Expert Vetted: The Invite Only Badge

Happy 2024 from the Digital Work Group! Let’s discuss Upwork’s Expert Vetted badge to start the New Year. As the fourth and final post of my Upwork badge miniseries, Expert Vetted (EV) status is the highest rank a freelancer can attain on Upwork. In 2023, I posted about the other three badges offers by Upwork: Rising Talent (RT), Top Rated (TR), and Top Rated Plus (TRP). These statuses, quantitative calculations based on platform metrics, consider a freelancer’s Job Success Score, ratings, and reviews.

The three badges, achieved sequentially, create a platform-wide status hierarchy. Each consecutive badge has stricter requirements and a larger positive effect on the user’s platform identity and reputation. Expert Vetted (EV) status sits atop the badge hierarchy as the highest attainable on Upwork. Given its exclusivity, this badge works quite differently than TR or TRP. As a frame of reference, the top 10% of Upwork users have TR status. Only the top 1% of freelancers achieve EV status.

The EV badge differs from the other three statuses in two major ways: 1) how it is attained and 2) who is eligible.

Attaining EV Status

A freelancer can only be considered for EV status if the Upwork platform directly contacts them. Users chosen by the platform are invited to complete an interview and undergo a screening process with Upwork’s Talent Managers, who evaluate the freelancer’s technical expertise and interpersonal skills. If evaluation deems a freelancer’s abilities and experience worthy of EV status, the user receives the Expert Vetted badge.

Eligibility

While all Upworkers can work towards the TPR status, the EV badge isn’t available to everyone. For many freelancers, qualifying for the EV badge is impossible. Regardless of a user’s success on Upwork, the platform only invites freelancers who work in select fields. EV status is only available to six categories of users: 1) Web, Mobile, and Software Development, 2) Design and Creative, 3) Sales and Marketing, 4) HR, 5) Consulting, and 6) Writing.

Benefits

Like the other three Upwork statuses, a freelancer’s EV badge is displayed on their user profile. Besides the positive impact on the freelancer’s platform identity, EV status gives users access to a host of resources and extensive support. Upwork’s Talent Mangers help EV freelancers optimize their profiles and secure contracts with Enterprise clients, a client pool on Upwork that includes over a third of the Fortune 500. These firms recruit through Upwork’s Talent Cloud, where the EV badge remains visible to potential clients. Freelancers with EV status also enjoy the ability to offer clients consultations to share their expertise and experience.

User Perception

We have interviewed over 100 Upworkers as a part of our panel study, and the Expert-Vetted Status is the only badge our participants have never attained. However, freelancers often post to Upwork Community pages, sharing their experiences with the Expert-Vetted Status. Despite the benefits extended to freelancers with EV status, this badge is no different than any other– users seem to experience challenges with every status they achieve, and the EV badge is no different. In a post to the Upwork Community page, one user noted how EV status is “deliberately obscured,” describing how the site’s search settings only allow clients to filter their results for TP and TPR users. As discussed earlier, Upwork provides EV status users access to Talent Managers. However, users have noted issues with these Upwork employees, describing unresponsiveness and a general lack of assistance.

Badges: A Key to Success

As the badge miniseries concludes, it’s important to reiterate the importance of platform metrics. Given the lack of social connection between clients and freelancers on Upwork, users cannot underestimate the importance of their profile. Badges are one of the few tools clients have to gauge a freelancer’s reliability. When hiring for new contracts, clients carefully consider all aspects of the user profile, evaluating the platform-based track records of freelancers. A self-fulfilling prophecy is created: as each consecutive badge is earned, the more reliable a freelancer appears, facilitating their ability to secure work. As successful users continue to grow their work history, they further build up their profile identity, allowing users to ascend the Upwork badge hierarchy.

Written by Clea O’Neil.