December 2023 EHI Online Meeting

By
EHI Meetings

DATE: 12-15-2023 

Welcome and Prayer 

Iragi opened the meeting with prayer. 

Discussion 

Greg: When considering how to build your Upwork profile, consider how you can use the skills you’re already using in your current job in other ways for an online client. You may use Microsoft Excel or another database that you’re already an expert in your current job. For example, Legrand is an expert in a certain kind of software, and he advertises his expertise on Upwork. Those are marketable skills to be hired on Upwork. 

Iragi: God is using Upwork to fill the gaps of the financial needs for our family. Thank you Greg and team. 

Greg: I know you understand this, but the real thanks is to God and Jesus, because He is the One who has arranged all these things for us. 

Greg: Our goal is to be diligent in our work, and His job is to provide for our work. 

Legrand: God can provide through clients you meet on Upwork. As Greg Herring said last time, it is on Upwork that he met Elin, who is very important to him and his company today. We are sure that we will also meet new people on Upwork who will give us more job opportunities than we expect. 

Greg: Philemon reached a new goal on Upwork recently. Philemon, do you have encouragement for those who have not started on Upwork yet? 

Philemon: I would like to thank God. God is the provider. The encouraging word I would give to my brothers is that as long as we put God first, we can make it. With faith and hard work, we can make it. When I look at where I was two years ago, I would not believe that I would be here, where I am. Put God in everything and work hard. 

Greg: Please review this video about personalized profile: https://vimeo.com/279117234/fa30763ed3 

Elin: The importance of a specialized profile is that potential clients can find you when they are searching for the specific skills that you have featured on your profile. 

Philemon: In my research, I am finding that clients need experts rather than generalists. 

Bible Verse 

Romans 8:28 

(NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. 

(LSG) Nous savons, du reste, que toutes choses concourent au bien de ceux qui aiment Dieu, de ceux qui sont appelés selon son dessein. 

Greg: Jeff and Lagrande talked about the role of faith as it relates to earning money on Upwork. I believe, based upon the Bible, that Jesus provides for our needs. I believe Jesus sent me to Congo, Jesus introduced us, and Jesus provided us with the platform of Upwork. 

Greg: This verse says that no matter what happens to us, no matter what circumstances we are in, Jesus can use those events for good. It doesn’t say that he makes bad things into good things, but it says that he can bring some good things out of bad things. So if we have bad things that happen in our life, maybe losing a job, maybe getting sick, maybe the death of a person that we love, he can use those things for good. But he doesn’t do that for everyone. He only does that for people who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. What’s really interesting about this verse is it means that Jesus is very personal. He knows exactly what’s happening in our lives.  

Greg: What does it mean to be called according to his purpose? I think it means that we’re intent on doing his will—building his Kingdom. There’s a verse in 1 John that says if we love God, we will obey his commandments. It doesn’t mean we have to be perfect, but it does mean we have to have an intent to want to obey him. 

Closing Prayer 

Augustine closed us in prayer. 

EHI Membership 

We welcome new members. Begin by connecting with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/AfricaMupya) and by participating in our Faith & Trust Bible Study found at: https://africamupya.com/bible-study-sign-up/ 

To invite a new member to participate in the EHI meetings: 

  • Refer them to the Bible Study signup link   
  • Send us their Upwork profile link (if they have one)  
  • Send us their contact information – full name, email, cell phone 
Upwork Tips  

BE ALERT FOR SCAMS, STAY SAFE – How to spot a fake job post  

  • Report to Upwork ASAP – learn more at https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211063118-Report-Suspicious-User-Activity  
  • Report any suspicious activity anywhere you see it on the platform — in freelance profiles, portfolios, projects, client job postings, or Upwork Messages.  
  • Never give personal bank, ID information  
  • Sharing or requesting contact information before a contract has started is against the Upwork Terms of Service and could be a sign of a scam.   
  • This should be reported immediately.  
  • Keep all communication on Upwork   
  • If you take communications or other activity off of the platform, Upwork may not be able to help.  
  • Scammers will ask you to pay to get a job and go off platform to communicate  
  • Beware of clients requesting to communicate off platform  
  • Do a safety check when bidding on a job:  
  • Look at client status, verified payment and client reviews/history  
  • Is their Upwork activity legitimate?  
  • Is anyone else applying for this job?  
  • Is the job description too vague or lacking in detail?  
  • Does the job sound too good to be true?  
  • https://www.upwork.com/resources/spotting-fake-job-posts 

GET FEEDBACK 

UPDATE YOUR PROFILE PICTURE 

Profile pictures are small, so it’s important to have the face taking up a good portion of the frame.   

First things to try: 

  • Crop the photo to include only head and shoulders.   
  • Check the size of the photo.   
  • Tips from Upwork:  
  • At least 250 x 250 pixels  
  • No more than 4000 x 4000 pixels  
  • Accepted extensions: .jpeg, .png  
  • Max size is 5 MB  
  • Choose a simple background  
  • Only show from the shoulders up  
  • Tips from Upwork Community  
  • Try to resize the image to 250x250dpi  
  • Crop it to include only your head and shoulders  
  • Make sure that it’s a clear photo of yourself, and your face is clearly visible  
  • If you still can’t upload it, try clearing your cache and cookies and using a different browser 

Helpful Links:

SPECIALIZED PROFILES 

OTHER TIPS 

UPWORK New User Agreement 

  • Upwork requires that you understand and agree to keep payments and pre-contract chats on Upwork per the new User Agreement 
  • For your safety, until you sign a contract with a client, we’ll block sharing contact information in chats 
  • Why keep all chats and payments on Upwork? 
  • Assistance with payment disputes 
  • Protection from scams, fraud, and abuse 
  • Encryption for messaging and payments 
  • Protect yourself – until you sign a contract with a client, don’t connect outside the Upwork platform 
  • It’s too early in this relationship to share info like phone number, mail, social media profiles, and links for video calls, calendars, and portfolios