Learn how Upwork instant job alerts work, how to customize or turn them off, troubleshoot notification issues, and ensure you never miss new opportunities.
In this article
- What are instant job alerts?
- How do I customize my job alert notifications?
- How do I turn off instant job alerts?
- How do I get access to job alerts?
- I signed up for notifications but I’m not receiving them where I want. What’s wrong?
- I was receiving notifications but they have stopped. Why?
- The job alerts I’ve received don’t always match my skills. Why?
- I received an alert about a job I was interested in, but when I went to submit a proposal the job post was gone. What happened?
What are instant job alerts?
Alerts are based on jobs you’ve submitted proposals to before as an individual freelancer (not as part of an agency). They will be sent immediately after a similar job is posted, ensuring that you can be one of the first to apply.
Eligibility: You are on the Freelancer Plus plan and you’ve submitted a proposal to at least one active job on Upwork.
How do I customize my job alert notifications?
- Select the bell notification in your navigation bar to open the notifications page
- Choose the Job alerts tab, then choose Alert preferences. There you can:
- Choose where your job alerts are sent
- Choose to receive alerts for all jobs that match your proposal history, or filter by hourly or fixed-price contracts
- Set the lowest rate you’re willing to consider so you only see opportunities that meet your preferences
- Press Save once you've made your choices
Pro tip: We recommend using the Upwork app to get your notifications as it is the fastest way to receive them. If you haven’t already downloaded our app, learn more here.
How do I turn off instant job alerts?
To stop receiving instant job alerts by email or in the Upwork mobile app:
- Select the bell icon in your top navigation bar to open the Notifications page
- Go to the Job alerts tab and choose Alert preferences
- Under Send me instant job alerts by…, uncheck:
- Mobile app notifications
- Select Save to confirm your changes
Want to stop receiving other emails and notifications from Upwork? Learn how.
How do I get access to job alerts?
To get job alerts, you can sign up for our Freelancer Plus plan.
I signed up for notifications but I’m not receiving them where I want. What’s wrong?
We suggest taking a look at your job alert notification settings to make sure they are set up as you prefer. Here’s how:
- Select the bell notification in your navigation bar to open the notifications page
- Choose the Job alerts tab, then choose Alert preferences
- Select how you want to get notifications (Upwork mobile app and email are the choices—you’ll get account notifications on desktop by default) and choose Save
I was receiving notifications but they have stopped. Why?
It’s possible that your email system is misreading the notifications as spam and putting them in your spam or promotions folder. We suggest checking there. You should also check to make sure your Freelancer Plus plan is active by reviewing your membership here.
The job alerts I’ve received don’t always match my skills. Why?
Job alerts are based on the types of jobs you’ve submitted proposals to in the past. If you’ve applied for jobs outside your skill area, that may affect the relevance of the alerts you receive.
Note: If you're part of an agency, proposals you submit through the agency don’t impact your job alerts. Only the jobs you apply to independently (outside of the agency) influence the alerts you receive.
I received an alert about a job I was interested in, but when I went to submit a proposal the job post was gone. What happened?
In most cases, this is because the job post was removed. It may have been removed by the client, or by us if we found that it violated our Terms of Service.