Updated on March 31, 2023
So, you’ve signed up for Torc to land your next job as a freelance developer. Are you ready to show off your skills and experience to land your next gig?
If your answer is yes, you’re in the right place!
The best way to improve your chance of landing a job on Torc is to have a compelling profile. Keep reading to learn how to build a profile that stands out to hiring managers and potential employers.
How will a good Torc profile help you get a job?
If you want to get a job through Torc, your profile should be your top priority. We use the information in your profile to match you with jobs and present you to potential employers. A good profile makes it easy for employers to learn who you are and why you’re the developer they’ve been looking for. If you’re relying on them to Google you to find your LinkedIn profile or Github—they’re probably not going to. They’re more likely to pass you over for the job.
As the Harvard Business Review points out, storytelling is key to standing out to employers. Recruiters count on logic to make decisions, but they also subconsciously look at candidates’ human sides—the stories they have to tell about themselves.
Your Torc profile tells a story about you, but is it the story you want recruiters and employers to hear? The ideal Torc profile will highlight your strengths and share the most impressive milestones of your developer career.
When you give more detailed information in your profile, you’ll also save time interviewing in the future. At Torc, our end goal is to make interviews unnecessary by getting the information hiring managers’ need upfront. You can help us achieve this by creating a meaningful profile.
How to create a Torc profile that wows employers in three easy steps
Follow these tips to build a Torc profile that stands out:
1. Skills and stacks: Add details about your skills and experience level
Tell us your desired job roles
Torc is here to make finding and applying for jobs simpler, faster, and easier. One way we do this is through Job Roles. Here’s how it works: we group similar types of jobs into a single Job Role (for example, a Frontend Engineer) and ask developers to opt into one or more Job Roles that match your skill set. We also ask employers to select a Job Role when they post a new job, that way we can start matching you with the jobs you want faster. You should apply to all of the Job Roles that match the type of work you want to do:
- Front End Developer
- Back End Developer
- Full Stack Developer
- Salesforce Developer
- DevOps Engineer
- Solution Architect
Show off your skills
Add skills to your profile by typing the name of the skill and selecting it from the dynamic search bar or selecting a Suggested Skill. This is one of the primary fields we use to match you with open jobs. Be sure to add all of the languages, frameworks, and skills with which you have experience. After you’ve selected your skills, add your experience level with each skill.
And don’t forget to add non-coding skills as well! Check out the options you get when you type “organization” into the dynamic search box:
Including some of these non-coding skills on your profile will show potential employers that you have the interpersonal, communication, and professional skills to be successful.
Not sure whether you should add a skill? Torc uses your skills list as one of the primary ways to identify candidates for open jobs and customers use the skills list as one of their evaluation criteria. Therefore, it’s important that your skills list is accurate and up to date. You should be able to demonstrate your proficiency with any skill you list if asked by Torc or a customer. If you’ve taken an ‘Intro to Flutter’ course but don’t have any project experience building a Flutter app, it’s better to leave it off your skills list.
Are you a polyglot? Impress employers with your language skills
Your ability to communicate effectively with your employer is a key factor in your success on a job. Don’t worry if you’re not a native or fluent speaker. Most employers are more interested in your technical skills and are open to working with developers with a conversational or basic language proficiency. If you’re unsure about your proficiency, we’ve included a description of each in the help text for the levels. And be sure to add all languages you’d be comfortable communicating with an employer - those 3 years of undergraduate French might be exactly what a hiring manager is looking for!
To add your languages, start by typing the language in the dynamic search bar and selecting a language. Since the majority of Torc’s customers use English as their primary working language, we’ve added it by default for you. Add all other languages and then select your proficiency level for each.
Link Your Github Account
Our Github integration is an easy and effective way to show your coding experience to potential employers. Github is the defacto standard for git hosting and is used by companies of all sizes, from startups to enterprises (including 84% of Fortune 100 companies). If you don’t have a Github profile, it’s an immediate red flag for many hiring managers so we recommend linking your Github even if you don’t have a lot of activity. Having any data in Github, even a Hello World is better than nothing. It helps display your commitment to your craft and helps hiring managers make decisions faster. Check out this handy guide if you need help building a good Github profile.
When you link your Github, you’ll see two additional sections on your Torc profile. The first is a neat A.I. generated intro like this one:
The second section shows high-level statistics on your Github activity over the past 12 months, including your actions and top languages:
A note about Github permissions: We validate your Github identity using Github’s secure oAuth flow and granular permissions. We also use this access to view statistics on your account activity so we can aggregate your public and private repo activity and develop an accurate picture of you as a user. Torc only uses your Github metadata to create statistics to show on your profile and does not access your source code in public or private repos or write to your Github profile.
2. Professional profile: Add the type of work you’re looking for and the type of work you’ve already done
Let us know what type of working you’re looking for
We currently offer full-time jobs (40 hours per week) and half-time jobs (20 hours per week).
Add your availability
Are you ready to start working full-time immediately? Only interested in working part-time? Or just landed your dream job and are off the market for a while? Let us know in the preferences section of your profile so you’re matched with the right opportunities at the right time. You can update your availability at any time if your work situation changes.
- Full-time - you are available immediately or with short notice for full-time remote job opportunities.
- Half-time - you are available immediately or with short notice for half-time (20 hours per week) remote job opportunities.
- Open to offers - you are open to remote job offers but may require 30 days or more before starting work.
- Unavailable - you are not currently available for remote job opportunities.
Confirm your hourly rate
Your minimum hourly rate is another important data point used to match you with potential jobs. We don’t show customers this minimum rate but our matching algorithm does take it into consideration so we don’t send you opportunities that are below your minimum. You’ll have the opportunity to adjust your rate higher or lower when you apply for a specific job.
Add some personal details
In addition to basic details such as your first name, last name, and email address, we collect a number of additional data points that help us match you with appropriate job opportunities and present you as a candidate to potential employers.
Location
Your physical location is an important consideration for many employers and it’s a key data point used in our matching process. Employers are often interested in hiring new developers from a specific country because they already have a team there, or a specific region to take advantage of time zone overlaps. If you don’t add your location, you’ll only appear to the employers who don’t have any geographic restrictions. The location input is a dynamic search bar, so all you need to do is start typing your city and choose the correct option that appears.
Headline
Think of your headline as a concise summary of what you do. Many folks put their job title in their headline and call it a day. But, the most engaging headlines tell you what the person does, not their job title. For example, instead of writing “Software Developer” as your headline, you could use a headline like:
- I develop apps for world-changing enterprises
- Let me handle your next Ruby or Java project
- Organized coder and team player
Think about the skills or experiences that set you apart from your peers, then use them to tell a story about yourself in your headline.
Intro paragraph
Your intro paragraph should highlight your biggest strengths and most important experience. Keep it to 3-4 sentences so it’s easy to read and don’t make it cluttered by adding contact information, Github/social links, etc. This is your chance to show that you bring something unique and valuable to their team.
Some strengths to share in your summary include:
- Your main specialty area, such as web development or software development, and what makes you good at it.
- Skills that go beyond coding languages, such as working well with others, clean coding or attention to detail.
- The programming languages you have the most experience with. Only focus on your top specialties — you can list all of your coding languages in the “Skills” section.
- Your experience with specific industries or business sizes, such as marketing tech or the automotive industry, startups, mid-sized companies, or enterprise firms.
Here’s an example of a summary that uses some of these elements:
I specialize in developing web apps for enterprise businesses. I’ve worked as a part of a team and individually with more than 20 enterprise businesses and work with a lot of repeat clients. I’ve received feedback from multiple clients that they love working with me because of my can-do attitude and dedication to teamwork. I love working in ReactJS and Python, and also have experience with most modern languages and frameworks used by enterprises today.
A note for newer developers: It’s common for newer developers to mention that they are new to coding, are an aspiring developer, or recently graduated from a programming bootcamp. These phrases can harm your chances of getting an interview because they highlight a perceived weakness rather than a strength. Instead, focus on what you have done - your projects, the languages and frameworks you like, etc.
Add a header image
The header image lets you show your personality through an eye-catching image. Torc profiles have this header by default:
Differentiate your profile by finding an appealing header image from a free stock image site like Unsplash or Pexels. To ensure your image isn't pixelated, it should be at least 1839 px x 517 px. You can crop the image to the appropriate dimensions when you upload it to the platform.
You could show off your home city with a picture like this one of New York City skyscrapers:
Or, you could share a picture related to coding:
Upload a profile image
The remote work world can make it harder to connect on a human level compared to in-person work. Your profile pic gives you the chance to add a human touch by sharing a photo of yourself.
Consider these two profile pics:
The profile pic on the left is the default for new Torc profiles. Sure, it shows a person, but it doesn’t show you.
The pic on the right is a great profile pic. Everyone knows there’s a real person behind the profile. They can put a face to all the great accomplishments they’re about to learn about you in the rest of your profile.
You don’t have to use a professional photo. Grab a tripod or a friend and DIY your headshot. If you don’t have either, get your phone, stand in front of a blank wall and take a clear picture of yourself.
Provide your phone number
Many developers aren’t big fans of email; we get it. Add your phone number if you’d rather that we contact you via WhatsApp for important communication like new job matches.
Link to your professional social accounts
Hiring managers want to see a complete picture of candidates, yet our “online resume” is spread across many sites. Torc lets you share links to several of the most-used sites for developers: Twitter, Stack Overflow, Hashnode, and a personal portfolio website. In addition to giving potential employers a more holistic view of you, adding your links to these sites helps you to build authority as a developer and shows that you’re active in the developer community.
A personal portfolio website is a space to highlight your experience and projects. If you’re a web developer, it’ll also show your work in action, which is really important for most hiring managers. Creating and linking to your website allows you to choose what parts of your professional journey you want to showcase.
You don’t have to build a long website to get your point across. Many developers have one-page sites, like this example from Torc developer Daisuke S.:
Carrd is an increasingly popular choice for people looking to create a one-page site for free. Connect a domain, and you’ll have an affordable and easy-to-manage website in no time!
3. Experience: Show the world what you can do
List your past full-time and part-time jobs
Displaying your previous traditional work experience (i.e., full-time and part-time jobs with a company) helps to build credibility with employers and show that you have experience working in a corporate environment. You can add as many past jobs as you want and can update or remove this information at any time.
Showcase projects or case studies
You can also showcase multiple projects or case studies. This option is great if you can share a public link to the end-product so employers can visually see the outcomes of your work. If the work you completed was for a client, add it as a Project. If no client was involved, add it as a case study.
Your action list
Are you more of a list person? We’ve got you covered:
The essentials
These data are required for Torc to match you with job opportunities.
- Select at least 1 job role.
- Add at least 3 technical skills with your years of experience working with each skill.
- Add your English language proficiency.
- Add your hourly rate.
- Add your location.
- Upload a profile picture featuring your face.
- Add your LinkedIn profile
Going above and beyond
While the data below are not required to be matched with jobs, they are very important for potential employers looking to hire you.
- Connect your Github to show summary stats and a cool AI-generated summary.
- Let us know the types of projects in which you are interested and your availability.
- Write a headline that says what you do, not what your position is.
- Create a summary that highlights your strengths.
- Upload a header image with personality.
- Add your phone number if you want to be contacted via WhatsApp.
- Add additional social sites such as Twitter, Hashnode, Stack Overflow, and a personal website.
- Add your work experience.
Now, it’s time to show potential employers who you are beyond your coding skills. You have strengths that make you unique in the developer community, and now you know how to show them off. And remember, you can update your profile at any time from your Dashboard page.
Get out there and update your profile to land jobs that move your career forward!
Our goal is for your Torc profile to be the only resource an employer needs when making a hiring decision. We’re not there yet, but we are continually adding new functionality and integrations to get there. If you have suggestions for additional content or features, please share your thoughts!
