Upwork Cover Letter Format I use to Apply for Jobs to Get Hired

Hello and welcome back. This is Ashwar Rafi once again. In this video, I'm very excited to show you the exact Upwork cover letter format that I use to apply for jobs that is helping me get responses from clients. So first of all, I'm going to show you the result and after that, we're going to discuss more. So let me load this page on Upwork and after that, if I take you here on proposals, you can see as of now, I have got two submitted proposals. I've got two active candidates. I have got one invitation for a job and then I've got one job offer on hold. So what I'm going to do, I'm going to open up one of the proposals from here to active candidates. That means client has reached back to me from the proposal that I have sent so that you can learn what I exactly written on the proposal and then what the client has written back to me. So without further ado, let me click on this slideshow and after that, you can see the title winning clients on Upwork job application guide. And again, this is from my personal experience. So let me take you here. So as you can see, when you are applying for a job on Upwork or any other platform along with you, there will be many other applicants. So basically you are competing with many other people to stand out from the crowd of these applicants. You have to keep some factors in mind and you have to use some of the factors to get noticed by the client and get response from the client. So let's learn about the factors. So the first one is to address client by his or her name. In this case, many of the beginners or many of you guys as well make a mistake. Like when you were applying for a job, you start like hi sir or hi ma'am. Imagine a scenario like a job post was posted by a girl or an omen and you are starting the application by saying hi sir. The situation is really odd, isn't it? So in this case, try to see if in the job description, if any of the places the client has provided his or her name. If not, try to go and check out the client's previous work history. Sometimes some of the clients they worked with previously, they add up or call their name while they provide a feedback to the client as well. So you can get the name from there and always start your cover letter by starting the client's name. So this is one of the things that you can do to stand out. It connects you with your client personally, right? So they find you like you have read the job description, you have researched before you apply for the job and you are starting them with the name. So it just captures their attention and they usually get back to you. Now let's go for the second point, introduce yourself. So this is another place where people make mistakes. What I mean by introduce? Many people will say my name is Rafi, I am a digital marketer, I have been providing digital marketing services for 10 years. But this is not what I mean by this. Introduce your service, read the client's job description, find the client's pain point and then you should introduce yourself as an expert to solve the client's problem. And I'm going to show you the example in real cover letter that I have sent in a few minutes so that you will get a clarified overview on this, what I mean by that. Now let's go for the third point, express your understanding of the project. Read the full job overview, take notes, get the information or idea about the client's pain points and what client is looking for. Then rewrite on your own words while you are applying for the job and then provide a solution so that when you will do this, client will understand that you actually have read the job description, you understood the pain and now you are ready to solve the problem for the client. So client will decide to hire you if you provide this information to them. So basically you are proving yourself that you are capable, you are the right fit for the job. So here we go. Now let's go for the next one, to tailor your response to the job requirements. So many people make a mistake like they use copy paste, they use a copied cover letter to almost all of the job posts by simply changing a little bit of the part of the, let's say cover letter. But in this case what I do, I always write unique cover letters for every single job post. So sometimes I write a long cover letter depending on the job requirement or the job post and sometimes I write only 3 or 4 lines of cover letters, that's it. I'm gonna show you examples in real soon. So tailor the job application, tailor the cover letter depending on the job description. Read the job properly, then take notes and rewrite or write the cover letter according to the, let's say job description and it should be unique. Now, showcase your achievements. Always try to show any relevant achievements that you have got. For instance, you can use metrics, you can use statistics or testimonials from previous clients to illustrate your, let's say, suitableness of that job. Then I've got provide relevant samples or portfolio links. Whenever you are applying for a job, try to add a portfolio link or a sample project link relevant to the actual job you are currently applying. So then we have got in with a call to action button or call to action text. So basically, most of the people, or I used to say like, I am looking forward to working with you. So basically, whenever someone is applying for a job, they are actually looking forward to work with the client. So this is a random or let's say a typical text everyone uses. So in this case, what you can do, always add a call to action. What I mean by that, simply ask a question to the client, hook the client with a call to action so that they should get back to you. So you have to write something so that they will feel like they should get back to you. And I'm going to show you in real example if I'm not being able to demonstrate it. And after that, proofread and edit. Many of the beginners, after writing the cover letter, they feel like I should submit the cover letter as soon as possible. But this is not the case. Sometimes client spends time, sometimes client just keeps the job post opened and then after a certain time period, they basically review the cover letter. So in this regard, always, always before submitting a job proposal, always read your, let's say, read what you have written and then simply get rid of any grammatical errors or let's say any typos you might have got on your cover letters. Still this date, I do have some grammatical errors. I do have typos as well, but I try to solve the issues, solve the errors from the cover letter before I submit any cover letter to the client. So those are the points. Now, I'm going to take you here on my upper profile and after that, I'm going to take you on one of the job post from two active candidates. I'm going to open this in a new tab. And now you can see active proposals too. I have got this one, YouTube experts. I'm going to open this up here and you can see what was written here, right here on the job description. So I'm going to click on more. So, hey there, I need an expert in YouTube, either someone who has started and grown their own YouTube channel or someone who has grown other people's channels and really understand the complete ins and outs of YouTube overall. So basically, he is in need of someone who is experienced with YouTube optimization or YouTube channel growth, right? And after that, everything from titles, thumbnails, descriptions to promotion, etc. So a person, he's looking for a person who knows ins and outs of, let's say, YouTube. And after that, I have started my channel in October. He's very specific. And I am at 117 subscribers now as of February. So he started his channel in October. That means November, December, January, February. And after four months, he has got 117 subscribers now as of February. And I'm really trying to explode my channel. So if you are an expert, please apply. So basically, he wants to get his YouTube channel ranked. He wants to get his YouTube channel exploded and get subscribers to his channel. And he's looking for an expert. So let me just scroll a bit down so that you can see what I have exactly written for this job. Just take a look, cover letter. Hi, let's grow the channel from 117 to at least 1,000 by next three months. So this is the hook that I have used. You have to use a hook that whenever a client will read, they must click on your job, let's say, cover letter to read more, right? So this was my hook. I have added this one so that whenever a client will read or, let's say, review the job application, this part will appear in the first part. I'm going to show you. You can see on the screen, like, when a client sees the job cover letters, how they see easily. So the client has seen this part, right? Then I have got, I have multiple channels and one of them has, like, this number of subscribers. So basically, now I am introducing myself. After hooking, I have introduced, let me just take you here. So basically one thing, I didn't address the client by name because I didn't find the client's name on the job, let's say, description or from the previous experiences or previous feedbacks from his previous freelancers. So I have just simply gone. I didn't use sir or ma'am because I'm not sure if the job was posted by a boy or a girl, stuff like that, right? So here we go. After that, what I have done, I have done, introduced myself. As you can see, what I mean by introducing, I have introduced myself. As you can see, I have multiple channels and one of them has this number of subscribers. So basically I'm introducing myself as an expert in this field on YouTube, like, this is relevant to the job post, right? So this is what it, what is introducing yourself in a job post. So your skills, your relevant skills. And after that, I have grown the channel 100% organically since 2017. So basically I have, I tried to add some statistics or some additional information about my journey. And after that, please have a look on my channel. I have added my achievement. So basically this is achievement and then this is another achievement. And here we go. I've added my portfolio link, which is a live portfolio link. Now client, if a client wants, they can simply visit and then see my portfolio. So this is what I actually have done. Okay. So the first one, as you can see, express your understanding of the project. So basically client needs to grow his YouTube channel and I have added this part as a hook and as the information as well, that I understood his pain point. And after that, if I just, let me, let me simply take you here. So here we go, showcase your achievements. So my achievements is I have like 160K subscribers and I have grown the YouTube channel organically since 2017. So that's my achievement. I have added this one and after that provide relevant sample or portfolio links. Here we go. I have added my portfolio links, which is live. So you can do that as well. And along with that, I have added, just take a look, I have helped multiple YouTube channels grow. Many of them have over 50,000 subscribers. Just take a look. I have added some statistics. So if I simply take you here on one of the, let's say slides, you can say showcase your achievements. Here we go. I have added a metrics. I have added statistics on this job post. And after that, I actually tried to clarify that I understood his job clearly and then I'm ready to help him with this information. As you can see, it would be my pleasure to provide you with suggestions, analyze gaps, and provide you with content ideas and video production suggestions. And then we can work on posting the videos with attractive thumbnails, research and result driven metadata and SEO optimization. So I have added what I need to add and these are highly relevant to the client's, let's say, job description, isn't it? So I am writing the job cover letter customly or let's say uniquely for this client. So after reading this cover letter, client will sense it for sure. And at the end, I have added this part, end with a call to action text. And here we go. What I have added is my call to action text. Can you please share your YouTube channel link so I can have a look and take notes for our meeting? So I asked the client to share me his YouTube channel link and then we didn't have any conversation before but still I have asked for our future meeting I need your YouTube channel link. So this is what it is called like a call to action. You should always add something like that to end your cover letter so that client will feel like they need to get back to you. Now, let me show you what the client written as the first response of this cover letter. You can see Hey Azharul, I am very impressed by your cover letter and experience. Yes, my goal was to hit 1000 by June. You think it can be done sooner. So after reading his job description, I realized this is the person who is ready to publish videos and ready to excel. So of course, I will be able to help him achieve this. That's the number. If not, at least 500 and that will be great because after 4 months he has got only 100 and some subscribers or 200 some subscribers, right? So if I can take it to 500 that's a huge achievement for him. And I am able to take a look at my latest video that I just published 3 hours ago and some other information and you can see we have got lots of conversation right here. So basically after reading my cover letter he was impressed and then he started providing me more information. So this is exactly how you can write. This was the actual cover letter I have written, right? So this is the way how you should write your cover letters that I have provided all the information that you need right here on this slide, isn't it? So please, whenever you are applying for a job on Upwork or on any other platform, make sure you are using these factors and these are going to help you stand out and get responses from clients for sure, I believe at least. So I believe you have found this video helpful. If you have got any further question, please feel free to let me know by commenting below and I wish you all the very best to your job hunting. Thank you so much for watching. Have a good day. Bye bye.