How I Became Top Rated Plus on Upwork — The Full Truth

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Hi besties, welcome back to my channel.

[00:00:02]Today we are talking about something I get asked about almost every single day.

[00:00:06]And that is "Amal Me, how did you become a top-rated plus on Upwork?" And today I'm going to walk you through everything, like the real version, from where I started to where I am today. So, if you have been struggling on Upwork or you are just starting out, this video will show you what actually works. And every beginner keeps complaining that "Oh, Upwork is too saturated. It's for established freelancers. It's too expensive." And today I'm here to tell you everything you need to know to succeed just like me and my students on Upwork. Because [snorts] everybody keeps saying that "Hey, Upwork is for established freelancers." Have you guys forgotten that those experienced people started just like a beginner? How did they rise to the top? How?

[00:00:42]They are beginners just like you. So, without wasting much of our time, let's dive right into the video.

[00:00:50]So, the very first thing I did was to work on my bio. Like, I built my profile like it was a business. You know, a lot of you treat your Upwork bio like a CV. "My name is I studied this and I went" No. Your bio should talk about your client. Should talk directly to them. Should tell your client what you could do for them. Make it about your client, not about you. That's all these top people. Your first paragraph should talk about your client's pain point. Your second paragraph should talk about your skill set. Your third paragraph should be a call to action.

[00:01:20]Your bio should not look like a project.

[00:01:22]Make it simple and easy to read. And another thing beginner makes One mistake that beginner makes is the type of jobs they apply to. And I'm going to start with the proposal, which is the big deal, right? Most of you, your proposal is very, very poor. Copy and pasted proposal. It will not work for you.

[00:01:37]Another thing majority of you also do is applying to jobs that over 20 people have applied to, over 50 people. As a beginner, start with less than five, five to 10, 10 to 20. That is how you can manage your connect and only apply to jobs that you can do. Don't just start throwing your proposal here and there. You are burning connect. Stop burning connect on Upwork. Apply to jobs that you can do, but ensure that those jobs have lesser proposals like 5 to 10, 10 to 20. Anything 20 above, just stop it. Another thing, ensure that before you apply to that job, the payment is verified. Don't apply to jobs that the payment is is not verified or the client have low rating. All those things matters. You don't just say because I can do some job those criteria matters. Another thing, go and check activities on the job. If you click on the job, just scroll down, you'll see something called activities on the job. Has the client hired someone? Has the client hired interviewing somebody? That will give you an idea whether to apply for that job or not. Stop wasting your connect.

[00:02:31]And I have a particular video on my YouTube channel here on how to apply for jobs on Upwork. If you can go and check that out, that will be so helpful. And another thing that I did then was I applied for smaller job first. And I know majority of you do not like to hear this, but when you are new on Upwork, you need reviews, you know. Reviews are your currency. I applied for smaller jobs. You know, some people will tell you that, "Oh, fixed price job, just do this job for me and collect $50." I will just do that. Hourly job, $5, I will do it. And one thing I did was I delivered great work. I asked for reviews. And that's one thing about me. When you when I work for you, I want to deliver good so that when I'm ending that contract, you will be able to give me reviews. And like I said earlier, my proposals were different. Most of people back then, they were just copying and pasting proposals for every job. And beginners also do that as well. And I want you to know that clients can tell. And don't ever start your proposal with a "Dear client, my name is Olamide and yada yada yada."

[00:03:21]You need to start with their problem and how you can solve it.

[00:03:25]And that is what helps you to get hired as a beginner remote worker on Upwork.

[00:03:28]And another thing that I did was I delivered more than what the client expected. For every client I worked with, I gave a little more than what they paid for. Not a lot, you know, just enough to make them feel like they made the right choice hiring me. And that is how you get five-star reviews on Upwork.

[00:03:44]Majority of us, the very first clients we work with, they had a lot of complaints. They need to like ended that contract because you didn't do a good job. You need to work that the client will give you reviews. In fact, the client can even refer you to another person. And another thing that can also help you will be consistency. You need to be consistent. I was consistent even when it was hard. There were months that I barely got any job. Months where I questioned if it was worth it, but I kept going. I kept sending proposals. I kept improving my profile. See, top rated plus is not something that happens overnight. It is the reward for consistency over time. And I want to tell you something, build relationship.

[00:04:22]Build relationship with your client. It goes a long way. There's a particular client that referred me to another client, and I know how much I earned just through that referral.

[00:04:31]That's why I always say, just do a good job when you get hired. So, this is a bit about my journey into top rated plus on Upwork. It was not magic like I said.

[00:04:39]It was not luck. It was work, strategy, consistency. And let me know if you find this helpful, and if you do, don't forget to like, to subscribe, and share this video to someone who is trying to grow on Upwork. Like I said, I have several resources on my YouTube channel on how to navigate Upwork. Just check them out. It is really, really going to help you. And I also train people on how to navigate Upwork as well in my virtual assistant class. And if you're a beginner and you want to enroll in our virtual assistant training, just click the link in the description or go to the work with me section on my profile to enroll for our next cohort, and I'll see you in class. Till then, bye-bye.