Володимир Самольотов & Євгеній Белошицький: "Upwork: Global and UA trends 2017, freelancer lifecycle & ToS tips to succeed"

1. Lviv Freelance
Forum
October 15, 2016
Lviv, Ukraine

2. ● Upwork representative in Kyiv
● Full-time freelancer since 2010
( 2012 Upwork )
● TR FL w/ 100% JSS, 1300+ hours
worked, 15+ Clients Worldwide
● Full-stack Web Developer
● Ukraine, Kiev
2
A PLEASURE TO MEET

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High level view
3

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Results showed that more people than ever are choosing
to freelance – 55 million this year, or 35% of the total U.S.
workforce.
https://www.upwork.com/i/freelancing-in-america/2016/

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The Freelancing market is estimated to be 5x its
size in the next 5 years
5
2015 Mkt
Est = $4.5B
“Online staffing revenue grew
by approximately 40%
year-over-year, from $3.2
billion to $4.4 billion”
…
“We project online staffing
will grow to $15 billion by
2020, which assumes growth
will continue on a trajectory
similar to that seen over the
last few years (CAGR ≈ 40%)”
Staffing Industry Analysts
2016 Report on Human Cloud

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Who is doing the work on Upwork?
6
Share of freelancer earnings by country

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What type of work is getting done on Upwork?
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The entire world

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Top Skills
8

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Most In-Demand Positions
Mobile Programming Front-End Web Dev Back-End Web Dev
iOS development Javascript Ruby on Rails
Android SDK Angular Python
Objective-C / Swift CSS PHP
Java HTML5 Node
MySQL
9

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High-Range Skills
($25 to $55/hour)
Mid-Range Skills
($22 to $50/hour)
Lower-Tier Skills
($20 to $40/hour)
Ruby on Rails Javascript HTML
Python jQuery Wordpress
Ruby SQL SEO
Node.js Java CSS
AWS ASP.NET Drupal
Mongo.DB Bootstrap General Web Design
Swift / Objective-C Magento General Web Dev
Android
PHP
Skill Areas by Income Tier
10
Top-earning skills are specialized around platforms that are new and in high demand.

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Skills where Demand > Supply
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iOS Dev Android Dev Other
iOS Development Android SDK MySQL
Swift Java jQuery
Objective C ASP.NET
Ruby on Rails
C#
Python
Java
Mobile development represents the largest opportunity for freelance programmers.
Demand is greater than supply, average wages are higher than general IT wages, and
average spend per job is 3X of average job on marketplace.

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Development Roles & Projects
Role
Responsibilities and Skills
Hourly Rate
Desktop Software Dev
● Build desktop software applications. C, C++,
Java
$16 - $30
Ecommerce Development
● Online retail store development. Shopify,
Stripe, HTML.
$11 - $25
Web & Mobile Design
● Design of pages and mobile apps. UI / UX,
Invision
$15 - $27
Product Manager
● Manage product development and
maintenance of pages and applications.
$10 - $27
Game Development
● Develop web, mobile and desktop games.
Unity, Unreal, Cocos2d
$15 - $30
Scripts & Utilities
● Write scripts and utilities to automate tasks.
Python, Javascript.
$17 - $33
QA & Testing ● Quality assurance and application testing $10 - $19

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Data Science Roles & Projects
Role Responsibilities Hourly Rate
Data-driven marketing / A/B Testing
● Conduct A/B tests for websites and other
content
$25 - $49
Data Extraction and Mining
● Collect data from online sources and/or
manage databases. SQL, web scraping, online
research.
$5 - $15
Data Scientist / Machine Learning
● Create and maintain algorithms for predictive
analyses. Machine learning, Python, predictive
analytics.
$28 - $45
Data Analyst
● Build and maintain quantitative models and
data visualization. R, Excel, SQL.
$16 - $39

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Upwork & Ukraine

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UKRAINE
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
● 4th place at global freelance markets arena
● 53K Ukrainian freelancers registered on Upwork in 2015
● UA freelancers earned nearly $55M USD in the last year
● 54K UA Freelancers earning on Upwork in 2015 (Top
Rated and Raising Talent)
115K Ukrainian freelancers on Upwork (total in 2016)

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What type of work is getting done on Upwork?
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The entire world Ukraine

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Who is doing the work on Upwork?
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Share of freelancer earnings by country
In development category specifically…
Ukraine is #2, ahead of Russia and US

18. ● Mobile developers continue to be the highest in demand, followed
by front-end developers with demand for each growing at over 70%
per year. Other priorities skills are Python, RoR and Java full stack
engineers proficient at JavaScript and AngularJS.
IN-DEMAND EARNING
CATEGORIES

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Дякую!

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● 5 years in Freelance: Digital Marketing,
Event Marketing
● TR, JSS 100%, 2000+ hours, 20 clients
● Upwork Mobilizer Kharkiv since 2014
● Born in Kaniv, Ukraine
● 11 years in Military Service
● TEDxKharkiv founder, organizer and
host
A PLEASURE TO MEET
20
Insert your photo

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Freelancer Journey on Upwork
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Freelancer Journey on Upwork
22
Freelancer
Sign-up
Team Builder
Agency
Pro
Enterprise

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How to get there?
● Read the Freelancer Manual to learn
everything about Upwork
● Complete your freelancer profile
(including skills, portfolio, and
certifications)
● Take relevant skill tests to increase
your marketability
● Apply for minimum 5 relevant jobs
based on your skill set
Freelancer Sign-up

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How to get there?
● Adhere to Upwork ToS
● Ensure 100% completed profile
● Keep availability status up-to-date
● Bid on relevant projects regularly
● Be active in the past 90 days
● Deliver great results
● Complete projects on time
Rising Talent badge on Upwork
profile
Inclusion in premium talent pool
One-time bonus of 30 free
Connects
Priority chat and ticket support
1
2
3
4
5
Personalized recommendations
to strengthen your profile
Freelancer Sign-up

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How to get there?
● Work with at least 3 distinct clients
to earn a score
● Deliver excellent work to your clients
● Be aware that most freelancers
receive their score after completing
5 projects in a 24-month period
Gives clients additional information
for their hiring decision
Enables you to distinguish yourself
and your quality of work
Clients can see the information
in their ATS and when viewing
your profile
1
2
3
Freelancer Sign-up

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How to get there?
● Maintain Rising Talent status or a
Job Success Score of 90%+ for at
least 13 of the last 16 weeks
● $1,000 earnings in the past year
($10,000 for agencies)
● Active in the last 90 days
● 100% completed profile
● Up-to-date availability status
● No recent account holds
● 30 days work history on Upwork
Top Rated badge on Upwork
profile
Exclusive job invitations from in-
house recruiters, job digest email
Personalized recommendations
to strengthen your profile
Priority phone and chat support
1
2
3
4
5
Host Top Rated Upwork Huddles,
attend Top Rated Office Hours,
access to the Top Rated Community
6 Request feedback removal
Freelancer Sign-up

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Freelancer Journey on Upwork
27
Freelancer
Sign-up
Team Builder
Agency
Pro
Enterprise

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Premium Recruiting Programs
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Pro Talent Builder Enterprise
Premium talent matching
● 5 categories: Web/mobile Dev, Design,
Writing, Customer Support, Admin
● Dev skills testing: Angular, React,
Backbone, Ember, Ruby on Rails,
Python using Django,
● Currently, only IT category can apply --
other categories have closed
application (invite only)
● Model: Vetted clients pay $500
placement fee + 10%
Long-term contracts
● 5 categories: Web/mobile Dev,
Design, Writing, Customer
Support, Admin
● Clients and FLs have to
commit to working 30 hours
per week (clients have to pay
the weekly min payment even
if the FL didn't bill 30 hours)
● Client opts-in during job post
Large Corporate Clients
building “private talent cloud”
● Invite only
● Based on client specific
requirements
● Upwork does talent search to
add to client’s “Talent Cloud”

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6 Things to know about
Upwork Terms of
Services
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30. Accept Payments Only Through Upwork
➢ Only receive payments through Upwork and build your reputation to win more jobs.
➢ If a client proposes to pay outside of Upwork, decline and let us know.
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31. 31
Use One Upwork Account
➢ Use the same login for all work on Upwork, whether you are selling your
services as a freelancer, managing an agency, or hiring others as a client.
➢ Don’t use multiple logins or wrong account types.

32. Use Your Own Account and Your Own Identity
➢ Provide accurate and verifiable information.
➢ Don’t transfer or sell account credentials to other users:
○ Individual accounts may not be shared between users
○ Team members of an Agency may not share or log-in credentials
➢ Don’t ever log into one of your client’s accounts on their behalf.
➢ Respond quickly to requests to phone verify or ID verify.
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33. Make Sure Your Profile is Accurate
➢ Use your professional portrait and your real name for your Upwork profile.
➢ Accurately describe your experience, skills, qualifications and the services you offer.
➢ Revise your profile for grammatical and spelling errors, use complete sentences and
make sure words and phrases have correct capitalization.
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34. Follow the Information Sharing Policy
➢ Keep contact with potential clients inside Upwork:
○ Leverage Payment Protection
○ Maintain safety cooperation
➢ Don’t list your email, Skype contact information, your personal website or third-party
profile (like LinkedIn) in your profile.
34

35. Be Responsive
➢ Respond quickly to messages from clients and Upwork's Support Team
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36. Be Professional
➢ Do great work: When you accept a project, you promise to complete the work and to
deliver high-quality work.
➢ Treat everyone with respect and professional courtesy in all communications.
➢ Tailor your applications to the needs of each job and client. Don’t send the same cover
letter repeatedly or excessively message anyone.
➢ Don’t pressure clients to give you good feedback, and don’t withhold work until
feedback is left.
36
!

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Resources
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● Upwork Terms of Service
● Help Center article about Freelancer violations /
account holds
ATTENTION: Video Profile Verification for new Web & Mobile Devs in
Ukraine starting Sep 13 (random or those showing fraud)

38. © 2015 Upwork Inc. Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
TOP 5 Tips to Win on Upwork
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1. Customer first: Focus on customer and long-term partnership vs.
short-term gain
2. Sell yourself: Sharp profile w/ clear differentiation, work samples, and
personality
3. Dive deep: Specialize on high demand languages & frameworks
4. Build teams: Partner with freelancers w/ complementary skills
(UI/UX, QA, etc.) to offer full solution
5. Test rates: boost rates and see what happens; use your rate to
stand-out and prove quality

39. © 2015 Upwork Inc. Proprietary and confidential. Do not distribute.
Special Freelancer offers
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Click here to get MORE:
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https://www.upwork.com/i/business-re
sources/
Join Upwork on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/UpworkUkraine/

41. Upwork tip for you:
16talentUA
To redeem the code :
1) Create an account on Upwork.com
2) Go to Upgrade membership (after submitting your profile for
review or by going to Settings > Memberships & Connects >
Edit my membership)
3) Enter a payment method
4) Enter the coupon code
Plus membership will take effect immediately

42. Thanks Lviv!