I’ve been unemployed since June of 2015. I quit my job primarily so I could move to Japan to be a part of the Church of there. I assumed it would be a strain on my time and my money. As it turns out, I’ve made significantly more money as an independent contractor that I ever did as an employee, even while working only a fraction of the time.
I started this blog as a marketing effort. No longer associated with a company and their reputation, I needed my own reputation in order to continue getting work, I thought. The feedback has been phenomenal: When faithfully posting, thousands of developers all over the world read my posts. Though I’ve built a name and reputation for myself, the fact of the matter is the people coming to my blog are people who want to code for themselves. I haven’t gotten any work from it, yet.
Enter Toptal. I had discovered this company over a year ago, but only recently a rep named Kevin contacted me to solict me for their talent-matching service. I’ve been contacted by tens if not hundreds of reps from other consulting companies, but Kevin was the first rep who treated me like an expert rather than just a resource. I was sold. Not because I felt appreciated, though that was nice, but because I could see Toptal had spent some time researching me before they solicited me for their team. It seems they really are committed to scouting the top talent.
They have a relatively involved application process, very similar to a proper job interview. I have been in contact with a few reps, submitted a resume, and filled out a short profile on their site. I have a phone interview scheduled for later next week. As part of the interview process, they’ve asked me to write a blog. The idea is that by writing a blog they can get a better idea of who I am and what kind of work I can do. But let’s be real, they want publicity; and I’m happy to give it to them. You see, I would gladly trust the marketing of my brand to any company that can get me to market their brand and feel like I’m helping myself. Brilliant.
Apparently, it is not too difficult to scout one of these Toptal-solicited blogs, but I haven’t found many blogs describing the outcome of their experience with Toptal. Look forward to a follow up blog in a few months describing my experience with Toptal. And if you are looking for help on your next Aurelia project, please look me up on the Toptal Aurelia developers network.
