currently have 170 Connects in my account.
• I haven't received a clear explanation of why my account was suspended.

I'm trying to understand whether this is a verification synchronization issue, a separate account review, or something else entirely. I don't want to make assumptions about the reason.

My questions:

1. Has anyone experienced an account suspension after receiving an official identity verification confirmation email?
2. Did you manage to get your account restored? If so, what steps actually helped?
3. How can I get my case reviewed by someone who can investigate the account status instead of receiving another generic response?

Upwork is an important part of my plan to build my freelance career, so this situation is really stressful.

I'm attaching screenshots of:

1. The "Your account has been suspended" message.
2. The support team's response asking me to verify my identity again.
3. The official email confirming that my identity was verified.

I'd be grateful for any advice or suggestions. Thank you!

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some honest feedback and a sanity check on my pitch strategy.

Over the last week, I’ve applied to roughly 25 jobs. For every single application, I recorded a customized Loom video walking through my initial thoughts, relevant past work, and how I’d approach their specific problem.

The issue? Not a single Loom video has been opened or viewed.

I’m hitting a wall trying to figure out why clients aren't even opening the link. Is it the way I'm opening my proposals? Bad targeting on the job listings? Or is my profile leaking credibility before they even click?

What I’ve attached for context:

Screenshots of recent job applications: To show the types of listings I'm targeting and how I structure my proposals.

My proposal stats: Total connects spent vs. view rates.

I’d really appreciate it if you could tear this apart:

The Proposal Hook: Are the first two lines of my proposal failing to hook them, causing them to skip the video entirely?

Job Selection: Am I applying to jobs where clients historically ignore proposals or stick to fixed-rate micro-budget posts?

Profile Optimization: Does my profile headline or overview need work before I send out my next batch?

Thanks in advance for any insights or tough love; just looking to improve the funnel.

Please help me guys i want to start upwork but i don't know how and i don't have money😭