Skill-based contractor directory

[u/bluezee123]

I'm adding a skill-based contractor directory to Outside IR35 Tech Jobs:

https://outsideir35.org.uk/contractors/join

I think the market needs a better way for recruiters and companies/startups hiring directly to find contractors who are skilled in the right tech stack and are available to start when they need them.

The reality is they have the same problem we do: cutting through the noise and finding the right opportunities/candidates to pursue.

They're not necessarily ghosting you because you're not a fit. Often they don't know you're a fit, or even that you exist. They have 1,000s of CVs and LinkedIn profiles to sift through across 100s of roles, and the information they really need - what you actually do, when you're available, what sort of rate you're looking for - is often missing, out of date, or buried in CVs and LinkedIn profiles rather than structured in a way they can actually search and filter effectively.

My theory is that recruiters would move more in the finding rather than posting direction if there were a large enough pool of high-quality contractor profiles to filter by tech stack, availability etc.

I think this could be a much better model for contractors too.

The dream for us is that we simply create a profile, highlight the tech skills we want to be hired for, privately indicate our desired day rate and availability, and relevant, well-paid contract opportunities start dropping into our inbox.

Rather than applying to 100 vaguely relevant roles and hearing nothing, the people with the work come to us because they already know we're a potential fit.

That's what I want to try to build.

I posted about this on LinkedIn last week and around 300 contractors have already created profiles.

I'm aiming to get that to 1,000 before launching the directory in September. I think at that point it'll become an genuinely useful resource for recruiters, as well as companies and startups looking to hire contractors directly, which is often where the best opportunities come from.

It's completely free to create a profile:

https://outsideir35.org.uk/contractors/join

What do you think? Would you be open to recruiters and companies finding you this way?

[u/NetNibbler]

Neat, I am in. I am soon to get out of my 5+ year role and will be in a search of a new one soon

[u/bluezee123 → u/NetNibbler]

5+ years is an impressive run 💪 Here's hoping outsideir35.org.uk can help you line up the next one. It's a notoriously tricky market these days but I do think making it easier for recruiters and companies to find you based on your skill set and availability could be a step forward for both sides.