Work from home in toptal

How toptal works Some of the pros and cons, and whether TopTal is a legit way to find an online job first

Yes, it is a legit platform for freelancers to find work on; however, a lot of freelancers that apply for the platform actually won’t get accepted, so what is Toptal? Toptal is a service that matches freelancers with clients who are looking to hire freelancers. Unlike its competitors, it focuses on a more exclusive set of work types and has a more extensive process for its clients and its freelancers.

How does Toptal work?

The first thing you’ll need to do is apply to their platform to be a freelancer. When you’re applying, you’ll have to choose between five different categories of work: developer, designer, finance expert, management consultant, project manager, and product manager. Once you sign up for Toptal, you can start your application for the platform. In total, this is going to take at least a few weeks for those skilled enough to make it through the process. Toptal offers a more unique experience than other freelancing platforms;

 

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it will pair you directly with companies that are looking to work with you. The work also tends to be more long-term. How much can you make on top, though? According to Glassdoor, Toptal freelancers can make between $50,000 and $234,00 per year. Of course, how much you actually make is going to depend on a variety of factors, like all freelancing income is always going to fluctuate, and if those numbers seem high to you, there’s a reason

Why Toptal is a freelancing platform

That very much focuses on quality over quantity. There’s a lot that goes into their ability to attract high-paying clients, and the same goes for their freelancers. They have high standards across the board, but if you can meet their standards, you are going to be compensated very well. The first pro is that there are very high paying jobs.

This is really what sets Toptal apart from its competitors because because of that vetting process that it has for both its clients and its freelancers, it’s able to attract the higher paying clients, and as a freelancer,that means that your earning potential is also quite high.

The high pay of TopTal is also linked to its typical customer rather than working with individuals that need random one-off projects. Toptal focuses on working with startups and well-established companies. Another pro of working on Toptal is that you’ll get resume-boosting clients because Toptal really focuses on quality.

If you become well established on the platform

it’s likely that a lot of the clients you’re going to be working with are well known or pretty prestigious. Effective high-earning companies are not interested in wasting time or money finding freelancers on sites like Fiverr, so they’re going to turn to Toptal whenever they need a highly qualified worker. Some examples that Toptal has on their websites of clients that they have worked with include HP, Shopify, and Motorola. Another pro is that there are going to be no bidding wars, unlike other platforms.

Toptal employees are directly responsible for connecting companies with freelancers. Each time a client is in search of a service, a Toptal employee will recommend freelancers to them. Once you’ve been recommended, there’s often an interview so that the company or client can decide whether or not they actually want to hire you.

This helps prevent bidding wars that can often drive down the price of freelancers on other platforms, and it really just eliminates that stressful part of the process.

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Another pro is that there’s a potential for steady income

at the end of the day freelancing work is never guaranteed, but Toptal boasts that its average project length is about four months. Most freelancers would give anything for that type of financial stability and longer term work, at least in the context of having consistent pay for a few months at a time. After all, one of the hardest parts of being a freelancer is the uncertainty that comes with the pay.

Another pro is that with client vetting, it’s not only the freelancers that have to go through an application process; the clients actually do too. They vet clients by budget, skill, and intent to hire. This is how they make sure that they’re only getting the highest quality clients on their platform. Another interesting thing that sets Toptal apart is its networking;

it provides access to over 600 events a year related to networking, skill building, and mentoring. Toptal is continuously investing in its freelancers and their skills,

How much they value the quality of the people on their platform.

The biggest con is going to be the extensive vetting process. Not only is the vetting process vigorous, it’s also lengthy. After you register, you’ll be put through a screening process for them to evaluate your skills. Toptal demands a high level of professionalism, so you’re going to have to be able to meet their high standards. The vetting process can last anywhere from two to five weeks, which is a lot compared to other platforms where you can usually have access to the platform within one to three days.

Some sites like Fiverr or Freelancer let you set up an account in the same day, but the quality of freelancers and clients on these platforms compared to Toptal is going to be very, very different. The actual acceptance requirements of Toptal are extremely rigorous; definitely not everyone is going to qualify for Toptal, and even if you get through a couple of weeks of the screening process, this doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to make it onto their platform.

Toptal reports that they only accept about three percent of freelancers that apply, so the chances are pretty high that your application process won’t pay off unless you’re an expert in your field.

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There are also limited work categories,

as we’ve already mentioned. There are actually only five categories that you can choose from when you’re signing up for Toptal: developers, designers, project managers, product managers, and finance experts. Even within these categories, there are more limitations than you might expect. Knowing Photoshop isn’t going to be enough to get you onto their platform, even if you’ve been using it for a decade.

They really want freelancers that are going to be able to help these companies do high-level things like developing apps, developing websites, or creating new products for these big clients. The last con is that experience is required and honestly non-negotiable even when you make it onto the platform. Toptal tends to recommend clients to the freelancers with the most experience, while off-platform experience can help.

people often report that it still takes a while after you join the platform to start getting matched with clients obviously most freelancing platforms prioritise the experience on their platforms and especially on the client side after all just because you report having years of experience that doesn’t necessarily mean that the platform’s clients will automatically love you it takes time to build a reputation on these platforms but once you do the payoff can be huge let’s say that you decide to apply

How can you actually pass the toptall interviews

The top-talent application process does include a live interview; for some, this might be the most nerve-wracking part of their application process. Tip one is to make sure that your English skills are strong. Total expects a high level of proficiency in English, and during the language portion of the test, they’ll also be judging your motivation as well. Remember, Toptal is looking for passionate freelancers. While this might seem pretty simple, apparently only about 26 percent of people actually pass this stage,

so If English is not your native language, it may be worth it to get a tutor before the interview to brush up on some of your English skills. The second part of Toptal’s assessment includes a timed skills review. They’ll present you with a series of problems that you only have a limited time to actually solve. This means that it won’t matter if you lied about your resume; if you can’t pass this part of their interview process, you won’t make it onto the platform.

Only about 7.4 percent of applicants pass this stage. Also be prepared for a timed coding test. If this sounds completely out of your wheelhouse then Toptal might not be the platform for you. applicants report that toptal will ask you to solve two coding problems and you’ll have a total of about 15 to 20 minutes each 3.6 of applicants pass this stage so it’s best to practise before this since this is pretty typical in any tech company you can find practise tests online

if you make it to the fourth stage you’re almost in the clear

but you also have to complete a test project completing this project will usually take between one to three weeks and while you should try to do your best only about point four percent of applicants fail out at this stage so if you’ve made it this far you have a good chance of success after your test project toptal will begin to pair you with clients and throughout your entire time working with them they are going to expect you to maintain a high quality of work the platform drops 0.2 of freelancers after they get accepted to the platform so it’s

important to always bring your a-game is toptal a good company to work for according to their reviews on glassdoor 79 percent of top to workers would recommend the company to a friend this isn’t a horrible number but it does seem somewhat average their employees are in this case mostly their freelancers rated about 4.1 stars out of 5.  The number one con listed in these reviews is the difficulty of setting boundaries with remote work, but let’s be honest, no matter what platform you’re using, That said, in those reviews, work-life balance is also listed as the second most common pro for Toptal,

so i guess it really just comes down to personal opinion.

The other big complaints included the vetting process and the number of freelancers on the platform, but you can go and read through all of those reviews yourself and determine whether or not you think joining Toptal would be worth it. The bottom line is that if you have the experience and skill set to get accepted to Toptal, the payoff is going to be great.

If you’re an experienced freelancer in a high-paying field, joining Toptal may be the push that you need to get some new prestigious clients and push yourself forward in your freelancing career. Working with startups and established companies is often a lot easier and more enjoyable than working for cheap clients that just want one-off projects.

 

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