After creating an Overpass account, it's only natural to want to browse the marketplace right away. But since we have thousands of candidates, the first step is to create a job post, so we know what type of contractors you're interested in.
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Immediately after creating your Overpass account, you'll see a blue button labeled Create Job Post. Click here to get the ball rolling! (If you've previously created a job post, this option won't be on the home page; instead, just click Marketplace to create or edit job posts.)

A well-written job post is your first step to a successful Overpass experience. The information you share will help us find the most qualified candidates for your needs, and lets job applicants know what will be expected of them. In general, providing more details will yield better results.
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We've designed this process to be user-friendly, but if you have any questions or confusion, let us know!
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Once your job post is live, you'll be able to start browsing candidates. Click View Profile on an individual contact card to learn more about each person's background and skills. You'll notice that we present contractors in four different categories, each on their own page:

Best Matches is where you'll find a preliminary pool of candidates based on the various factors you specified in your job post (such as budget, industry background, and language fluency.) If these suggested agents don’t seem quite right at first, don’t worry -- we have plenty of alternate options!

Handpicked contractors are directly chosen by our sales team with your situation in mind. This page will initially be blank, but after our team learns more about your business and needs, we'll be able to provide tailored suggestions.

Applicants is where you'll see any agents who have applied directly to your job post, based on their personal interest. Their background may or may not align with what you envisioned, but they're eager for a chance to prove themselves.

A fourth category, Saved, is just for you -- that's where you'll see all agent profiles that you've "starred," so you can quickly refer back to them later.
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Once you've identified some contractors that might fit your needs, it's time for the interview stage. There's no cost to conducting interviews, and you're welcome to speak with as many folks as you'd like before making a decision. We do ask that you only click the Interview button for people you fully intend to speak with; it's disheartening for candidates to receive notice of your interest, but not get the chance to actually interview.

The first time you click Interview on a contractor's profile, you'll be asked to propose dates and times when you'll be available to speak with them.

As the client, you can choose the duration of your interviews -- either 15, 20, 30, or 60 minutes. You'll also be asked to add specific dates and times when you'll be hosting these interviews. We recommend adding a few possible time slots, to give your preferred candidates a better chance of being available.

As potential hires claim the individual interview slots you have proposed, you will occasionally be prompted to offer additional dates and times.

You'll also have the opportunity to include a custom message to your interview candidate. This is useful if you'd like them to review any information prior to the call.

Overpass interviews take place as video calls within our platform. We do require that our site is used for all interviews, so that we can monitor for quality control and ensure all guidelines are being followed. Third-party conferencing sites (such as Zoom) are not permitted.

When the scheduled interview time has arrived, just navigate to Marketplace > Interviews and select Join Interview. You will be brought into a video call. If this is your first time using our interview system, you may need to authorize the site to use your microphone and camera.

The interview itself is a great time to discuss your expectations and goals for this role, and ask your candidates about their past experience doing similar work. It's also important to make sure that person is fully available during the days and times you need them to work. (Remember to account for time zones if they live in a different country.)
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If you've previously scheduled an interview, but won't be able to attend, you may cancel the existing interview and rebook with that contractor

First navigate to Marketplace, then select Interviews to see everything currently scheduled. Just select Cancel Interview.

When cancelling an interview, be sure to contact the contractor (using the Messages page) to explain what happened, and suggest a time to reschedule.
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Throughout the interview process, you may have reason to message your prospective candidates. For example, perhaps you'd like them to ask them review your company's web site, or prepare answers to a few specific questions. Or, maybe you'd like to discuss times to reschedule an interview.

Before a freelancer is hired, we make sure that contact information is kept private -- you can't see their email address, and they can't see yours, either. But you can use the Messages page for easy communication between parties. All messages sent through this channel will be sent directly to that contractor's email address, and responses will be sent back to your inbox.

Note that your Messages page has two different panels. The Marketplace panel shows communication with contractors that have not been hired yet. Clicking on your company's name on the right side allows you to communicate with the contractors who are already on your team.

After you’ve interviewed candidates, navigate back to the Marketplace, find the correct profile(s) and click Send Offer. Please ensure that the hourly rate and weekly schedule you're offering are accurate. You can always decide to change the terms later on, but the contractor's decision will be based on this initial offer.

Once an offer has been officially accepted, you'll be charged our monthly seat fee. Our seat fee is either $240 or $180 per contractor per month (depending on which Overpass plan you select), but your first month's fee is prorated based on how many days remain in that month. You will not pay any compensation to the contractor until after their first week of work.

For a full breakdown of pricing, please see our Overpass Billing Explainer.
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Once hired, that contractor will appear in the Workforce section of Overpass, and from there you can assign them to specific campaigns. In almost all circumstances, we recommend scheduling a "kick-off call" and at least one training session before your contractor begins working on their own.