How to find remote jobs today using Upwork

Do you want to work online, but aren’t sure what to do, or where to start? Or, maybe you have a job but you want to transition into remote work? Or now, because of the Covid 19, you’ve been laid off and you need to find work online fast?

Well, if you can relate to any of these scenarios then you should try Upwork. I don’t work for them, and I’m not an affiliate or anything, I have just been making money on Upwork since 2013. Even before all this stuff started happening, I wanted to share my experiences and tips with others so that they could transition into a remote career too. 

I’m going to give you some quick tips that have helped me make thousands of dollars on the platform. In Feb. 2020 before all the shutdowns I was at a conference in San Diego and one of the speakers there told us about his experience using Upwork, and he has made millions on the platform. You might want to take notes!

First, let me backup just a bit to share who I am and where I’m coming from.

If we haven’t met, I am a Christian entrepreneur, mother of two boys, military spouse, and animal-loving vegetarian.

I’ve been working from home for about 6 years now and for much of that time I’ve found my clients and consistent income through Upwork.

If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a website where businesses go to hire freelancers from all over the country and around the world. Right now there are more jobs than ever on Upwork because of our situation.

What type of work can you find on Upwork? Here’s a few categories…

  • Customer service
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Translation
  • Admin Support
  • Writing
  • Legal 
  • Accounting & Consulting
  • Design and Creative
  • Web and Mobile software support

The great thing about this is the variety of work you can find! My background is in Graphic Design so when I first started I looked in Design and Creative categories, designing logos, emails, and lots of other things. But maybe you don’t have a degree, or maybe you do but you have no professional work experience yet. That’s OK, all you need to get started is to be really good at one thing.

So there are a few little quirks about Upwork that you have to get past.

  1. GETTING APPROVED

First, you’re going to sign up and choose the categories that you’re interested in. Set your hourly rate on the lower range, you can always increase it later. 

If you don’t get approved at first it could be because they have enough freelancers in that category. Just change the category and apply again. Once you’re approved you can adjust the categories if you need to. 

  1. GET FLAT RATE JOBS AND REVIEWS

Once you’re in and your account settings are all set up then you can start searching for jobs.

Here’s the best tip I figured out so far:

In the beginning, apply for quick flat-rate jobs. For example, as a graphic designer, I did some logo designs. The goal here is to get the job done fast and completely wow your client. Even bidding lower than you normally would, or accepting their lower budget is ok because it’s a flat rate job. Don’t do this with long term work, because it will be more difficult to increase your hourly rate later.

You will do 5 flat-rate jobs at lower rates, finish them, and get amazing reviews. 

Now, you’re making traction!

  1. INCREASE YOUR RATES 

Next, increase your hourly rate. What you’ll want to do is make sure you’re in the category you want to focus on at this point. Go look at the other talent in your field to see what they are charging. For example, I would look for an expert Web Designer. Let’s say their hourly rate is $50, so I’ll set mine at $45.

Now you’re ready to apply for hourly work. 

  1. APPLY FOR HOURLY WORK

When applying you’re going to pay attention to details. Apply for the same types of jobs so that you can save time by submitting very similar proposals. You definitely want to customize your proposals, but keeping a couple of templates to start with will save you time, and also allow you to get an idea of what works and what doesn’t. When you find a proposal that works, stick to the same format. 

You get so many free credits each month to apply for jobs. Use all of them every month! Be consistent and apply every day. Even if you decide to start paying for credits. It’s worth it to start out at the $14.99 a month price. What other platform is going to send you all the people you want who are searching for the skills you have at that rate?

  1. GETTING TOP RATED STATUS

Once you’ve got enough reviews to have a 90% or above success rate, your profile is all set up, your availability is up to date and you’ve made over $1,000 then you could make “Top-Rated Status”. This is going to give you even more opportunities because Upwork will begin to recommend you to clients, and clients will offer you work. This is truly the best place to be on. Once you’re there you want to work on consistency and just really doing a great job for your clients so that they recommend you and they come back to you for more work.

BONUS TIPS

  1. I’ve noticed that you win more jobs when you are one of the first to apply to a job. So speed is important. 
  2. For those of us in the U.S. set the filter to U.S. jobs. In 2015 when this feature became available to us I got so much more work than I did before! Some businesses like to hire someone local also, and within their own time zone.
  3. Work with the same clients and when you make over a certain amount Upwork lowers the percentage they take.

Please let me know if this road map/process works for you, as it did for me! You can add a comment below, or follow our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/purrfecthost

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