The Himalayas Talent Directory gives employers access to 200,000+ remote job seekers with searchable profiles. Filter by skills, location, timezone, seniority, salary expectations, and availability status. Message candidates directly through the platform. All completely free for employers.
What is the talent directory?
The Talent Directory is a searchable database of job seekers who have created profiles on Himalayas and set their visibility to public. Each profile includes the candidate's skills, experience, education, location, timezone, salary expectations, and availability.
Employers can browse the directory to proactively find candidates for open roles, rather than waiting for applications to come in. This is especially useful for hard-to-fill roles or niche skills.
How do I search for candidates?
- Go to the Talent Directory
- Use the search bar to enter keywords (job titles, skills, technologies)
- Apply filters to narrow your results
- Browse candidate profiles
- Message candidates you are interested in
You can also browse talent by specific categories:
- By keyword: e.g., /talent/react-developer, /talent/product-manager
- By country: e.g., /talent/countries/united-states, /talent/countries/united-kingdom
- By country + keyword: e.g., /talent/countries/canada/data-scientist
What filters are available?
The talent directory supports multiple filters that can be combined:
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Search by role title, skills, or technologies |
| Location / Country | Find candidates based in specific countries |
| Timezone | Find candidates in specific timezone bands for overlap |
| Seniority | Entry-level, mid-level, senior, manager, director, executive |
| Employment type | Full-time, part-time, contractor, etc. |
| Skills | Filter by specific technologies, tools, and competencies |
| Salary range | Filter by salary expectations with currency conversion |
| Availability | Find candidates who are actively looking, open to opportunities, or passively browsing |
All filters are multi-select and can be combined. For example, you can search for "Senior React developers in UTC-5 to UTC+1 expecting $100,000–$150,000 USD who are actively looking."
What information is visible on candidate profiles?
When a job seeker sets their profile to public, employers can see:
Basic information
- Name, location, and timezone
- Profile photo
- Professional headline and bio
- Social profiles (LinkedIn, GitHub, Twitter, Dribbble, Behance, portfolio website)
- Whether they are verified
Career details
- Skills and tech stack: All technologies, tools, and competencies they have listed
- Work experience: Job titles, companies, dates, employment types, and role descriptions
- Education: Degrees, schools, dates, and descriptions
- Interested roles: What types of positions they are looking for
Preferences
- Salary expectations: Minimum and maximum with currency
- Location requirements: Where they are willing or able to work
- Company size preference: Whether they prefer startups, mid-size companies, or enterprises (rated on a scale)
- Search status: Whether they are actively looking, open to opportunities, or not currently searching
- Availability: When they could start a new role
Profile score
Each talent profile has a score (0–100) that indicates how complete and strong the profile is. Higher scores generally indicate more detailed profiles with complete experience, skills, and preferences.
How do I message a candidate?
- Find a candidate you are interested in through the talent directory
- Click the "Message" button on their profile or card
- This creates a direct message thread between you and the candidate
- Write your message and send
Messages are delivered through the Himalayas platform. The candidate receives a notification and can respond directly. All conversations are accessible from your Recruiter Dashboard messages section.
Tips for effective outreach:
- Be specific: Reference why their skills or experience caught your eye. Generic messages get ignored.
- Include the role: Tell them what position you are hiring for and why you think they would be a fit.
- Be transparent about compensation: Candidates respond much better when salary range is mentioned upfront.
- Keep it concise: A 3–4 sentence message that is personalized and direct performs better than a long email.
How much does it cost to search the talent directory?
Searching the talent directory, browsing profiles, and messaging candidates is completely free for all employers. There is no paid tier, no per-message fee, and no limit on how many candidates you can view or contact.
This is part of Himalayas' free employer offering, which also includes free company profiles and free job postings. For details, see Posting a Remote Job and Managing Your Company Profile.
Can candidates see that I viewed their profile?
No. Browsing the talent directory is anonymous for employers. Candidates are not notified when their profile is viewed. They are only notified when you send them a message.
How do I know if a candidate is actively looking?
Each candidate's profile includes a search status that indicates their current availability:
- Actively looking: Currently searching for a new role and responsive to outreach
- Open to opportunities: Not urgently searching but willing to consider the right offer
- Not looking: Not interested in new opportunities at this time
You can filter the talent directory by search status to focus on candidates who are most likely to respond.
How do I combine the talent directory with job postings?
The most effective hiring strategy on Himalayas combines both approaches:
- Post your job: Create a free job listing (see Posting a Remote Job) to receive inbound applications from candidates who find your listing through search and job alerts
- Search the talent directory: Proactively reach out to strong candidates who may not have seen your listing
- Use screening questions: Add screening questions to your job post to automatically filter incoming applications
This combination of inbound applications and outbound sourcing gives you the widest reach while keeping quality high.
Who do I contact for help?
For questions about the talent directory or candidate messaging, email hi@himalayas.app.