Syed Balkhi — January 14, 2020 If you’re dreaming of working from home, getting rid of the dreaded daily commute, and having a more flexible schedule, you’re in luck. Remote work has been on the rise in recent years and it’s only getting more common. In fact, according to FlexJobs, between 2005 to 2017, there was a 159% increase in remote work.
It’s a brand new year, which means it’s the perfect time to turn your dreams into a reality. So, if you want to ditch the traditional office setting and find a remote job this year, let’s make it happen.
Here’s how to land an awesome remote job in 2020.
Boost your online presence.
If you want to land a coveted remote position with a great company, you need to have an online presence. A potential employer should be able to do a quick search of your name online and find results for it, whether it’s a personal website, LinkedIn profile, or an online portfolio. So, if you don’t have any those, it’s time to start creating at least one of them.
- Create a LinkedIn profile – Creating a LinkedIn profile is the easiest place to start and it’s a great platform for connecting with potential employers. Create a free LinkedIn account and fill out your profile with your experience and qualifications.
- Build an online portfolio – If you’re looking for a creative remote position like a graphic designer, website designer, or blog writer, then you need to show off your previous work. Use a free online portfolio site like Behance, Crevado, or Contently to showcase your work.
- Make a website – Making a website takes a bit more time than creating a LinkedIn profile or online portfolio, but it’s not difficult. You can easily create a customized, professional website in no time with website builders like WordPress.
Having a professional online presence will make you stand out from other candidates.
Plus, with a website, LinkedIn profile, or online portfolio, you can be discovered by remote companies looking for new team members. So, instead of searching all over the web for remote opportunities, the opportunities can come to you. Just be sure to add your contact information to your online profiles or add a contact form to your website so potential employers can easily get in touch with you.
Understand the remote work culture.
Before you start applying to remote jobs, it’s important that you understand the remote work culture. Workplace culture is simply the values, beliefs, interactions, and behaviors that contribute to the overall environment of a business. As you can imagine, for remote companies with employees all over the world, workplace culture is a bit different than companies with traditional offices.
You can learn about remote work culture by reading the websites of remote companies and looking at remote jobs posts. Typically, remote companies tend to put great value in:
- Trustworthiness
- Self-motivation
- Strong communication skills
- Tech-savviness
By understanding the remote work culture, you’ll know the exact values and behaviors to demonstrate in order to prove that you’re right for the job.
Craft a resume for remote work.
A resume you create for a traditional, in-person job is different from a resume you should submit for a remote position. So, once you have an understanding of remote work culture and what remote companies are looking for, you need to craft a resume with those insights in mind.
Your resume should highlight your skills and traits that are specific to remote work. For instance, as mentioned earlier, remote companies value communication skills and tech-savviness. So, list on your resume the remote tools you have experience with like Slack, Asana, HelpScout, etc. If you’ve never used remote working tools like those before, get familiar with them before you start applying for remote jobs.
Use remote job boards.
In order to find legit remote work opportunities, you need to be looking in the right places. Scrolling through Craigslist and Kijiji job posts is certainly not the best way to find a remote job in 2020; sites like these are often filled with work-from-home scams. So, if you want to find an awesome, legit remote job, use remote job boards.
There are tons of job boards specifically for remote positions, like:
- FlexJobs
- WeWorkRemotely
- ProBlogger
- Jobspresso
- Remote.co
As with any job search, be sure to research the company and look at online reviews before applying. If the company’s website looks shady or they lack an online presence, it’s probably a company that you don’t want to work for.
Over to you.
With these tips, even without any previous remote work experience, you can easily land your dream remote job in 2020. So, get out there and start searching for your new remote position!
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