We want you to dream big and accomplish great things professionally on Upwork. To do that, we understand that you need to build deep relationships with great clients. One way that we help you with that is through Talent Clouds.
A Talent Cloud is an Upwork Enterprise client's private network of professional freelancers and agencies. Clients sometimes prefer to engage freelancers and agencies who have experience working with their company. This feature lets them develop a network of reliable professionals, which they typically search first when they have a new project.
Working with an Upwork Enterprise client adds you to their Talent Cloud network, which means you'll be at the top of the list when that client searches for freelancers and agencies with your skills. This means more high-quality opportunities for you!
As an added benefit, submitting proposals for jobs posted in Talent Cloud networks that you are a part of will not cost you any Connects. And you can filter and prioritize notifications by Talent Cloud network in your notification settings.
Want to learn more about best practices that can make you stand out to Enterprise clients and Talent Scouts?
Check out our interactive, informational course on Upwork Academy.
In most cases, you join when you accept a contract with an Enterprise client. When clients offer you Enterprise projects, you must complete onboarding tasks before you can accept the offer and start the project.. These may include custom agreements or background checks.
There are two ways to join an Enterprise client's Talent Cloud network:
- Accept an invitation to be a member of a Talent Cloud network. Sometimes Enterprise clients want to assemble a reserve of potential freelancers and agencies before specific project needs arise. For this, they can invite you to their network directly.
- Accept a contract from an Enterprise client. After you accept the contract, we will automatically add you to the client’s Talent Cloud. This helps employees at the Enterprise company know that you have a working relationship with a colleague, and they can discover you more easily.
Joining a Talent Cloud network increases your chances of working with that specific client when they have a project. You can become part of multiple Talent Cloud networks, but you do have to go through the onboarding process separately for each. Each client builds their own private pool of preferred freelancers and agencies and sets their own criteria for approval.
Requirements typically depend on the client, legal requirements in your location, and the type of engagement. In addition to demonstrating that you have the skills to deliver the work, you may be asked to show your experience as an independent contractor. Some ways you may be able to do so include showing that you work with multiple clients and/or have a business entity, license, or registration.
For more information on the different types of business entities, click here.
Joining a Talent Cloud gives you exclusive access to jobs posted within your Talent Cloud network which may not be publicly visible on Upwork. It costs 0 Connects to apply to any job within the Talent Cloud network, and we will notify you when jobs are posted to your specific Talent Cloud network.
Talent Clouds appear on the lower, left-side of your profile. Different users will have different visibility:
- You — Full visibility with the name of the Talent Cloud
- Other Freelancers — Visibility that you’re part of a Talent Cloud, but with the name only as “Talent Cloud”
- Clients that are part of the Talent Cloud — Full visibility with the name of the Talent Cloud
- Clients not part of the Talent Cloud — No mention of the Talent Cloud (logo or name)
To stop receiving notifications from a Talent Cloud network:
- Go to Settings › Notification Settings › Groups & Invitations
- Talent Clouds are listed there (e.g. “Upwork Pro Mobile Developer”)
Change options to:
- Daily
- Twice a day
- Instant
- Never
To leave a Talent Cloud permanently, select Get Support from any Help page and request complete removal.