The Upwork Job Success Score – it’s Upwork’s unique feedback scoring system and, based on the number of questions we get about it – we are guessing it’s something that confuses many of you.
As a freelancer, your reputation is everything. The Upwork Job Success Score is a measure of your reputation on the platform.
And, we cannot emphasize enough, the value of a good reputation on any popular online jobs site, including Upwork.
Clients like to know they’re hiring freelancers who have a good reputation for quality work and delivery. The way they assess this on Upwork, is through the Job Success Score. So for you, a freelancer, it’s important to maintain a good score.
Top freelancers will normally have a score of 90% and higher. To clients, this is a reflection of a freelancer who meets or even exceeds work expectations – leading to happy clients. These are the freelancers every client wants to work with. That’s how important your JSS is.
Radhika’s Upwork profile is at 100% Job Success – a score she works very hard to maintain.
So, what exactly is the Job Success Score (JSS) and how can you make sure that you get a higher score? What impacts your JSS? Let’s get into the nitty gritty.
The Upwork Job Success Score Explained
The Upwork Job Success Score is a measure of the quality of your work and reputation on Upwork. Your score is based on how clients rank your performance over a period of 24 months.
In simple terms, JSS is the comparison between your happy clients and unhappy clients, against the total number of clients you have had over the last 24 months.
Upwork’s Job Success Score is always displayed on your profile. If you’re a new freelancer, your JSS will be displayed after you’ve completed four or more projects.
While obviously we don’t know the exact algorithm behind the score, we do know that the system takes several factors into consideration when determining your performance.
These include:
- Client feedback
- Successful completion of work
- Client complaints
- Missed deadlines
- Responsiveness levels (to interview invitations and client messages)
- Disputes
- Repeat clients
The JSS is updated every two weeks. Your goal should be to keep your score above 90%. If your score falls below 70%, you risk having your account suspended. You certainly don’t want this to happen especially after all the effort you put into landing clients in the first place.
You can find your current Job Success Score on your My Stats page.
What Causes Your Upwork Job Success Score to Dip?
There are several issues that can result in a drop in your score.
1. Negative client feedback
This is one of the biggest causes of a poor JSS. Both public and private feedback will affect your reputation on Upwork. Most clients are reasonable and will give credit where it’s due but if you do not deliver as agreed then you definitely won’t have a happy client.
Constant negative reviews will lead to a poor score and ultimately a suspended account. Focus on providing your clients with a great experience and you’ll receive great ratings and feedback.
2. Lack of Feedback
This is closely related to negative feedback. Also it is probably one of the factors that most of us don’t take into account.
So you’ve completed your job successfully and ended a contract, the client doesn’t give you any feedback.You ignore it because at least it wasn’t negative feedback!.
While a few jobs without feedback will not affect your JSS; if you have a pattern of contracts ending without feedback, it’s very likely to affect your score.
Whenever you complete a job successfully, politely remind the client to leave you feedback.
3. Inactive Contracts
There will be instances where you start a contract but for whatever reason, the contract doesn’t kick off. So no work/time is logged and no payment is made.
In other cases, you may work for a while and then the client doesn’t assign you any more work for a long period.
These two cases can affect your Job Success Score. Request a client to end such contracts as soon as you can, to prevent having a history of inactive contracts.
4. Missing Deadlines
Sticking to set deadlines is one of the best ways to build your reputation on Upwork. Clients want someone they can rely on. In fact, many clients will give you a bonus and a good review for work done under tight deadlines.
Missing deadlines will have an effect on your job success score. So unless it’s the client’s fault, always ensure you hand in work in good time. If you need more time, ask the client to change the due date in advance.
How Can You Improve Your Job Success Score?
Think of the Upwork Job Success Score as a trust signal for clients. Clients trust freelancers with good scores because it means they’re knowledgeable in their field and also reliable freelancers.
They want to hire freelancers with a track record of delivering projects on time and do the work as promised. A high JSS will therefore make your profile stand out and land you more projects.
To improve your Upwork Job Success Score, focus on delivering great work and maintaining a good reputation by doing the following:
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Complete your projects successfully
Every time you accept a job, make sure that you give it your best and complete it successfully and under the agreed terms. Great communication is key in the success of your project. Work closely with your clients and communicate effectively and frequently during the contract.
Communicate promptly in case of instances where you may not be able to deliver work at the time agreed or if you are having any difficulties with the job.
Remember that a happy client equals good feedback and good feedback will improve your JSS.
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Avoid poorly rated clients
Thankfully, freelancers are allowed to rate clients too and some clients are just not worth the time.
Before applying for a job or accepting an offer, check the client’s current review score. Are they rated highly or poorly?
Avoid poorly rated clients as they might be difficult to work with or may even leave unjust negative feedback to their freelancers.
No matter how enticing the job might be, you’re better off looking for another client as a poorly rated client might just end up giving you a poor score that affects your hard earned JSS.
A client’s rating can be viewed under ‘About Client’ in the job details page. You can also check out the actual feedback from other freelancers at the bottom of the job post so you know the reason for the poor feedback as well.
This client’s feedback is based only of 1 review but it’s already not a good impression.
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End inactive contracts
If you have a client who has not assigned you any work for more than 4 weeks, contact them and ask to end the contract if they don’t have any more work for you at the moment. Remember to request them to leave you feedback.
A good reputation on Upwork is important if you want to keep a steady flow of income as a freelancer. Some of these mistakes can be easily avoided so do your due diligence to ensure that you get a high Upwork Job Success Score and keep it above 90%.
Ref: Fulltime Nomad
