Lack of projects to bid on?
I have been a full time freelancer on PPH for many years, but I've seen hardly any new projects to bid on in the last few weeks. Though there are some, there's certainly a lot fewer jobs available. Despite having a lot of project views, I haven't had a single buyer in a week, which is hugely unusual.
Is anyone else noticing the same thing? Why could this be?
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Combination of things:
1 - The economy is hesitant.
2. AI is having an impact (on certain skills).
3. Because of 2) projects are being given to lower calibre candidates instead of being posted generally.
4. Bad experiences of PPH - lack of customer service.
5. A lot of businesses have closed down due to Covid / economy / Brexit. I've lost three longstanding clients to this.
6. They now just prefer in house work.
And yes, the lack of work here is worrying. I'm considering jacking it all in and getting a job in a high street shop.
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Nancy I have been applying today as I am quite concerned this is going the same way as fivesquid, sick to death of nothing changing.
I messaged about plagiarised content yesterday which was responded today yet I have 2 requests that I have been waiting over 12 days. Clearly picking and choosing what they want to reply to now. Even now on the help page it’s the same sorry we are closed why not just remove the option to register? Remove all inactive users etc it is madness (it seems like it’s being run in a bedroom)
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I don’t want to give up on PPH, but there’s any so long I can go without getting a new job. I’ve been getting a full time wage out of PPH for many years, but I can’t see that being the case this month and going forward.
Weirdly, my profile views are up by 132% this month, which doesn’t seem to align with the lack of jobs.
It’s not even the lack of projects to bid on, I’ve also had fewer people than ever buying my hourlies this month too.
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I had a good run a few months ago and there seemed to a lot more work but it stopped almost as suddenly as it started. I also think the more serious companies want the work kept in-house and it is only the really low paid stuff that we see now.
Covid has had an effect and it seems to have changed the attitude towards remote working. Before Covid, I ran a business from an office in my house. Now I "Work from Home", and am not worthy of being paid anything meaningful. Now we have AI being used as a stick to hit us with. It isn't what AI can do, it is what it is perceived to be able to do.
18 months ago I branched out into remote tuition, because I have a teaching qualification, but that has the same problems. Private companies are hiring low quality staff and dominating the market. The pay and conditions keep falling. I have something a bit better now that is not self-employment this time. It is still way below the minimum wage if I include all the preparation and admin.
I see people stacking shelves in supermarkets and realise they get at least the minimum wage and they get paid for all the hours they work, and they don't have to buy their own equipment. It's certainly tempting. -
I have been an avid user of PPH since 2012 and for the last five years I have been operating on a full-time basis. I would wake up every morning to at least a few orders or messages but now I am getting almost nothing. I used to have somewhere between 10 and 20 messages every couple of days, but it has all changed. You only have to look at the leaderboards to see what has changed. In the writing category, I can see the number of clients people are working with has dropped but also the figures that put people at the top.
I am guessing that this is down to AI in my situation. I got through Covid with barely an issue and since then it has gone from strength to strength but the last two months has really changed.
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It is hugely frustrating if I am honest and I am unsure of where it is going to go. As good as AI can be, it still needs to be used properly and if businesses are choosing to use it with no prior knowledge then it is going to have a negative impact on them. I have lost clients too and I am convinced it is all down to AI but Peopleperhour has changed a lot. There used to be hundreds of projects to bid on, now there are around 180 jobs at a time. The overall project count used to be in the tens of thousands, now it is barely 2,000. There is a lot of uncertainty in the air, unfortunately.
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I'm a TOP CERT and have been with PPH since 2010 full time. This is the worst it's ever been. There are no credible messages or enquiries, no real jobs to bid on.
AI has had a real impact on transcription and writing. It isn't perfect but clients seem happy with it. I know for a fact I've lost clients over this because I've asked them.
I now have no work at all, no income at all and becoming extremely worried what with the cost of living crisis and all that. I will stay here and try my best - I've close to 2000 reviews - surely one of those clients may need me at some point? However, I can't continue like this. Not sure of the answers.
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I am very much the same Nancy. I am a Top Cert, I regularly finish in the top 3 and I think I had the most sales last month based on the number of clients but I still finished in 8th position. I know it translates into the amount that those sales generate but it has all changed.
I still have income ( more than an above average job), so I am fortunate at the moment and for the is month only but I have seen a significant drop in earnings overall as well as turnover. Since March I have slowly noticed things dropping and I know of other writers on PPH who have only in the last few weeks, gone out and found a job....it is very sad but I did not see this coming at all, or so quickly.
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I am in the same situation Nancy and Craig. I have been writing CVs on here since 2016 and although the last few days have picked up I have had to totally change my business model and offers to attract new clients. Last month was my worst sales since being established on the site.
I find enquiries our lower than normal and people tend to want to negotiate outside of an offer service, which can have implications on payment clearing if they ghost after receiving the service.
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I replied to Craig here 10 mins ago - and it's still marked as 'pending approval.' How odd when messages generally go through once you've hit the submit button. Plus, most comments don't get an official reply in days.
Bit of positivity guys, Mondays are always quiet. Let's hope tomorrow's a better day!
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FYI, this is the same situation in other freelancing platforms...I am not as established on PPH as I am in other work marketplaces, but it's literally the same over there...veterans not getting invitations, no views on profiles or proposals, plus the flood of scams, the continuous changes in algorithm....
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Can I ask, what industry and services do you guys all offer out of interest ?
I offer web design / graphic / ux design and have been an active member and top cert member since 2009 and last year around March i noticed a dip im work but nothing like the recent one. January this year was dead, then i noticed it pick up and then April and May it absolutely fell off a cliff. When i contacted PPH Support they kind of dismissed it and told me i shouldnt rely on people buying my offers but i responded saying well the quality of the work and budgets is also really bad as has been mentioned here. They must be getting worried themselves too.
I noticed a guy on their Facebook page (Will i think) posted about it dying and someone responded and they made a valid point that PPH keep posting profile images and examples of peoples work but whenever you check those peoples profiles nearly all of them havent been active on the websites for over a years. What more concerning is has been zero response from PPH in weeks trying to justify or the usual "contact our support team and we can help"
Ive been trying to push my profile on Fiverr and Upwork with no real success and although I have a little bit of savings I am seriously starting to get worriedI hear and wonder if AI has someting to do with this but Im not sure Ai would really impact my work that much I can only assume its the cost of living crisis.
I love PPH it literlly changed my life and im really hoping things improve or I dont know what im going to do Scary Times! -
Liam, I wouldn't have thought you'd be affected too much by AI - so yes, times are indeed very scary.
I'm a transcriber - transcribe webinars, business discussions, etc, but I also proofread, edit and write. All these skills can be phased out by Otter and Chat GPT, and I know they are.
Upwork's difficult for UK freelancers isn't it - have to comply to US tax laws or something, fill in a form? Anyway, I've had no luck there either. Plus, there are the same scammers operating on all freelance sites.
We're all desperately hoping things improve. Wish you the best of luck.
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I keep getting banned from mentioning it or my messages don't get approved - which is a further reason for my suspicion - and that is without naming names.
I believe a Top 3 writer is planted here / enjoys privileges we don't / and is getting tons of work in. Also a fake profile picture and working under an umbrella group.
Hope this gets sent.
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Someone else has the same suspicions - copy / pasted from trust pilot
The freelancer in question has a ton of fake reviews - I reported those and nothing. Then I went on to do a Google Image search of their profile pic - turns out it's a stock photo! Other interesting observations - they send you an offer written in good English (they are from the UK after all according to their profile), then when you begin working with them, you get someone communicating with very poor English grammar. So clearly a fake profile with multiple people operating from it and what do PPH do about it - NOTHING!
PS - I reported this person last year for all of the above. I actually gave them a project because they had great reviews and superlative English. What I received back was not of the same standard. Yet PPH go out of their way to promote this person
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Lady - Christian name beginning with V
I've been watching profile - it changes from Buckinghamshire - then the next minute its Trinidad. She told me to F off when I queried her poor English - and I mean poor English. Didn't understand 'third person' tense. I gave her a project last year.
I don't get why this person is successful when you're struggling. Her banner has a PPH reference though and I'm suspicious.
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