Upwork Badges: Rising Talent
A few weeks ago, I posted about Upwork’s Job Success Score (JSS), a platform-generated metric used to efficiently mediate their digital marketplace. The JSS is a calculation designed to quantify a freelancer’s work history and it automatically appears on each user’s profile. Not only does a freelancer’s Job Success Score directly affect their ability to get work on the platform, it can also influence a freelancer’s other profile metrics.
Another profile metric with obvious effects on freelancer success is Upwork’s badges. Similar to the JSS, badges automatically appear on a worker’s profile. There are 4 possible badges: Rising Talent, Top Rated, Top Rated Plus, and Expert Vetted. Each of these badges helps maintain a hierarchical system on Upwork: the higher the qualifications for a badge, the harder it is to get. Having one drastically affects a freelancer’s platform identity: clients prefer freelancers with badges, making it much easier to secure work for users who have one. The first badge a freelancer is able to earn is the Rising Talent badge. Let’s dive into Rising Talent: how a freelancer gets this badge and the impact it has on a freelancer’s ability to secure work. Stay tuned for future blog posts about the other three Upwork badges.
Arguably the most accessible, the Rising Talent badge is for freelancers without enough work history to have a Job Success Score. Once a freelancer completes enough contracts and Upwork can calculate their Job Success Score, the Rising Talent Badge automatically disappears. As a metric only given to new users and designed to be short-term (replaced by a Job Success Score as soon as possible), it’s less valuable than the other three badges: Rising Talent is not a profile metric users strive to preserve.
The qualifications for the Rising Talent badge seem quite convoluted. To be considered for the badge, a freelancer must have created their profile in the last month or been active in the past 90 days. Users who receive the Rising Talent badge are either brand-new to the platform or haven’t secured enough work for a JSS (but have been on the platform for a while). Therefore, the Rising Talent badge does not demonstrate how new a freelancer is to the platform but how much work they have completed. According to Upwork, a freelancer must “complete projects on time and as promised to clients” to qualify for the Rising Talent badge, though they do not define timely completion). Freelancers often receive the Rising Talent badge without completing a single job. The platform considers the education and off-platform experience of new users. It will assign the Rising Talent Badge to freelancers with no contract history if their skillset is in high enough demand by clients. Quantifying the demand of a freelancer’s skillset is only one of the seemingly subjective qualifications for this badge.
Other outlined requirements include maintaining an accurate, complete profile and regularly submitting proposals; however, Upwork does not explain what the platform views as a “complete profile” and how often a freelancer should submit proposals to do so “regularly.” Considering its subjective measurement and how this badge can be earned without completing any work, it is much less prestigious in the eyes of clients.
Despite having less value than the other three badges, the Rising Talent badge does offer perks to Upworkers. Freelancers receive a one-time bonus of 30 free Connects, a platform metric showing clients that Upwork has deemed the freelancer’s skillset as “in demand.”A freelancer uses a Connect whenever they bid on a job or send a proposal. Freelancers normally have to buy Connects, and the free Connects received when a freelancer gets the Rising Talent badge is valuable currency in their journey to gain upward mobility on Upwork.
Since the Rising Talent badge goes to inexperienced Upworkers, many new freelancers have yet to learn what Upwork badges are. As a part of our longitudinal study with Upworkers, we completed a supplementary interview round with “newcomers,” interviewing 13 additional participants who had just joined Upwork. This sample of 13 workers had different understandings about Upwork badges. Most of these new freelancers had heard of Upwork badges, but our newcomers were confused about what they are and how to earn them. Our interviews also revealed several misconceptions about the badges.
Two participants had heard of Upwork badges but did not know what they indicated and hadn’t looked further into it. One freelancer explained they learned about badges through an email from Upwork. Another had never heard of Upwork badges. Another newcomer noted they were aware of the badges, but they were under the impression that you must have completed a contract to have a badge. Similarly, one participant knew Upwork had badges but noted that it didn’t mean anything to them. Both of these newcomers seem to be under the impression that badges don’t matter to them because they think they are not qualified for any badge. We know this isn’t the case with the Rising Talent badge, as it is awarded to new Upworkers who haven’t completed any contracts if their skills and experience are in demand.
Here’s one participant’s experience with badges:
“I thought that I followed all the instructions for one of those things, and I was so lost. I actually got pretty confused on what you needed to do.”
Freelancers, in order to have success on Upwork, need to have an understanding of the platform on which they are working. Upwork’s platform metrics are extremely complicated, and having even a basic understanding of these measurements proves essential in successful navigation on the platform. For new Upwork users, an understanding of the Rising Talent badge is one of the first things they should have. Certain information is especially helpful when getting started on Upwork. Remain alert for future blog posts about Upwork’s other badges. The freelancers we follow have some strong opinions about the other three badges… be on the lookout for their valuable/helpful insights!
Written by Clea O’Neil. Special thanks to Heba Salman for her edits.
