Getting Started with Finding Experts
Overview
What Is the Experts Page?
The Experts page is where businesses discover, evaluate, and connect with manufacturing professionals across machining, operations, safety, quality, ERP, lean, supply chain, and more. Find and engage manufacturing experts with the simplicity of on-demand hiring. Browse profiles, compare experience, and connect with the right people without the friction of traditional recruiting.
Who Is It For?
- Businesses - discover and hire manufacturing professionals on demand. No long-term commitments. Browse, evaluate, and connect with experts across all manufacturing disciplines.
- Experts - the Experts page is where your profile is displayed to potential clients. Understanding how businesses browse and filter the directory helps you optimize your profile for maximum visibility.
Key Features
- Browse expert profiles with banner images, headlines, industries, skills, and rate ranges
- Filter by skills, industries, certifications, work style, rate range, and more
- Map view - find experts available in your area for on-site work
- Save experts to your Collection for future projects
- Message experts directly or invite them to a gig from their profile
- Can't Find Expert - submit a request if you can't find the right match
Key Terms
- Expert - An independent professional listed on Helios who offers skills and services to businesses.
- Hourly Rate Range - The expert's minimum and maximum hourly billing rate displayed on their profile card.
- Types of Work - The engagement models an expert accepts: Gigs & Contracts, Full-Time, Part-Time, Temporary/Seasonal, or Flexible Engagement.
- Ways I Work - How the expert prefers to deliver: Remote, On-Site, Hybrid, or Travel-Based.
- Skills & Competence - A structured list of the expert's specific skills organized by category, with a maturity level (1 through 5).
- Collection - Your personal list of saved or starred expert profiles.
- Invite to Gig - A button that sends an expert a direct invitation to apply to one of your open gig postings.
- Can't Find Expert - A button to submit a request for expert types not currently found in the directory.
Understanding the Page Layout
The Experts page displays expert profiles in a card grid. Two tabs appear at the top: All Experts and Collection (your saved experts). A search icon, filter icon, sort icon, grid, list, and compact view toggle appear in the top-right. A Can't Find Expert button at the far right lets you submit a request for an expert type not yet on the platform. Each card shows: cover image, profile photo, name, headline, industry count, skill count, rate range, a star icon to save to Collection, and a View More button.
How to Browse and Find Experts
- In the left navigation under Hire Help, click Experts.
- Use the All Experts tab to browse the full directory.
- Use the Search icon to search by name, skill, or keyword.
- Click the Filter icon to narrow by skills, industries, certifications, work style, or rate range.
- Toggle to Map View to find experts available for on-site work in your area.
- Click View More on any card to open the full expert profile.
How to Evaluate an Expert Profile
- Review the Overview tab - summary, work types, rate range, and work modes.
- Review Experience & Skills - career history, industries, skills matrix with maturity levels, software, and machines.
- Review Certifications I Hold - credentials relevant to compliance-sensitive work.
- Review Work I've Done - real examples of past projects and deliverables.
- Review Helios Services I Offer - any packaged service listings you can request directly.
How to Connect with an Expert
- Click the Star icon on any expert card or profile to save them to your Collection.
- Click the Message icon to start a conversation through Message Hub.
- Click Invite to Gig to invite them to apply to a specific posting you've created.
- Use the Share button to share their profile with a colleague.
What to Do If You Can't Find the Right Expert
- Click Can't Find Expert at the top-right of the Experts page.
- Describe the skill area, industry, and type of engagement you need.
- Submit. The Helios team will help guide you to the right match or next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Troubleshooting
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Experts
- Use the Collection tab to build a shortlist of experts you'd like to work with before committing to a request.
- The Can't Find Expert button is the fastest way to alert the Helios team that a specific expertise gap exists. Submissions are reviewed and new experts are recruited based on demand.
- Check an expert's Services count on their card to see if they offer pre-packaged services you can request directly, rather than posting a custom gig.
