Maximize Your Profile Visibility as a Remote Freelance Developer

If you are a remote freelancer seeking work through Scalable Path, completing your profile is a crucial step that can significantly enhance your profile visibility and increase your chances of being matched with client projects. 

When you register with our platform as a developer, we ask you to complete your profile for two primary reasons:

1. To get your Skill Match Score: We use an algorithm that searches our database based on skills and experience level, helping reduce bias in matching. A completed profile provides us with the necessary information about your skills and experience, increasing your chances of finding work through us.

2. To present you to our clients: A complete Scalable Path profile is essential for us to showcase you to our clients. Without one, we cannot present you to potential employers.

Creating a profile that catches the attention of clients can be a quick and easy process. In this article, we will guide you through filling out each section of the profile and provide examples to help you stand out to potential clients. With Scalable Path, you can set yourself up for success as a remote freelancer.  

Section 1: Fill Out Your Profile Details 

When signing up for Scalable Path, you will need to complete the Profile Details section to provide our team with the necessary information about you. This section includes the following key parts:

• General information
• Profile photo
• Desired hourly rate
• English level 
• About yourself 
• Career focus 

Let’s go over some tips for completing these key parts of your profile. 

General Profile Information

To start, we would like you to share some basic information about yourself. We ask for your name, nationality, country of residence, and time zone. This information is important as our clients are located around the world, and we aim to provide them freelancers with similar time zones to foster a healthy work-life balance and ensure optimal working relationships. It’s also helpful if you include your LinkedIn profile URL, as it gives more insight into your skills and experience.

Upload a Professional-looking Profile Photo

Your profile photo is often the first thing that prospective clients see, and it can play a critical role in establishing your credibility and identity as a remote worker. We recommend using a professional-looking headshot that reflects your level of seriousness and professionalism towards your work. If you don’t have a suitable photo, taking one with your phone’s camera is easy. You can capture an excellent photo using Portrait mode on your smartphone.

To ensure that your photo meets the technical requirements, the image dimensions should be 500×500, and the file size should not exceed 5MB. Also, it’s important to keep your photo up-to-date, clear, and professional to showcase your best self to potential clients. An outdated or blurry photo may give the impression that you’re not detail-oriented or not serious about your work. Therefore, we recommend updating your photo periodically to ensure that it accurately represents you. For more tips on how to take a professional photo, check out our Headshot Guide. 

Set Your Desired Hourly Rate in US dollars

Setting your desired hourly rate can be challenging, especially if you’re new to freelance work. It’s important to set a fair rate that reflects your skills, industry experience, the number of years you’ve been in the field and the current market. We recommend that you do some market research and reflect on the skills you’ve developed and the projects you’ve worked on in your career.  This will help you better understand the current demand for your services and your value in the market.

To help you choose a rate that reflects your value, we’ve written a guide on how to set your rate for remote developers. If you’ve been invited to apply for a job opening and interview with our Talent team, we can also provide guidance on selecting an appropriate rate.

Note: Your hourly rate may not be visible if you are a member of an agency.

Select Your English Level 

As a developer in our network, it’s important that you have proficiency in English to effectively communicate with our English-speaking clients. To assess your English language skills, we ask you to use a standard rating system that helps clients understand your level of expertise and enables us to match you with suitable projects. The rating system includes levels ranging from Beginner to Master, each with unique abilities and characteristics. Please refer to the detailed description below for more information on each level:

• Beginner 
  • You can understand and use basic phrases and expressions related to personal information and daily routines.
  • You can introduce yourself and ask and answer simple questions.
  • You may have difficulty understanding English speakers who speak quickly or use complex vocabulary.
• Familiar 
  • You can communicate with some fluency on familiar topics and use a range of vocabulary related to personal experiences, interests, and everyday life.
  • You can understand simple instructions and conversations related to routine tasks.
  • You may make occasional grammar or pronunciation errors.
• Proficient 
  • You can communicate fluently and accurately in most situations, including social, professional, and academic settings.
  • You have a broad range of vocabulary and can use idiomatic expressions appropriately.
  • You can understand and produce complex and abstract ideas.
• Expert
  • You can use English with a high degree of accuracy and effectiveness in a variety of contexts.
  • You have an extensive vocabulary and can express subtle shades of meaning.
  • You can understand and use complex sentence structures and academic or technical language.
• Master 
  • You can use English at a native level of proficiency and may have little or no difficulty understanding or producing any type of text or discourse.
  • You have a deep understanding of the nuances and cultural references of the language.
  • You can express yourself fluently and effectively in any context or domain.

We require that developers working through Scalable Path have a ‘Proficient’ English level at minimum. However, if you find that your English is not advanced enough to effectively communicate with our clients, don’t worry. We recommend taking steps to improve your English skills, such as enrolling in an English language course or practicing regularly with a native English speaker. 

Our team is here to support you in your professional development, and we can provide resources and guidance to help you improve your language skills, like our article on tips to improve your English skills. 

About Yourself: Write a Thorough Self-Description

The ‘About’ section is your opportunity to introduce yourself, share your experience and career goals, and highlight your interests and hobbies. We recommend spending some time crafting a noteworthy self-description because it’s one of the first things clients will read when reviewing your profile. 

Career Focus: Primary Role and Areas of Expertise 

Next, select your primary role and the top three areas that you specialize in. You can select fewer than three if you feel you’re only strong in a few areas, or up to three if you have expertise in multiple areas. If you have any other related information that will help our Talent team better understand your background, like your GitHub username, personal websites (for designers) and portfolios, you can list it here as well. This information will help us match you with projects that are a good fit for your skills and experience

Section 2: Complete Your Skills Assessment 

The next section you’ll be filling out is the Skills section. This section is crucial because it determines your “Skill Match Score” and helps us match you with relevant client projects. It displays your proficiency level with various programming languages, frameworks, and tools. 

We also include sections for other relevant skill categories like Testing, DevOps, Management and Design, etc., as well as a free text area where you can add any additional skills that aren’t listed.

When we present your profile to clients, they often examine your skills to get an overall sense of your experience. Even if you’re applying for a position that uses Node.js and React, we encourage you to include all of the skills you possess (e.g., Angular) so that clients can see the breadth of your skill set. This will increase the likelihood of being invited to other projects that may be a good match for you.

Self-Evaluation Guide

For each skill on your profile, we ask you to rate your knowledge out of five stars. When evaluating your skills, it’s important to rate yourself accurately in order to present a realistic profile to potential employers. Here are some guidelines to help you understand our star rating system:

• 1 Star: You are a beginner and have a basic understanding of techniques and concepts, but you need additional training to complete tasks successfully.
• 2 Stars: You are familiar with the skill and have gained some experience in a classroom or training environment. However, you still need to look things up or ask for help frequently.
• 3 Stars: You are proficient in the skill and can complete tasks as requested. You are productive working independently.
• 4 Stars: You are an expert in the skill and can quickly perform tasks well without assistance. You are known within your immediate network as “a person to ask” when questions arise.
• 5 Stars: You are a master of the skill and are widely recognized as exceptionally knowledgeable. You can complete tasks quickly with minimal effort and can provide strategic guidance.

When listing your skills, the number you should include will depend on your career focus. For non-developer career focuses, we ask for at least 10 skills. Freelancers with a developer career focus will need to have a minimum of 20, but we recommend at least 30 in any case. Making sure these are accurate and up-to-date will increase your chances of being invited to apply for suitable positions.

Your skills will show up on your profile categorized by your level of expertise: 

One common mistake we see is when individuals rate themselves too high in too many skills. This may cause your profile to appear unrealistic and decrease your chances of being invited to an interview. So, be honest and realistic when evaluating your skills to accurately represent your abilities. 

Section 3: Share Your Education Details

In the Education section, we would like to know if you are currently a student or a graduate of any educational programs. Include any degrees, certifications, or relevant courses you have completed.

We understand that some of the best developers are self-taught, and if you don’t have a lot of relevant formal education, it won’t make or break your chances of being selected for our vetting process. However, including any relevant education in this section can strengthen your profile. 

If you’re interested in taking courses to learn new skills or sharpen existing ones, we’ve put together a guide to online learning resources for developers of all skill levels. Here’s how your education will show up on your profile: 

Section 4: Showcase Your Professional Work Experience

The Work Experience section is a crucial part of your profile where you can highlight your previous projects and employment history. This is your chance to showcase your skills and experience and provide context for potential clients who are considering hiring you. Be sure to include the role you played, the company name, and the dates of your employment for each project or job. Note: you must have at least one work experience to complete this section, although we recommend including three or more if possible. 

Additionally, you can upload files and images to provide further evidence of your work. Make sure to provide detailed descriptions of your responsibilities and accomplishments in each role to give clients a clear idea of your capabilities. When you go to your profile page, here’s how your work experience will be showcased:

Upload Your Resume 

Uploading your resume is optional in most cases, but it can be useful if you haven’t completed your Experience and Education sections and your LinkedIn is not up-to-date.  In these cases, this will help our Talent team and prospective employers better assess your qualifications and suitability for a given position.  Additionally, some clients like to see Resumes for each candidate that is presented to them, so in some cases, we’ll ask you for it in order to meet their requirements.

Wrapping Up: Completing Your Profile 

The profile completeness component will let you know how much more you need to fill out before your profile is finished. 

Remember that a thorough profile can help you stand out from the crowd, so take the time to fill in all the details. 

Finally, be sure to review each section to confirm that everything looks good.

If you have any questions about setting up your profile, please don’t hesitate to reach out – we’re here to help. Welcome to Scalable Path!