How To Reply to an Upwork Job Invitation

When freelancing on Upwork, as you build your reputation and skills, clients may start coming to you. So be sure to keep your eye out for "Invitations to Interview" in your inbox; these are job invites from clients who handpicked your profile and want you to send proposals for their project. 

This is different from Talent Marketplace™ (where clients post jobs so that available freelancers can submit proposals for work). Invitations to Interview give clients the option to send job invites directly to freelancers or agencies. You can accept the invite, decline, or refer another freelancer if the job isn't the right fit or your schedule is full. 

In this article, we discuss how to reply to an Upwork job invitation and give tips for getting more Upwork invites. 

What is an Upwork job invite? 

Instead of only posting the project on Talent Marketplace, clients can increase their chances of finding the right talent by searching for freelancers who fit their criteria and sending them invites directly. When a client sends you an Upwork job invite, they're asking if you would like to submit a proposal for their project.

If you choose to accept the interview, you can send your terms and cover letter. These proposals are the same as if you found the job on Talent Marketplace; the only difference is you don't have to use any of your Connects. 

Clients can search for the type of talent they need and then adjust the filters to get a list of relevant independent professionals to choose from. They can then look at talent profiles, compare experience and rates, and send invitations to their favorites.

Select clients on Upwork can also work with Talent Specialists whose role is to connect businesses with top talent. So when you receive a job invite, it could be directly from the client or from a Talent Specialist. Either way, the process is the same on your end as a freelancer.

The main benefits of getting Upwork invites are that you don't have to spend time looking for jobs or use any of your Connects to submit a proposal.

How to reply to an Upwork job invitation 

When you receive an Upwork job invite, it means that the client likes your profile and thinks you have the right skill set for their project. They've invited you to submit a proposal. You’ll want to be on the lookout for job invites and make sure you respond quickly. Getting an Upwork job invite is just the first step. You still need to decide whether to accept and start working on a proposal or decline and refer another freelancer.

If you get an Upwork job invitation, these are the steps you need to take:

1. Check for job invites
2. Review the job posting
3. Accept or decline the invite
4. Select the terms for your proposal
5. Write a cover letter
6. Respond quickly
7. Propose different terms, if needed

1. Check for job invites

Job invitations show up in your inbox or as a pop-up notification if you have the Upwork App on your phone. Regularly check for any new invites to make sure you don't miss any.

On a browser, you can go to the Upwork home page >> Find Work >>Proposals and offers>> Invitations to Interview. If you have a new invite, you can also find it on the right side of the home page under Proposals >> Invitation to Interview.

2. Review the job posting

Being selective about the projects you say yes to is important. You want to set yourself up for success with projects you know you can do well and clients that you'll enjoy working with. 

Start with the job details and see if they match your skills. The client should have a description of the project and what they're looking for. You can see more specifics under "Skills and Experience." 

Before starting your proposal, click >> View Job Posting to see more about the job, the client, and their budget.

If you have a Freelancer Plus account, in addition to perks like more Connects each month and personalized coaching, you can see the current range of bids from competitors on a job so you know how to price your proposal. 

Upgrading to Freelancer Plus will also give you full access to Uma, Upwork’s Mindful AI. Think of Uma as your powerful work companion to help you start and complete your work faster than ever.

What you want to look for: 

• Hire rate. Successful hire rates show you how likely the client is to find a freelancer to work on this project.
• Spend. Shows how much experience they have working with freelancers on Upwork and the type of budget they have. 
• Average hourly rate paid. Lets you know if they're used to working with talent at your price point.
• Client's recent history. Reading feedback from other freelancers and the feedback that the client gives helps evaluate whether the client is a good fit. You can also see their other open jobs to learn more about the client and their work. 
• Client rating. Negative reviews from other freelancers could be a sign that the client is difficult to work with. 

3. Accept or decline the invite

You have three options when replying to a job invite. You can accept the interview and start the process of applying. Or, if you aren't interested, you can either decline or decline and refer another freelancer. 

Once you accept the interview, you have the option to choose which Upwork profile to use. You can apply with one of your specialized profiles if it's more relevant. 

If you decline, it will automatically prompt you to select a reason (other is an option), and you can add an optional message to the client. 

You can also decline and refer another freelancer. This could be someone whom you know on Upwork. You can add their Upwork profile URL or email. If you don't have that information, you can use the "Search Upwork for a Freelancer" feature to find them or another independent professional to recommend.

4. Select the terms for your proposal

While you may have an idea of what you want to make hourly as an independent professional, your exact rates and prices can change depending on the project and client. You get to select the terms for each proposal, including payment and availability.

Establish how you want the client to pay you and set your rate: 

• By milestone. Break up the project into smaller deliverables with due dates and prices. 
• By project. Determine your bid price for the entire project. 
• Hourly. Decide your hourly rate.

You'll also need to estimate how long the project will take and choose a duration.

You want your terms to be competitive and fair for both you and the client. Consider the project's scope and estimate how long it will take. Having a Freelancer Plus account and seeing the bid range from others can help you make sure your terms are fairly priced, especially for new freelancers. 

You will have the chance to update your terms before accepting the offer. During the interviews and meetings with the client, you may realize it's more or less work than you initially thought and update your proposal.

5. Write a cover letter

Writing a great cover letter can win jobs. You want to set yourself apart from the competition and grab the client’s attention. If a client on Upwork sends you a job invite, they've already seen your profile. You've made it past the first step, and the proposal and terms can help make the final decision. 

In your cover letter, you want to explain who you are and why you're the best freelancer for this project. You can use a template for cover letters, but each one should have personalized details. Clients can tell if you use a generic cover letter for all of your proposals. They want to know that you've spent time reading their project description and think that it's something you can do successfully. 

You can start off a cover letter for a job invite with a thank you since it's a personalized invite.

Example: Thank you for this opportunity to work together.

When writing your cover letter, if you get stuck or need a little help making it perfect, you can get personalized tips using Uma. When you want suggestions click >> Get Tips, and it will give you Uma’AI-generated recommendations based on the client's job description.

Before you can get tips, you’ll need to write at least 200 characters. The AI tool will then compare what you wrote to the job description and give you suggestions to help improve your cover letter and make it more relevant. 

The more you write, the more the tool will be able to help you. These suggestions are optional; when in doubt, go with your instinct. Always make sure that your proposal accurately reflects your skills and experience and review the AI suggestions to prevent any exaggerations or accidental misinformation.  

After the cover letter, the client may have selected questions for potential freelancers to fill out. Think about your response and use this as an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise. The questions may be about your technical skills or experience, or they may help the client evaluate your work style and personality. 

You can also upload any files that would be helpful for the client. This may be your resume or samples of your work that aren't on your portfolio. 

Depending on the job, you may also be able to record a video and attach it to your proposal to help stand out to clients. This feature is still in BETA and may not be available on every job invite.

6. Respond quickly

When you get a job invite, try to respond quickly (especially if you want to accept). This helps to show interest and gives you a leg up on the competition. If possible, you want to be one of the first proposals the client reads. 

Declining a job invite is OK, too, if you don't want to send a proposal or have limited availability in your schedule. Responding quickly to jobs you don't want is courteous and lets the client know if they need to send out more invites to other talent.

When looking at the job invite, you can see how many other freelancers have submitted proposals under >> Activity on this Job. Check how many invites the client sent and if they're actively interviewing any freelancers. “Last Viewed by Client” will let you know the last time they checked for new proposals. 

Once you accept the job invite and send your proposal, you enter the active interview process and can access the Message room. If you sent a non-invite proposal, you would have to wait until the client starts the active interview process to send a message. You can use this to your advantage and send the client a quick note to establish a relationship. 

First impressions matter; even if they don't choose to work with you, they may keep you in mind for a future project. Having a line of communication open can be helpful.

Example: 

I just submitted my proposal and think the project is a great fit for my skills. I would love to work together. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me, or we can set up a meeting to go over the project in more detail.

7. Propose different terms, if needed

Sometimes, after meeting with a client and talking about the project, as a freelancer, you realize your proposal was too high or low. You can make adjustments to your rate or add milestones. 

If you need to change the proposal terms, you want to do so before accepting an offer. You'll see the option under Find Work >> Proposals and offers >> Active Proposal >> Edit Proposal.

Once you accept the client's offer, it’s more difficult to make changes, as they will need to approve it. If you don't think the project is something you want to work on, you can withdraw your proposal at any time. This will not hurt your Job Success Score.

You can set up a meeting so you fully understand the scope of the project and the client's expectations during the job interview stage. You can adjust your proposal if needed to help avoid scope creep. Talk through the project with your client to make sure you're on the same page before accepting an offer. 

Next steps after accepting a job invitation

Accepting the job invite sends you straight to the active interview process, where you can start talking with the client right away. You can ask any questions, or set up a meeting. 

Once you send a proposal from a job invite, you can track it under My Proposals >> scroll down to Active Proposals. A new conversation thread will also open up in Upwork Messages so you can communicate with the potential client. 

Depending on the client, they may want to interview their top candidates before extending an offer. This can be done through a phone call, videochat, or by asking question in Upwork Messages. 

How to get more Upwork invites

The best way to get more Upwork job invites is to optimize your profile. When you submit proposals on Talent Marketplace, clients look at your proposal and your profile. But when clients send invites, the only information they have is your profile. This is how they determine which freelancers are the best fit. They'll read your proposal only after they’ve sent, and you’ve accepted, the invite. So having a top-notch profile is important for getting noticed.  

Some aspects of your profile you can work on right away, like making your title and overview stand out. Other elements, like your Job Success Score, come with gaining experience and completing jobs successfully. 

If you want to get more Upwork job invites, check out these tips to help make your profile stand out:

• Use relevant keywords. Potential clients and Upwork’s internal algorithm determine whether you're a good fit for jobs by reading your profile. Use keywords for the in-demand skills that accurately describe what you can offer.  
• Choose a professional picture. Your profile picture is the first visual impression a client gets of you. Find a high-quality picture that clearly shows your face. 
• Create an intro video. Take your profile to the next level with an intro video that shows who you are and what you do. This helps clients get to know you quickly and establish trust. 
• Select the right skills. When adding categories and skills to your profile, choose those that are closely related to what you want to offer. 
• Find your niche. Building a reputation and becoming an expert is easier when you have a niche—a specialization within your field that you can fine tune your skills in. Become the go-to person for specific problems and needs. 
• Specialized profile. If you have more than one niche, create specialized profiles (variations of your profile) to showcase and separate your different experiences and skills.  
• Turn on your Availability Badge. Clients can choose "Available Now" as a filter when looking for freelancers to invite. Stay active on Upwork and keep your Availability Badge on using Connects each week. 
• Build a portfolio. Feature your best and most relevant projects in your Upwork portfolio to impress potential clients. Work samples let clients get a feel for your style and quality. 
• Ask clients on Upwork for feedback. After submitting your work and making any edits, if you think your client is happy with the final product, you can ask them to leave feedback. Positive feedback on your profile helps attract new clients.  
• Boost your profile. Use your Connects to boost your profile and stand out to clients looking for freelancers to invite to their jobs. Boosted Profile increases your chance of getting hired by up to 2x.

Learn more about how to get jobs on Upwork and read the video transcript. 

Stand out and secure more job invites

When clients need to find the right talent for their project, they have the option of sending Upwork job invites to freelancers (like you) with profiles that stand out. These invites go straight to your inbox; you can submit a proposal without using any Connects. Once you accept and apply, a message room opens up, and you can communicate back and forth with the client. You're now an active candidate. 

‍Boosting your profile can help you stand out to clients and get more job invites. Boosted Profile increases your chance of getting hired by up to 2x. You can also keep clients coming to you by listing your pre-scoped and fixed-price services on Project Catalog. Instead of searching for jobs and submitting proposals, clients can shop and purchase your ready-to-start projects. Make Upwork your home for work.