Remote jobs are one of the best things the Internet ever birthed. With a remote job, you can travel around the world while you work. You can earn at international rates while living in a country with a much lower cost of living. You can break free from any local limitations and job shortages. With a remote job, you can live your dream life.
But how can you get a remote job? Especially when you don’t have connections or experience in the digital world? It’s not a cakewalk, but other people have gotten remote jobs without any of those advantages, and so can you. Here are seven actionable steps that can take you from obviously unemployed to remotely employed.
1. Get digital skills
To get a remote job, you have to be employable. You might be a fantastic driver, electrician, surgeon, or mason, but you won’t get a remote job unless you find a way to translate that knowledge into viable digital skills.
To get a remote job, you need digital skills — skills you can use to solve problems remotely. Most of the time, you’ll be working with a laptop. You need to learn basic computer literacy and some digital skills that you will use to solve problems for your employer.
Some of the most common skills in demand include:
Sales
Editing
Writing
Teaching
Data entry
Copywriting
Telemedicine
Bookkeeping
Graphic design
Data analytics
Customer service
Public relations
Web development
Project management
Product management
Virtual assistance
Executive assistance
Social media management
Search engine optimization
Once you decide what skills you want to develop (based on your interests and training), you should get additional training on how to use them to provide services.
Some good places to get training are:
- FutureLearn
- YouTube
- Coursera
- <ahref=”https://www.skillshare.com/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener ugc nofollow”>Skillshare
- Udemy
- Udacity
- Kajabi
- EdX
- <ahref=”https://unpluggdacademy.co/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener ugc nofollow”>Unpluggd Academy
2. Choose a niche
Once you develop more digital skills, you should start narrowing down your area of focus — your niche.
For example, if you started as a generalist writer wanting to write for everyone about everything, this is the time to choose a specific topic/industry you want to write about and who you want to write for.
Picking a niche makes you more attractive to clients because they want people with experience, not rookies, ready to try (and fail at) anything.
3. Dress for the part
The next step is to prepare for interviews and applications.
The preparation you need will depend on the work you are looking for.
Some things you will likely need are:
CV/resume
Portfolio/samples/clips
Letters of recommendation
An optimized social media profile
Cover letter
Do some research about the jobs you are interested in to know what you’ll need to apply.
4. Join the right communities
People prefer to hire those they know. But how can you get known by hiring managers and potential clients?
By joining the right communities.
There are several online communities for remote workers on websites, Slack, Discord, Reddit, Telegram and other platforms. Try to join as many free and relevant ones as you can. In such groups, you will learn about best practices, scams to avoid, what employers look for, job openings and more.
Don’t try to be an island. In the remote job hunt, stick with the pack.
5. Join the right social media platforms
Social media is an essential part of the remote job hunt. On social media, your goals should be:
Finding the right social media for the job you want. LinkedIn is a great start for most people. But you should consider Twitter if you are a writer, developer or graphic artist; GitHub if you are a web developer or software engineer and Instagram if you are a graphic designer, for starters.
Sharing content and projects that showcase your experience
Interacting with the right people (peers, industry leaders, hiring managers)
6. Start shopping
If you’ve followed all the instructions, you should be ready to start shopping for a remote job.
Naturally, you need to go where the jobs are. Here are some platforms you might consider exploring:
- FutureLearn
- YouTube
- Coursera
- Skillshare
- Udemy
- Udacity
- Kajabi
- EdX
- Unpluggd Academy
Some of them (like Upwork) are marketplaces that take a commission from your earnings but others (like Indeed) just share great jobs every day.
Others still (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) are social media platforms, but you can find remote job opportunities on them if you join the right groups, follow the right people and make the right connections.
There’s no need to be picky at this stage. Visit these sites daily and apply to as many relevant jobs as possible. Target entry-level positions even if you have more experience because they are easier to get.
Once you get one remote job, it is easier to get a better one.
7. Evaluate and adapt
Once you have applied for your first 100 jobs or so, you should either:
a) have a remote job, or
b) have lots of data to look at.
If you have a job, congratulations 🎊.
If not, don’t give up. Take a look at your performance and ask yourself some hard questions.
Should I change my focus?
Do I need a better portfolio?
Do I need support, e.g. a coach or resume review?
Do I require more training?
Am I aiming too high?
Should I build more relationships?
Should I volunteer in exchange for recommendations?
8. Be ready to start small
While this post focuses on getting a remote job, it might be easier to start by getting many smaller remote projects or contracts.
This is called freelancing.
If your efforts to get a remote job aren’t yielding desired results, you could start offering your services as a freelancer while you build your portfolio, recommendations, and experience.
This might mean taking very small jobs initially while you work your way up to better projects and eventually a full-time job.
It’s a strategy that has worked for many people looking for remote opportunities.
9. Don’t give up
The last tip I want to share with you is to persevere.
Don’t give up.
Make up your mind that you will find something, and keep looking till you do.
The steps I have shared are a comprehensive path to building expertise and being recognized by hiring managers, but they take time and determination.
Most people with great remote careers had bumpy starts and bleak periods, but they never gave up. If you don’t give up, your success story is probably next.
That’s all for now.
What do you think? Is there any other strategy we didn’t mention?
Let us know in the comments.
