Getting started

The following sequence is recommended for a new account. Each step supplies input to the next, and completing them out of order is the most common reason the platform appears inactive.

1. Complete your profile. The profile is the primary input to matching and the means by which other members find you. Time invested here determines the quality of everything that follows. → Set up your profile

2. Complete What I Need and What I Can Offer. These are the two most frequently omitted fields, and the two that pair across members: your needs are matched against other members’ offers rather than their needs.

3. Review what your plan includes. On Free you can participate fully in work started by others but cannot start your own, and several modules are unavailable. Establishing this early avoids the most common initial confusion. → What your plan includes

4. Review the network. The Atlas shows where members are located. Member density by country provides context for the size of a match list.

5. Connect with several members, and record outcomes. Marking a connection completed with an outcome is the one matching input determined by activity rather than by profile content. → Finding and connecting

6. Search for work. Opportunities, matches and suggestions read the profile, which is why this step comes last. → Finding opportunities

Common causes of a thin match list

Three factors account for most reports that matching is not working:

• Empty specialty, needs or offers. These are the highest-weighted fields and the most frequently omitted.
• Too many interests. Overlap is scored as shared terms ÷ combined terms, so listing a large number of interests weakens every match, including strong ones.
• Only one side has completed a field. A field is scored only when both members have completed it, so two well-suited members can score zero by describing themselves in different fields.

The full mechanics, including the weights, are in How matching works.

Your profileSettings → My Profile