During the interview you will first be asked to describe your solutions to Codility tests. After submitting the Codility test you get another email asking to schedule a live-coding interview session. Make no mistake as these tips are coming straight from the horse’s mouth. You can also practice a lot of Codility tests. graduate Experience as a co-founder at several startups Fitness and outdoors lover , Flutter plot location on Google Map with Firebase, A remote sync solution for iOS and Linux: Git and Working Copy. The more you prepare, the more confident you’ll be when you walk in. Few ways to improve your English communication skills is by watching interviews online. The process took 1 day. For this, you get around two to three weeks, where you set the deadline yourself as a freelancer. I successfully passed the grueling Toptal hiring process, and am now a Toptal-er. Application. We wish you good luck! I had read horror stories about how toptal interviewers intentionally fail applicants to keep their competition pool small, but I decided to give it a shot anyways out of curiousity. See what others have gone through while applying to Toptal. I seem to encounter many references to the interview process in Toptal. The Toptal platform relies upon the users of the platform to perform the screenings so they are generally unenthusiastic and not trained in interviewing. According to Toptal, only 7.4% of applicants with an exceptional level of skills go past this stage. In this round, you will be interview by a recruiter. You could also practice your communication skills on your own. All those months of practice, research, and preparation will enable you to reach new personal heights. But, if the odds fall against you, your months’ worth of effort can go down the hill. If you want to join Toptal, you need to pass through their tough screening process, including a live interview. They tell you about the company and cater to any questions you might have. If you get a freelancer you are not satisfied with, you are not required to make any payment. The entire experience will also reduce the fear and intimidation you feel trying to make it to the top 3%. Most of the Toptal network consists of people coming from everywhere but the US. I applied online. Also, be mindful of your algorithm’s run time to make sure it is not O(n²) when the solution is asking for O(log n) or something like that. I won’t describe the project in detail but in short, it is a single-page application with basic CRUD functionality where users can sign up, activate account via email, login, delete and update their own profile, interact with the website by adding or deleting various elements. Toptal claims that this stringent vetting helps … There are hundreds of testimonials on the technical interview and the test project for all of these roles. This site may be compensated through third party advertisers. They’ll put to the test your English communication skills. Through this entire rigorous screening and checking procedure, Toptal has maintained its status as a top-quality marketplace. Toptal’s key features are its rigorous screening process and a large community of quality talent. Most beginners would initially like to get an easy job to get the hang of working from home, which is also good so the person will not get overwhelmed with the set up. Toptal hires for roles in Software Engineering, Product and Project Management, Finance and Design. Free interview details posted anonymously by Toptal interview candidates. I wrote this Medium post of wanting to become a digital nomad. step 1 An assignment that you're supposed to spend multiple days on with very little context, imagining all of the corporate nonsense involved in enterprise project management and making the most perfectest assignment that fully checks every corporate checkbox about contracting and projecting management. The high quality of freelance talent available on this platform is their biggest differentiator. You and I both know it. Only 26.4% of people pass this stage. Introduction to toptal. In this second phase, you are given a link where you need to fill three algorithmic challenges. It’s crucial to read all the instructions carefully and not to rush through. Already, that makes it a very different system to most platforms out there. I interviewed at Toptal (Edison, NJ (US)) in August 2020. While this one’s easy, Toptal still claims that only 26.4% of total applicants clear this stage. I interviewed at Toptal. After all, there’s no such thing as leaving without learning. The whole thing was rushed and ingenuine. Watch your thoughts; they become your words; watch your words; they become your actions; watch your actions; they become your habits; watch your habits; they become your character; watch your character; it becomes your destiny. Furthermore, researching the application process of other top companies will also help. For the success stories, see how they achieved it. If you pass the last interview stage, you immediately get accepted and introduced to Toptal platform. The entire process takes anything from about two to five weeks. Most beginners would initially like to get an easy job to get the hang of working from home, which is also good so the person will not get overwhelmed with the set up. It will usually begin with a with several insightful phone interview questions, sometimes followed by an assessment, and conclude with one or more onsite interviews. Interview. The main things that make Toptal stand out in my eyes are these: Knowing that only the Top 3% get in was intimidating to me at first and let me tell you I was not ready for what was waiting ahead. As for your strengths and abilities, own them, be proud of them and show them off with confidence throughout the screening process and beyond. First interview the HR person forgot she had an interview and never showed up. Also, the interviewer will recommend what may be a reasonable hourly rate based on your experience and location. You get a sample project assignment and are given two weeks deadline. Video Interview Be prepared with coding and SQL techniques before appearing for Hackerrack Test. Round one (26.4% pass): Skype interview to talk about the company, note candidate’s work experience and understand the reasons to join Toptal. Like all freelancing websites, Toptal is a platform and a marketplace where clients can find and work with freelancers. toptal interview process (And How To Become Part Of The 3% Of The Top Talent)? It will help you get a good hang of the entire thing. This is the first baseline required to qualify for the next round. Please consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions. Then you discuss your hourly rate and agree on time-availability. 650 employees and only $100m in … Practicing timed problems beforehand will also help you flex your time management muscle. Remain mindful of that. In parallel, many freelancing websites are emerging to treat the world with the new freelancers’ talent. If you leave your interviewers guessing about what you precisely meant, that’s a straight loss. To make its claim a reality, Toptal has put in place a pretty tough screening process. Hence, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Most Toptal complaints come from … They’ll put to the... Have a Calculated Hourly Rate. Since I got back into contracting I thought it might be interesting to see what else exists out there in terms of marketplaces besides Elance and Upwork, both of which are disappointing and are mostly used for low quality work in my honest opinion. If you do decide to apply, please consider using my affiliate link for your application and if you do, write me personally with any additional questions you may have. The full screening process takes between 2-5 weeks to complete. I interviewed at Toptal. You are required to work on the project like you would be performing every day at work. But remember it’s still a marketplace. I am not sure how that is possible to screw up at this stage but oh well. One thing though, if you are a non-native English speaker, it would be advisable to work on your speaking skills first. You get a link to a platform called Codility which contains 3 algorithmic challenges which must be solved in 90 minutes. First round was a simple personal interview, with questions related to why Toptal and little background. When you sign up, you have to fill out a simple survey, which takes less than two minutes. The first step in the screening process is a comprehensive language, personality, and communication interview. Being interviewed once and getting a job offer is typically a thing of the past. First round was a simple personal interview, with questions related to why Toptal and little background. By gaining knowledge about Toptal interview questions, you will learn the essentials of applying with confidence. You can follow me on Twitter for more tips regarding freelancing, how to win better clients, charge more and work more effectively. After that, you have your final discussion with the team to finalize your hourly rate and availability. A recommended resource is AlgoExpert. 8 Vital Tips. With more and more people pouring in, the talent is brimming. For this purpose, we recommend using Hourly Rate Calculator. All Rights Reserved. I interviewed at Toptal. This makes sense as, for example, no company in Lithuania could offer me the hourly rate I now fetch on Toptal. Now, you might be thinking that it’s not something you practice on the job. My experience with Toptal interview process. Toptal hires for roles in Software Engineering, Product and Project Management, Finance and Design. Nevertheless, if you adhere to the following Toptal freelance interview tips, you will definitely succeed. If you are good, you will pass any type of interview so it’s not something to fret about. Most newbies don’t know how to start in the freelancing world. Later the solution came to me and I was banging my head by its simplicity Only 3.6% of applicants pass this stage. If you got scared of applying, I honestly think it’s still worth trying, only if to test what your limits are and where you can improve. 3 step process: 1. Interestingly, other top platforms, such as CrossOver and BairesDev, also claim to have the best of the best freelancers from around the globe. HackerRank and Interview Cake are some other great resources where you can practice coding. After I finally made it to the technical screening phase, I was very disappointed to discover that the interviewer did not want to be there. This applies more to those lacking fluency in English. It's extremely flexible - you make your own hours, set your own rates - and TopTal handles everything with the client, from legal, to invoicing. The result is … What almost got me during the test are the edge cases and time limits. Here’s a look at Toptal’s interviewing and hiring roadmap, which highlights the four stages of their remote recruitment process: recruiter screen, interviews, culture assessment, and evaluation. TopTal is an amazing network for freelance web developers. It boils down to what the person has to offer and learn to upgrade skills to be marketable to clients. Furthermore, it would help if you aim to talk at a balanced pace. Application. Finally, you setup your profile which later gets polished by Toptal fairies. So I did them a favor and scheduled a second interview knowing full well I would never work for a company comprised of amateurs. See what others have gone through while applying to Toptal. It will make you aware of the areas you need to work on and places where you’re doing great. They also mentioned taking a personality test which is a no from me. By posing this question you’ll get an idea of the candidate’s knowledge and problem-solving skills, their attention to detail, and whether they can keep … Some renowned ones are Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, among others. It is similar to freelancer.com, elance.com or upwork.com but with a big difference, Toptal claims to have the best freelancers there are thanks to a high level interview process. As you prepare for your Toptal freelance interview, keep in mind that your technical skills ought to be up-to-date and well-practiced. So I did them a favor and scheduled a second interview knowing full well I would never work for a company comprised of amateurs. You can choose to either part ways with Toptal or restart the hiring process. Some say it's too hard, but most professionals seem to agree it's not too difficult. Make sure you know beforehand how much are you willing to charge as Toptal will accept any hourly rate you propose. But let’s be clear, Toptal only accepts the top 3% of talent. Most Toptal complaints come from freelancers who did not pass Toptal’s interview process. The work of all clients and freelancers is tracked for excellence. Also, be aware that you can use Google, StackOverflow, etc. The entire application process is rather strenuous and at least in my case really pushed my limits. Software Engineer, ex-Uber, Toptal C.S. You’ve read how to best prepare for your Toptal freelance interview. One caveat to that is that you will only be allowed to work on front-end projects in that case. And, even if you don’t, it’s always worth a try. They judge how passionate you are about being part of Toptal and the motivation behind this application. It boils down to what the person has to offer and learn to upgrade skills to be marketable to clients. Sit in front of a mirror and talk, and talk, and talk. To get a freelancer position at Toptal, you have to submit your profile to the platform. However, always try not to let the time constraint get the best of you. Let’s have a look. Already, that makes it a very different system to most platforms out there. The process took 5 days. 3 step process: 1. It will be more or less like a normal interview, just answer the questions to the best of your abilities. Toptal has a very rigorous screening process, and they go through this process to identify the best freelancers. If you pass the last interview stage, you immediately get accepted and introduced to Toptal platform. Its multi-stage vetting process consists of code reviews, portfolio review, real-time testing, and an English language skill test. When you’ve crossed the first three steps, and the interviewers are gaining confidence in your skills, they test your real-life application skills by assigning you a project. Toptal is platform for Freelancers to meet clients from all over the world. Of course, there’s always the chance that you might not get caught, as is the case with some. I applied online. After applying I was notified that I would go through multiple steps of the screening process. Interview. For those who didn’t make it, capitalize on their learnings. Toptal requires a $500 deposit which applies to your first bill. 2. Freelancer Nomads is the ultimate freelancing community. Thus, if success is what you’re after, make sure to give yourself positive encouragements and reinforcements mentally, all along. None of us want either, do we? 1. Toptal is platform for Freelancers to meet clients from all over the world. Who cares if you can invert a binary tree but your code is an unmaintainable piece of crap only understood by you and your projects work poorly? TOPTAL UX interview process Razvan Burciu - Founder Just Mad . Most of the work are long-term gigs spanning at least several months. That’s how the human psyche works. The first interview is a quick 10-minute Skype chat just to test your English skills, plus to find out your motivation behind applying, how many hours you are planning to work, hourly rate, basic stuff like that. The company itself claims it achieves a high level of success by filtering out the bad developers and letting through only the best 3%. You’re also asked about your hourly rates and past experiences. How to Choose Technology Stack for Mobile Application Development? There have been instances where people have been banned from the Toptal freelance interview due to not following instructions properly. Interview. Every freelancer should always remember to know their worth in bidding, making sure that the rate agreed upon can pay the internet and electricity bills which are the primary requirements in working from home. Plus, it is also debatable how much coding challenges really test your abilities. You should be able to present your ideas and thoughts clearly and effectively – such that it gets across the board effortlessly. I found it hard to remember why I did things one way or another but it’s fine since they only really want to find out if you wrote the solutions to these challenges yourself so it’s not necessary to go super deep. Application. This is the point where you receive the much-awaited ‘Welcome to Toptal’ message. Apart from this, you can and should get the study book Cracking the Coding Interview. I think there is some truth to it too, especially if you are US-based where software developer salaries are the highest in the world. There are several ways to solve this challenge and the easiest one is to only do the front-end part and leave all the back-end stuff to something like Firebase. But I realize it is hard to find the optimal way to screen candidates and there are pros and cons to any approach you take. The former leaves you exploited, while the latter leaves you client-less. Toptal is a total waste of time. You’ve gone over the application process. I hope sharing this experience has helped you in any way and now you have a balanced view of what application process to Toptal looks like. First interview the HR person forgot she had an interview and never showed up. Depending on your skill level it may take 10 to 40 hours to do. For example, Crew.co and Gun.io rely on your portfolio and resume entirely which makes sense. At this point, you might be wondering, “Is Toptal genuinely worth all the hassle?’. Screening process to join the network Round one (26.4% pass): Skype interview to talk about the company, note candidate’s work experience and understand the reasons to join Toptal. Toptal only allows the best of the best freelancers in the world to join their platform after a rigorous interview process that can take weeks. Round 1: Screening call This is the first step of the screening process. My first recommendation is to look online for interview stories on these roles. Hackerrank coding test 3. And I’ve seen that first hand working with them. © Copyright 2020 Freelancer Nomads. The freelance world is expanding at an astonishing rate. Then you discuss your hourly rate and agree on time-availability. Too slow, and you sound underconfident. There are also other freelancing platforms such as Fiverr and Freelancer. It is similar to freelancer.com, elance.com or upwork.com but with a big difference, Toptal claims to have the best freelancers there are thanks to a high level interview process. Plan your practice. Every freelancer should always remember to know their worth in bidding, making sure that the rate agreed upon can pay the internet and electricity bills which are the primary requirements in working from home. My first recommendation is to look online for interview stories on these roles. Avi Aryan Oct 12, 2018 ・4 min read. Use time as a motivation and a check, rather than as a quality-dictator. Research before jumping in is the best suggestion so as not to get overwhelmed with the process. Interview. Believing in yourself and your abilities have the potential to make you reach heights you didn’t know existed. 650 employees and only $100m in … Its multi-stage vetting process consists of code reviews, portfolio review, real-time testing, and an English language skill test. Do not underestimate your skills. Interview. It will be more or less like a normal interview, just answer the questions to the best of your abilities. The interview process. The process took 2 weeks. Interview. Rates on Toptal just like other platforms are truly variable because they are so individual. The screener also asks you initially to describe your solutions to the second phase test. Here is a video that will help you better understand Toptal. This calculator works by entering your desired annual income, software or license expense, platform fees, and various necessary inputs. There's a large supply of positions, recruiters are actively involved in finding work for developers there. . The whole Toptal process is centered around requesting a callback and speaking to Toptal staff over the phone. If you’re applying as a software developer, you need to be really good with algorithms. I interviewed at Toptal. What they’re assessing in this stage is your problem-solving abilities, niche-related skills, communication skills as well as the depth of your experience. Your onscreen confidence while solving the questions live is also observed. Again, the challenge is not that difficult but the time limit is really short. So, take the shot and test the waters. The final stage is in some ways a lot easier than the previous two. Even at your best, you can’t claim to be among the top 3% freelancers worldwide – not until you’re picked. If you aren’t already part of CrossOver, apply for it while you apply for Toptal. 650 employees and only $100m in … It is not that difficult but you have to be familiar with some concepts in Algorithms you can find more about the interview here Toptal interview process explained but to summarize 1. Here are some tips to prepare Toptal freelance interview. Let’s delve in! That is, be sure that you speak clear and correct English. Reason? Research before jumping in is the best suggestion so as not to get overwhelmed with the process. I'm an experienced developer, 15 years working full time. This is another obvious one. 348 Toptal reviews.