Rising Talent

Upwork awards it two ways: by invitation, or when a freelancer has "an average star rating of 4.8 or above and earned at least $250 USD in the past 12 months". Either way the account must also keep a 100% complete profile, have submitted a proposal or worked in the past 90 days, have a JSS of 90% or higher if one has been earned (you can qualify before you have one), have no account holds, no negative public or private client feedback, an identity-verified badge, a valid withdrawal method, and follow the Terms of Service. An agency needs two or more team members including the owner, a 100% complete agency profile and owner profile, and at least 60% average profile completeness across the agency.

No application is needed; Upwork emails those who qualify. The badge appears on the profile and on proposals, comes with a one-time bonus of 30 free Connects, and allows offering consultations. It lasts "as long as you remain eligible" and Upwork states no fixed duration: once there is enough work history for a JSS, the Rising Talent badge gives way to working toward Top Rated. It can be re-earned if lost, and a freelancer returning after a long gap may receive it again.

For an agency, members who have no JSS show as Rising Talent on the agency's profile when their own profiles are at least 60% complete.

How Upsight uses it. Upsight reads the badge per member and per page-one profile in keyword rank tracking, and treats "no JSS yet" as a state of its own rather than as zero.