u/KayakerWithDog

I've been collecting data on some jobs that I saved earlier this summer, and I've noticed that in a non-negligible number of cases there is a mismatch between the timestamp and the client's stated location. For example, there was one person who claimed to be in Montreal, Canada, but the time was Western Europe. I looked at a new job today where the client claims to be in Santa Cruz, but if this is Santa Cruz in California, the time is off by two hours.

Is this just a case of clients being careless about setting the time zone in their profiles, or is this a case of clients trying to disguise their location and not being savvy about what time it actually is in the place they're claiming to be located?

Evidently Upwork has a new feature called "boosted messages." No idea how it works, but based on a screenshot from this post I went and looked at my stats and trends page. Sure enough, there's a "Boosted Messages" space, but when you click on the "Learn More" link it sends you to information for ... wait for it ... boosted proposals.

Is "boosted messages" just a newfangled name for boosted proposals, or are these really different things? If they're really different, why does the link send you to a page about boosted proposals?

C'mon, Upwork, haven't there been enough clown shoes already this week?

Does the number of h!res in the proposals panel only refer to jobs where the contract has been closed, or is it all the jobs you have gotten during the time period indicated? If the latter, there are about three jobs missing from my tally.

I am beginning to suspect I might have hypothyroidism, but I'm not sure whether my symptoms are something I should take to my doctor. Do any of you have variable symptoms? Like, sometimes you feel cold when you shouldn't, but other times you feel just fine?

There seems to be a lot of confusion about Upwork's AI summaries, so here is some info to clear that up.

One summary is connected to your work history in your profile. This summary can be turned off. Mine looks like this:

https://preview.redd.it/o5b2hwe0aegh1.png?width=829&format=png&auto=webp&s=e148bf8e4197c2f0e16b792c698bfdc29df54619

The other summary appears in the preview of your profile in search results. This summary cannot be turned off. Mine looks like this, and it's the one I posted about yesterday:

https://preview.redd.it/ezlp7h8z9egh1.png?width=869&format=png&auto=webp&s=8c8fa743091cdf17757957752d15ab1e6ec7baad

One interesting thing about these summaries is that they are each completely different. It's almost like they're describing two different people.

If you want to send feedback on the profile summary that appears when clients do searches, you can follow these steps:

1. Search for yourself by doing a talent search in the search bar. Alternatively, you can create a client account and search from there. DO NOT create a whole new separate client account; make the client account using your freelancer account's profile settings.
2. In the profile summary, there is an option on the right-hand side to give feedback. Click the thumbs-down icon and then give Upwork an earful in the feedback space. (This is how it works on desktop; I didn't test mobile.)

I already posted about this in r/UpworkOfficial, but I thought I'd share here too. I used my client account to see what the latest version of my summary was, and it is so misleading it's not even funny. I am now wondering whether people are declining to hire me because they think I'm lying on my proposals or on this summary, if they don't know that I didn't write it. I also got an invite recently for an InDesign job that I declined because I don't use InDesign, and I am now wondering what that client thinks of me.

https://preview.redd.it/95jygapeq7gh1.png?width=869&format=png&auto=webp&s=d822161a1b30d464e89bf8a8d39bd1e702df3f1f

I just took a look at my freelancer profile using my client account, and OMFG the little summary you have at the top of my profile is bursting at the seams with misrepresentations, which are all pointed out in the attached image.

No wonder nobody wants to hire me. They probably think I'm lying in my proposals, or else that I have lied in this summary, since they might not realize that I didn't actually write it. And I now wonder what that one client who invited me to do an InDesign project thinks of me, since I rejected their invitation based on the fact that I don't use InDesign.

Are you actively trying to push freelancers off the platform? Do you realize you are sabotaging us with these summaries?

For the love of Pete, put away the damn AI and stop this nonsense.

https://preview.redd.it/bekratv7k7gh1.png?width=869&format=png&auto=webp&s=d5faadf4e8ba7f073626eaac51a6441ef2a6b68a

Just took a survey that Upwork sent me after my most recent contract closed. Upwork wanted to know how much effort it takes to use Upwork. I had absolutely no idea how to answer that. Are they asking about the ease of use of the interface? Ease of making proposals and/or getting jobs? Ease of getting paid? Ease of hiring a freelancer? Something else? Every single one of those is a separate question with separate answers. This question about ease of use is incredibly poorly designed. I didn't even try to answer it.

Would it be possible to give freelancers the ability to create new tags for portfolio projects and the profile? Or is there somewhere we can suggest new tags? The software I use for indexing books isn't available in the tags list, and I'd like to be able to add it.

Does anyone know what the criteria are for deciding which proposals are "best match"?