Mary Lister — April 18, 2017 The luxury of “working from home” is turning into an expectation from employers. According to Forbes, 68% of U.S. workers say that they expect to work remotely in the future. It’s rare to find a company that wouldn’t allow you to work from bed when you come down with the flu, but it can be trickier to find a spot that would want you to work remotely 100% of the time.
Whether it’s to feed your travel addiction, assuaging relocation fears, or the office is simply in an undesirable location, working remotely can be a great solution. In this post, I’ll outline a few ways to find a remote job and how to optimize for productivity once you land it.
Where Can I Find a Remote Job?
When you’re first starting to consider working from home permanently—or even traveling for an undetermined amount of time and need a flexible job—it can be intimidating. Luckily, finding one is simpler than you think! As popularity increases, job boards meet demand by specializing in remote careers. Check it out!
1. We Work Remotely
This online board allows job seekers to look for jobs that are unrestricted by geography, and it is constantly being updated. Simply search by title or skill to find a career you can start anywhere in the world! If you are an employer looking to hire a remote employee, it’s $ 200 for 30 days per post.
2. FlexJobs
Boasting 33k postings from 4.6k companies, FlexJobs exists to serve part-time, freelance, and remote job searchers. The goal is to provide employees with a “job that fits into your life, not a life that fits into a job!”
3. Remote.co
Founded by the same woman as FlexJobs, Remote.co helps companies hire, train, and manage remote employees. They have a helpful blog, Q&A’s for employees and employers, and job listings.
4. Remote OK
Providing a daily listing of remote employment opportunities, Remote OK also sends email updates when new jobs in your category are posted. Though it is most common for telecommuting employees to work in tech, Remote OK also advertises employment opportunities outside of the tech industry.
5. The Muse
Advertised as the “ultimate career finder and guidance destination,” the Muse offers behind-the-scenes looks at job opportunities on-site and remote. You can search for jobs by selecting a location (remote) and keywords—or, if you know a company that hires remote positions—you can check out their culture!
6. Upwork
More of a community for employers and employment seekers, this platform allows companies to post freelance work and hire those who apply. Though generally not fulltime, it is a great way to get your side hustle on, without having to commit to going into an office. The catch? Upwork does charge a service fee based on how the client is billed…but you can get hired and paid fast!
7. Indeed
To use this giant job board to find a remote position, simply input “remote” in the “where” field. You can also upload your resume to let employers looking for remote employees find you.
What Companies Hire Remote Employees?
While most companies will allow employees work from home on occasion—when that freak snowstorm hits, if you are feeling sick, if your nanny calls out sick at the last minute—but it can be harder to find a company that wants you to work remotely all the time. Luckily, these companies do exist! Here are a few that might pique your interest.
1. Upworthy
This online cache of uplifting, click-worthy stories is curated by a team that largely works from “anywhere with good enough internet to do a Google Hangout.” However, their team isn’t “remote”; it’s “distributed.”
2. Buffer
A social media management company with a huge loyal fanbase, Buffer encourages their employees to “work in the place that makes you happy, that inspires you daily, and helps you to become the person that you wish to be.” The company even brags that they don’t have a physical office—but tons of perks!
3. Basecamp
Basecamp is an all-in-one project management platform based in Chicago, but, because they “give a damn” about their employees’ happiness, all employees are free to live and work wherever they want. They even wrote a book on remote working, REWORK!
4. FlexJobs
Staying true to their offering, FlexJobs’ team is completely remote, working virtually from all over the United States.
5. Fire Engine RED
A marketing, technology, and data solutions company, employees are 100% virtual/distributed/remote throughout the US and Canada. They brag that you can ditch your stressful commute and work cliques for real clicks and a virtual book club!
6. Lullabot
Self-described “bots” run this design and development company in 6 countries and 49 cities. The Lullabot team is completely remote, with no stressful commutes or one physical headquarters. They also brag about a strong company culture despite the lack of office space!
How Can I Stay Productive When Working Remotely?
Working remotely and staying on task can be hard. There can be more distractions—kids, people playing music in your café, Netflix vying for your attention—but there are some simple ways you can be productive and achieve your goals.
1. Communicate Transparently and Often
Proven, a subscription-based job board, surveyed 39 remote companies on their metrics for success and characteristics for remote employees. The overarching theme of almost all the answers was communication! Whether it is through Skype, Slack, Pidgin, Trello, or simply email, staying visible to team members is hugely important. It can be easy to find yourself out of the loop when you’re physically far away, take advantage of any chance to hop on a call or shoot an instant message to stay on top of projects and develop relationships.
2. Take Initiative
When you’re don’t have any physical face time with your co-workers or managers, it can be easy for people to forget about what you are working on or where you want your career to go. The easiest way to combat this is to take matters into your own hands—start new projects, offer to host remote lunch-and-learns, offer your expertise wherever possible.
3. Stay Accountable
The fear a lot of managers or bosses seem to have is, “How will I know my employees are working?” Easy. Set goals for yourself—or have your manager set them for you—and report on them on a regular basis.
Trello can also be a great source for this—let your coworkers know what is on your to-do list with the easy ability to publish when you’ve completed tasks.
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