Upwork

Upwork is a talent marketplace that connects independent contractors, agencies, and freelancers with companies.

Businesses can post a project and then review, accept or reject proposals and share feedback. Upwork also lets companies invite individuals who they think would suit the project. They can communicate directly on the platform through the messaging feature and pay for work rendered securely. Upwork also offers a Talent Scout service where a recruiter from Upwork directly reaches out to talents based on the needs specified by the business and links them to the ideal candidates.

The talent in this marketplace ranges from graphic designers, engineers, content creators, writers, photographers, and web developers. Businesses can look at past projects contractors worked on and the feedback and reviews they received for the work. Upwork also provides an average rating for all the previous work done by a contractor.

It’s also a great place for freelancers to connect with businesses, grow ongoing relationships, find one-off gigs, or simply build experience and a portfolio while getting paid to do it.

A handy Upwork feature is the Work Diary which tracks how much time contractors and freelancers put into each project. Another is meeting scheduling which allows you to schedule meetings directly within the platform. The chat feature lets you send and receive files and makes collaborating on projects more accessible. You never have to worry about working outside of the Upwork universe to complete an assigned task.

The global payments features lets creatives around the world get paid easily. There is an automatic payment feature that allows for prompt payments too. Businesses can set milestones and fund the milestones with escrow payments, and Upwork releases the funds when contractors meet milestones.

Key features

• List projects and invite contractors to apply
• Shortlist and choose the best talents
• Track time spent on the project with Work Diary
• Chat with candidates and send and receive files
• Only pay when contractors reach milestones