Welcome to Patexia! We’ll take you through the major steps of our Connect process to become a consultant with Patexia. Here are the highlights:
- We create a Connect post describing a specific set of expertise we need from a consultant.
- Consultants like yourself decide if they’re interested, and send in their qualifications and their regular hourly rate.
- If both you and the sponsor feel like the project is a good fit, we’ll handle the paperwork and get you set up for payment.
- You get to work, and bill the sponsor on an hourly basis.
Interested? Let’s walk through how to become a consultant together!
Apply to a Connect
The Connect’s description page will display a profile of the opportunity so it can be matched to consultants like you! Let’s break it down.
The summary will go over the basics to help you determine if you are eligible. Basics including the start date, the total duration of the project, and any geographic requirements.
The description will go over what we’re looking for, adding context such as the desired expertise and technical background, as well as the type of work that will be conducted.
Answer a few questions about your experience, and upload an optional resume. Submit if you’re done, or save for later if you’d like to come back to it. Submitting is only a sign of interest, not a binding agreement; you’ll have an opportunity to speak to the sponsor to make sure this project is right for you.
Is It a Good Fit?
We’ll review with our sponsor to see which candidates are the best match based on skills, background, and availability. It’s important that this project is the right fit for both you and the sponsor.
Candidates of interest identified by our sponsor will receive an invite for a phone interview. You can expect one 30 minute phone call during normal business hours. The sponsor will provide more details and we’ll see if this is a good match for both parties.
If you and the sponsor decide to work together, we’ll get you started as an active consultant and we’ll ask you to sign a Connect terms agreement between you and the sponsor defining your mutual responsibilities.
Work and Bill Hours
Now that you’re a consultant with us, we’ll take care of all of the paperwork so you can focus on consulting. To get you paid more efficiently, here’s the we’ll need.
For each billing period, you and the sponsor need to agree on your hourly limit. It’s important to be on the same page so you know how much you are expected to work and the sponsor knows how much you expect to get paid. If it looks like the project needs more hours you can always speak with the sponsor and have the limit raised.
From your user account, you can submit billable hours through our log sheet. You will fill out the date, number of hours, and an itemized description of each task, as well as review your hourly rate. Save for later if you plan to continue working on the project, or turn it in to the sponsor. The sponsor will have a limited time window to approve your log sheet.
Set up your account for payments from your user settings. A PayPal account and tax information is required. We’ll invoice the sponsor and pay you directly on net 60 terms or faster from the final day of the month.
That’s it! You’re ready to be a consultant with Patexia.
Let’s find you a project!
Advanced Topics
Already got the basics down and want to improve your effectiveness? Let’s go over some advanced topics to improve your Connect experience!
We offer multiple ways to discover our Connect opportunities. You can view the full list, subscribe to our weekly email notification, follow interest groups to receive tailored email notifications, or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.
From your user account, just as you can submit billable hours through our log sheet, you can also view log sheets you’ve previously submitted. Just click on the top right drop down to navigate.
We can quickly fix mistakes. Simply request a Patexia staff member to reopen your initial application or a log sheet with your hours, and we’ll help you with fixing whatever you need to.
We’re always available via our contact form or if that’s not quick enough, we have a FAQ ready for you as well. Let us know how we can help.