Why I Declined 24 New Job Invitations I Received from Upwork in Two Months?

Rey Juaton
Jul 25, 2017 · 4 min read

In the previous article, I mentioned how I became a freelancer.

I started my freelancing on the 28th of January, 2013 however it was only after 4 months that I got the motivation brought by the financial crisis that we’ve faced.

Determined to learn oDesk (before it was bought by Upwork) platform I managed my way out by learning a new skill which eventually helped me land my first “real” contract.

An Uphill Battle at the Start

Getting jobs at the start was really an uphill battle. But every time I received a rejection message, I learned from it and did my best to improve and avoid the same mistake again.

Every rejection has offered me an opportunity to explore. I learned insights and by putting these together, I discovered that there is a pattern on how to do the things right.

So I picked up these pieces and started coming up a plan which I implemented. By and by, I noticed that I started receiving invitations from clients.

At the start, I just receive a couple of invites in a month, but as time goes by, the numbers went up.

Job Invitations Declined?

September 2016.

That was the time when the numbers started to overwhelm me. This was the time when I received 28 job invitations in 2 months. But I declined 24 of them.

The following are screenshots of my archived invitations from my Upwork profile, starting from the most recent within the 2-month period.

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decline job invitations
decline job invitations
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Why Decline?

The secret to success is not on saying “Yes” to opportunities but on saying “No.” The very reason why I declined 24 of the 28 new job invitations I received in 2 months was not due to the clients were not verified, but because these opportunities were not aligned to my freelancing goals.

Why I declined 24 new job invitations I received from Upwork in two months? Click To Tweet

Needless to say, some clients were cunning. They try to make you believe that your tasks were just easy, or something that you can’t refuse when offered a low rate. But little by little, you will find yourself switching to complicated tasks.

How did I learn this?

During the interview, I took opportunity to interview the client too! In this way, I gain a better understanding about the details of the job. This in turn gave me the opportunity to get a true feel of the job, whether its aligned to my goals, passion, or work ethics.

When I find out that it’s the other end of the line, I declined.

No Regrets

I did not regret about it. In fact, that was the wisest decision I have ever made in my entire freelancing career. And looking back to the time when I started freelancing way back June 2013, I am so blessed and really grateful.

Freelancing has quadrupled my income. That even though I got only $70 dollars left on my paycheck every month as a full time high school teacher, but I am fully blessed because I got freelancing on my side.

Through freelancing, I and my wife were able to travel, establish a business, buy an iPhone for my job, a scooter, and hopefully build a house by the end of this year.

This is not to boast of my achievement but to uplift freelancing as a career that can give you a fortune only if you are really determined to succeed.

70dollarslife

My journey from 70 dollars paycheck to being a top rated freelancer.

Rey Juaton

Written by

Email marketer and sales funnel strategist

70dollarslife

My journey from 70 dollars paycheck to being a top rated freelancer.

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