How To Improve Your Job Success Score on Upwork

At Upwork, one way we measure freelancer success is a Job Success Score (JSS), which shows how satisfied clients have been with your work. After completing contracts, clients and freelancers have an opportunity to rate their experience with one another, leaving public and private reviews. 

Maintaining a high job success score is an important part of building a freelancing reputation on Upwork and can help you win more jobs and attract new clients. A high job success score demonstrates that you have a history of meeting and exceeding client expectations, helping to earn trust with new clients. 

Your Job Success Score can go up or down based on a variety of factors, including client feedback. This article will dive deeper into how Upwork calculates the JSS and strategies for how to improve yours.

Understand your Upwork Job Success Score

When searching for talent, viewing proposals, or clicking on your profile, clients see your Job Success Score (JSS) next to your name along with any Upwork Talent Badges you've earned. The JSS is Upwork’s rating system that measures overall client satisfaction, and it's calculated and updated daily. Your JSS score is one of the key tools that Upwork gives you to build your reputation. 

You can view your score on your Job Success Score insight page and dive deeper into your JSS calculation or what you need to do to earn a score.

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You can also report feedback that violates Upwork’s Terms of Service from this page. Rather than having to contact support, you can now flag the comments directly on your JSS Insights dashboard.

Factors that affect your score

Instead of using a narrow rating system based only on client feedback, Upwork's JSS weights feedback differently based on metrics like contract length, contract earnings, client feedback, and length of client relationships. This makes it fairer for both talent who work primarily on short one-off contracts and those who typically have longer-term engagements.

How score ranges are defined: 

Excellent: 90% or higher 

You’re consistently meeting or exceeding clients' expectations. This score puts you on track to earn your Top Rated or Top Rated Plus status.

Good: 80% to 89% 

You’re delivering reliable work, but clients see room for improvement. 

Needs improvement: 79% or below

This score suggests challenges in meeting and fulfilling expectations. You may find it more difficult to secure new clients or job opportunities. 

No score

You’re new to the platform and need more work before you can establish a JSS, or your number of eligible jobs has dropped below two.

As an independent professional on Upwork, you want to have a high JSS (ideally at least 90%) to attract clients on the platform. A high JSS shows clients that you regularly complete jobs on the platform and receive positive feedback. Your JSS can help you stand out against the competition and receive more job invites from clients. 

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Key takeaways to remember: 

• A JSS of at least 90% is needed to be eligible for and maintain Top Rated Status
• You can start earning a JSS after working at least two contracts in a lifetime on Upwork and completing two eligible jobs in a 24-month period 
• Upwork calculates your JSS each day using your 6-, 12-, and 24-month work history on the platform and displays the best overall score on your profile 
• There are several key factors that impact your score including contract length, higher earnings, client satisfaction, and long-term relationships
• If one of your clients has been flagged for having a history of poor collaboration with talent, or has been suspended for violating the Terms of Service, their feedback will not count toward your JSS

Monitor and analyze your score

Your JSS is an indicator of how happy clients have been with your work, and maintaining a high score can help you win the opportunities you want. If your score drops, you may need to make improvements to your processes or evaluate your work quality on recent projects. That’s why you’ll need to regularly check your Job Success insights to understand how recent activity may impact your score.

If you don’t have a JSS yet, you can learn more about the milestones you need to hit to earn a score. If you have earned a score, your Job Success insights page breaks down how your score is calculated so you can make improvements if needed. 

Learn more about each of the factors that contribute to your score, including: 

• Client satisfaction
• Long-term relationships 
• Higher earnings
• Contract length
• Ineligible jobs 

You’ll be able to view your job history and see which jobs contribute to your score, your client’s rating and feedback, and whether the job positively or negatively impacted your score. If your score is lower than you’d like, you can also check this page for actionable tips on how to improve your score in the future. Your goal should be to maintain a JSS of at least 90. 

Choose projects wisely

Clients post jobs every day to Talent Marketplace™ and send job invites to talent who have the needed skills for their projects. As a freelancer, you want to be selective about the jobs you submit proposals to and always make sure you're setting yourself up for success. 

Try to accept offers only for projects that you're confident you're the right fit for, especially when just starting out. A bad fit might result in negative feedback, which can affect your JSS. Clients often look for talent who have a high JSS—they want to make sure they're getting the quality of work they’re paying for. 

While you may be tempted early on to apply to anything and everything that sounds interesting, you're often better off taking the time to be selective with your proposals. Choose the projects that most closely align with your skillset and niche, and then tailor your proposal to the job description—don’t forget to use Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI, to help draft a strong proposal.  

When evaluating proposals, read the job description carefully. Make sure you have the skills needed for the project. Including these skills in your proposals and having them in your profile will help the Upwork algorithm rank your proposal more highly. If you want to stand out for a job, you can also boost your proposal to increase visibility. 

Deliver quality work consistently

When working as an independent professional on Upwork, building a reputation through your JSS, positive client feedback, and a strong portfolio is how you succeed. You do this by delivering high-quality work consistently and meeting client expectations.

Every project you take on deserves a high level of dedication and care. Client feedback affects your JSS. Because other clients can see negative public feedback on your Upwork profile, not meeting client expectations can hurt your business. 

After setting yourself up for success by choosing projects that fit your skillset, you want to make sure that you fully understand the scope of the project and go above and beyond to make your clients happy. Part of this is learning how to create a realistic work schedule, manage your time effectively, and juggle multiple clients without burning out. 

Foster excellent client communication

Managing client expectations starts with communication. After accepting a milestone and starting work on a project, you should be checking in and giving your clients regular updates on your progress. Communicating with clients helps to build relationships and deliver a great experience. 

You should ask new clients about their communication preferences. See how often they would like updates and offer to schedule planned check-ins. Some clients like to be hands-on and get regular updates, while others prefer to only meet as needed. 

Let clients know the hours you're typically available to respond to questions and give updates. Try to always respond quickly within those timeframes.

As you're working with clients and sending drafts and mock-ups for approval, you'll need to be able to accept feedback and make revisions. At first, feedback can seem like criticism, but you can use it to help you grow as an independent professional. 

Your vision may not always perfectly align with your client's. Explain why you made certain choices if you feel they’re in your client's best interest, but let them have the final say. 

Tips for effective and professional communication include:

• Asking clarifying questions if you're unsure what the client is looking for 
• Adding the Upwork mobile app to your phone and turning notifications on so you don't miss any important client messages
• Using Upwork Messages and video meetings to communicate with clients for added security and protection
• Sending progress updates to make sure you're on the right track
• Being upfront and honest with your clients
• Maintaining professionalism 

Encourage feedback from clients

After you submit your work and the contract ends, clients can leave you public feedback. This feedback is a significant part of how Upwork calculates your job success score. Clients can also leave an optional private note, which only you can see, and does not impact your JSS. This feedback is a significant part of how Upwork calculates your job success score. Before closing a contract and submitting your final deliverables, check in with your client to make sure they’re satisfied with your work and give them a chance to make any last-minute changes. 

Catherine, a Top Rated Plus virtual assistant, encourages new freelancers to ask their clients for feedback, but not to panic if they don’t leave any, in her success story: 

"I find that many new freelancers get panicky about client reviews. I have a lot of projects that don't have feedback on them. It's not that my clients aren't satisfied; they just may not have the time or want to give feedback. It's OK to ask for feedback from clients, but try not to be too pushy."

You can also leave your client feedback after completing a project. The review system works both ways. You can only see the feedback clients leave you after you've left a review or the 14-day feedback period expires. 

Reviews and feedback are important for honesty and transparency on the platform. Before accepting a contract, check to see what other professionals' experiences were with the client. Consistent negative feedback from different freelancers can mean that a client is difficult to work with. 

As an independent professional, reviews are motivating. You get rewarded for your talent and consistently delivering high-quality work. Having positive feedback on your profile can help attract clients and win projects. Feedback can also help you grow your business and identify areas to improve.  

How to ask for client feedback 

While this feedback is optional, you can send a message to your client after submitting your work and nicely ask them to leave honest feedback. Thank them for the opportunity and explain the importance of reviews for building a business on the platform. 

If you're working on a long-term contract, you may be able to request mid-contract feedback (depending on the contract). This is helpful for freelancers who typically work longer engagements.  

Here’s an example of a quick message you can send to your client asking for feedback:

Hi [Client],

I've enjoyed working with you on this project. I hope you’ve had a great experience and are happy with the final results. I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave your honest feedback after we close the contract. Client feedback helps me grow my business and build my reputation on Upwork. 

How to respond to negative feedback

Sometimes, the client and talent aren't the right match, which can lead to negative feedback. While you want to try your best to have a great experience with every client, less-than-perfect reviews happen and that's OK. 

Typically, when a client looks at your JSS and profile, they check to make sure that the majority of the feedback is positive. If multiple clients are complaining about the same issue, this may be a red flag and can affect whether or not you win a proposal. 

On Upwork, you have the opportunity to respond to public feedback on your profile for future clients to see. You can leave one comment that is uneditable once you submit it. Responding to negative feedback can help clarify the situation. 

You can share your side of the story if you think the feedback was unjustified or explain what you learned from the experience. Remember to always be professional, as anyone viewing your profile can see what you write in the comment. 

Learn from unsuccessful projects

Every freelancing project is a learning opportunity, especially those that aren't as successful as you had hoped. Each project may be different, and you'll need to be able to adjust and adapt to your client's needs quickly. As an independent professional, you also have to be resilient and able to handle rejection and feedback without giving up and taking it personally. 

Adriana, an Expert Vetted illustrator, shares how she uses feedback to grow in her success story: 

“Most of the time, clients really understand their business and they understand their audience better than I do. So their feedback is really relevant and it helps me to create better work to serve the final purpose.” 

At the end of each project, analyze the overall experience. Think about what you could have done differently. Ask yourself what worked and what didn't. This is how you adapt your processes and learn from your mistakes. 

Don't forget to give yourself credit for what you did right as well. 

Expand your freelancing success

Freelancing is a business that takes time to build. Upwork offers tools to support you along the way, like your Job Success Score, which measures client satisfaction. This score takes into account your history on the platform, analyzing client feedback and weighting it based on the contract length and earnings. 

When you're new to freelancing, you may have to learn from your mistakes and figure out the best way to work with clients and create processes to streamline productivity. If your score drops, you can bring it back up by being strategic about the projects you take on, setting yourself up for success, and going the extra mile to make sure your clients are satisfied with your work. 

See what jobs fit your skillset right now on Talent Marketplace and start building your reputation as a skilled professional on Upwork.