How do you get your first contract?
I have been thinking about how to answer it honestly.
The first one is the hardest thing on Upwork and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
You have no reviews. No JSS. No history. And you are bidding against people with 50 jobs and $100k earned. The client can see all of that. So can the algorithm.
👉 Stop competing where you lose.
You will not win the $3,000 job with 50 proposals on it. Not yet. Not because you are worse, but because a client choosing between you and someone with 40 five-star reviews has no reason to take the risk.
So go where they are not looking. Small jobs. Jobs posted that nobody has found. Jobs where the client wrote a bad description and everyone else scrolled past. Jobs in a niche so specific that only few people applied.
👉 Be findable, not just available.
Most beginners send 30 proposals and never touch their profile. But your profile is what a client reads after your proposal makes them curious. If it says "Full Stack Developer" and nothing else, they close the tab.
One niche. One clear phrase. Repeated in your title, your overview, your skills.
👉 Take the small one.
Your first contract is not about money. It is about the review. A $30 job that ends in a five-star review is worth more than a $500 job you never get.
👉 Watch for momentum.
I used to tell people to apply fast, because the shortlist forms within hours. That is true, and it is also not enough.
Half the jobs on Upwork are posted by people who never hire anyone. They post, collect 50 proposals, and disappear. Being first into that pile means nothing.
So before you spend connects, look at the signals the client cannot fake:
⏩ Have they hired before? Hire rate and total spent. A client with 20 posts and 2 hires is browsing, not buying.
⏩ Is the job moving? Interviews above zero means they are actually reading. Posted 3 days ago with 50 proposals and 0 interviews means nobody is home.
⏩Payment verified? If not, close the tab.
⏩ Did they write a real description? Someone who wrote 600 specific words has thought about the work. "Need website" has not.
Speed only matters once the job passes those checks. Fast on a dead job is just fast to nowhere.
📢📢 Share and Spread the word for anyone interested.
@ethio_upwork
