How to Get a Remote Job (part 1)

We spend up to 35 percent of our productive time at work. Shouldn’t we at least make it so it doesn’t suck? But wait, there’s more - the vast majority of people still commute (more than 70 percent) wasting even more of their time and putting unnecessary pressure on the environment in the process.

Easiest solution to all of this? Go remote!


That is, of course, easier said than done. It’s also worth mentioning that by solving the commute and office related pain points, you will inevitably create new ones linked to your new shiny remote lifestyle - but we will get to that later.

With this mini series, I will guide you through the most common situations people looking for remote job typically find themselves in.

You don’t have the necessary skills to work remotely

Although remote work has seen slow but steady rise in the last couple of years, it’s still uncharted territory for most people.

Good news is that it’s not reserved privilege just for coders or online entrepreneurs anymore. You don’t need to spend 1 year studying books, webinars or buy expensive online courses.

That being said, your journey towards location independent career will still require a lot of effort. You just can’t cheat this.


Let’s get specific.

We have thoroughly analyzed the remote work marketplace and here’s what we’ve learned.

  • There are over 90 remote job boards
  • Majority of them offer non-tech jobs as well
  • Over 10% of open remote positions are available across the globe (the rest is region or country specific - but still remote)
  • Roughly 32,000 remote jobs are open each month, not counting self-employed folks and entrepreneurs!
  • Job boards contain only something around 50% of all remote positions, the rest is kinda hidden on companies career pages

Now you have some basic understanding of the remote scene. But that doesn’t immediately help you much, does it? Let’s go through something more actionable.

We made a list of top positions employers are furiously looking candidates for. Neat, right?

What can you realistically do

We’ve build a similar resource some time ago, so allow me to get inspired a bit in here.

Engineering

This is obviously the category with biggest number of choices and demand. IT systems and coding tools are designed by nature to allow remote access and management. IT professionals could go remote (as some did) a decade ago.

PositionDifficulty to master
Technical documentation writerFair
Support EngineerFair
Frontend CoderMedium
Backend DeveloperMedium
See all 14 positions

(Online) Marketing

Excellent choice for creative folks who are not afraid to get a bit technical from time to time. Excellent english skills are a must-have this time.

PositionDifficulty to master
CopywriterFair
PPC SpecialistFair
Social Media CuratorEasy
Customer SupportEasy
See all 8 positions

Design and photography

With the shift towards SaaS business models in the last decade or so, you don’t have to invest a big chunk of money into obtaining professional tools.

Open source tools like Gimp or Blender are free, Canva is free in the basic version as well, Adobe Creative Suite starts at $9.99/mo. What a time to be alive (and have eye for UI, UX, design and details).

PositionDifficulty to master
Graphic DesignerMedium
Stock PhotographerFair
3D ArtistHard
UX/UI DesignerHard
See all 9 positions

Desk & Administrative Jobs

Probably the most interesting area for remote work newcomers.

Built on top of your pre-existing computer software skills. Add some sauce in the form of remote tools knowledge. Play around with Slack, Jira, Asana, Trello, Google Docs/Suite and Microsoft Office Online.

PositionDifficulty to master
Virtual AssistantFair
Product TesterEasy
AccountantHard
English TeacherMedium
See all 7 positions

Entrepreneurship

Don’t get along with superiors? Annoyed by the constant meetings about nothing? I get it. Starting an online business is easier than ever. Most of the tools you will need are priced very reasonably or free for solo founders.

PositionDifficulty to master
Web DeveloperMedium
Dev for HireHard
Indie MakerHard
Freelance MarketerMedium
Other options

Be creative! What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? Think of ways how to possibly use your skillset online.

Nothing will be effortless. Remember the amount of knowledge you gain before applying for a job will be inversely proportional to your competition.

Let’s be honest here. MS Office and E-mail skills are not gonna cut it for you. People with these skills are everywhere. There is no reason for companies to hire and trust someone remote if they can get another 50 candidates literally around the block.

Homework for next time

We will be rolling out the next chapter of our little tutorial in no time. In the meantime, I want you to:

  • Make a list of things you enjoy doing (at least 10)
  • For each item; identify all the positions you could realistically contribute to
  • Order the positions by the number of of occurrences
  • Get as much information about the first three positions as you possibly can:
    • Follow thought leaders in this area
    • How does the typical workload looks like?
    • Get some knowledge about the industry
    • What are the most used tools by professionals in this area

All finished? Congratulations! Come back in few days for the next part of this series where we’ll get more specific about an actual job hunting.

Wanna get more involved? Follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our newsletter with remote job offers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *