In this article, we provide Enterprise clients with an overview of how to find and invite the right freelancer for your projects. You'll learn how to post a public or private job from your Enterprise Dashboard or navigation bar, invite freelancers using targeted searches and filters, and collaborate with your team to review proposals and shortlist candidates. We also share valuable tips for selecting the right freelancer, evaluating profiles, conducting interviews, and discussing key project details, as well as links to more information. - AI summary.
We want to give Enterprise clients like you the tools and tips to find the perfect freelancer for your project or to build a team of specialized, scalable talent for ongoing work.
You can also ask Upwork Professionals for assistance. Learn more about working with Upwork Professionals to find talent.
How to post a job
You can select the Post a job button directly from your Enterprise Dashboard.
- Select the Post a job button
- Choose whether you want to create a new job post, edit an existing draft, or reuse a previous job post
- Complete the details of your job post
You can choose whether to make your job post public or private.
- If it’s public, any freelancer can see your post and submit a proposal. This may be useful if you want a wide selection of candidates to choose from
- If it’s private, only freelancers that you or an Upwork Professional invite can see your post and submit proposals. This may be useful if you want proposals only from freelancers you’re interested in or talent that you or your company have saved or worked with before
You can also start your job post from the main navigation bar on any page through Hire Talent > Post a Job.
Learn more about posting a job on Upwork.
Find talent
After your job is posted, you can wait to receive proposals from talent if your post is public, or proactively invite freelancers to submit a proposal. A private job will only be visible to those you invite to submit a proposal (or to those whom an Upwork Professional invites).
How to invite freelancers
- Use Search to browse freelancers. You can start a search from any page by typing keywords in the Talent search bar or by choosing Search talent from the drop-down selections in the main navigation bar. You can search for different work titles, skills, or a specific freelancer name if you know who you want to invite
- From the Search page, you can use filters to help narrow down options. This includes filters for you or your company’s previous hires, including BYO talent (talent you or your company brought to Upwork), and for your saved talent lists
- Once you’ve found a freelancer, select Invite to Job to send an invitation
- Write a brief message and select a relevant job post
- Choose Send Invitation
Learn more about inviting freelancers.
Collaborate with your team
In addition to your own searches, you can collaborate with colleagues from your company’s team. If your company has multiple teams, you’ll choose the team that you’re working with when you post a job.
Team members can review, comment, and shortlist proposals, and you can see each other’s saved lists. You can also see freelancers that team members have worked with before and any comments they’ve made about a freelancer’s work.
How they can help
- Draft the project description and other details such as scoping projects, facilitating connections, and interviews
- Shortlist several freelancers and agencies for you to consider
- Assisting with off-boarding talent once a project is complete
With a greater pool of potential candidates, having an efficient and effective screening process is more important than ever.
Tips for selecting the right candidate
- Review a freelancer’s Job Success Score, the past feedback they’ve received from clients, and the previous projects they’ve worked on
- Review cover letters and proposals closely
- Review relevant portfolios
- Conduct an initial interview
Having a one-on-one interview with a potential freelancer is a crucial step. Consider asking these questions:
- What is your timezone, and what hours are you available?
- How will each step of the project be done and delivered?
- What resources will you need?
- What information will you have to have to get started?
- Who will lead the project from the agency’s side? (If you are working with an agency instead of an individual freelancer.)
If your company requires a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or has other specific requirements, you may want to discuss those to determine if the freelancer can meet your company’s needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Select the Post a job button on your Enterprise Dashboard page. Choose whether you want to Create a new job post, Edit an existing draft, or Reuse a previous job post. Then complete the details of your job post, including whether you want to make the job public so that any freelancer can submit a proposal, or private, which only allows proposals from freelancers that you or an Upwork Professional invite.
Type a query into Search or choose Search talent from the drop-downs under the main navigation bar. Browse and view matching freelancers and agencies, adjusting filters to fine-tune search results. Once you’ve found a freelancer, select Invite to Job to send an invitation. Write a brief message and select a relevant job post. Choose Send Invitation.
For the most refined results, use Search then select filters for BYO talent (talent you or your company have brought to Upwork), Company hires, Your hires, or your saved lists of talent. Search lets you combine these choices with other filters to narrow your search to more closely match what you need.
You can also select the heart icon in your main navigation bar to see all your saved talent, and you can go to Hire talent in the main navigation bar and select links for BYO talent, Company hires, and Your hires to see all the freelancers in those categories.
Upwork Professionals can help with drafting a project description and other details, source or shortlist qualified freelancers and agencies for you to consider, and more. Learn more about Upwork Professionals for Enterprise.
Your company may organize work by using internal teams. When you post a job, you can choose which team you’ll be working with on this job. Then, you’ll be able to see freelancers that team members have hired, their comments about the freelancers’ work, and saved lists of freelancers they’re considering hiring.
When choosing who to hire, you should review each freelancer’s Job Success Score, the past feedback they’ve received from clients, and the previous projects they’ve worked on. Review their cover letters and proposals closely. You should review relevant portfolios and then conduct an initial interview. Review more interviewing tips here.
You can interview by voice or video in Upwork Messages using the Zoom feature, even if you don’t have a Zoom account.
Consider asking these questions: What is your timezone, and what hours are you available? How will each step of the project be done and delivered? What resources will you need? What information will you have to have to get started? If you are working with an agency instead of an individual freelancer, ask them who will lead the project from the agency’s side? Review more interviewing tips here.