Are you looking for a freelance opportunity, career change, a work-from-home position, or an online job that pays well? Then, try remote work.
Remote work is a trend that has been gaining popularity over recent years. Thereās no doubt that despite all the difficulties the pandemic came with, expanding the availability of remote work has been one of the biggest benefits.
The great thing about remote work is that there are a lot of freelance opportunities. If youāre considering a career change, you can go after entry-level roles and maintain a full-time, in-office schedule, until you build up enough experience to move into fully remote work.
Here are 9 important steps to finding and maintaining a remote job as you work from home successfully.
9 steps to finding remote work and doing it right
Step 1: Decide what you want to do
If your daily workflow sees you making lots of phone calls, sending emails, communicating with clients, or doing in-platform design or writing work, chances are you can easily convert it to a remote role.
If youāre not sure where to start, learn new skills online. Instead of gaining new certifications by registering for an in-person night class, or attending an off-site training programme, employees can now enrich their skillset on their own schedules online.
Working with a career coach can be a great way to help you work out what you want and how to get there. Career coaches specialise in assisting people in distilling their strengths and desires for their careers, and will work with you to set up a plan for how to get there.
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Here are the top remote jobs and industries:
- Accountant
- Engineer
- Teacher
- Writer
- Consultant
- Project Manager
- Customer Service Representative (CSR)
- Business Development Manager
- Account Manager
- Graphic Artist
- SEO Content Writer
- Web Developer
- Medical Worker
- Legal Worker
- Health and Safety Worker
Step 2: Search websites for opportunities
When youāre first getting started looking for remote work, there are a few apps and websites that you can turn to for opportunities.
Always go through well-known websites when looking for online work, and keep an eye out for scams. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Any job offers that come from strange email addresses, that donāt end in the companyās email, are likely bogus, unless you can verify that theyāre from a legit recruiter.
Related article: Ghost jobs: The unseen phenomenon of the job market
Here are the top websites to look for opportunities:
Find theĀ rightĀ fit.
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- Find Jobs
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- Salary Tools
- Career Advice
- Student Career Center
- Resume Help
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Remote-first companies
A new advent in the past decade, remote-first companies work oppositely from remote-friendly companies that are primarily office-based but with some availability for remote roles.
The default for remote-first companies is that the majority of their workforce is remote, with only specific essential roles being office-based.
Companies with remote-first cultures often strive to provide team bonding and collaboration opportunities with virtual events like happy hours and training sessions. Employee engagement is still important, but how itās achieved looks differently from traditional companies.
Here are 6 remote-first companies:
Related article: Work from anywhere: Top 25 companies to find a job
Finding a job shouldnāt be a full-time job. Tell us what youāre looking for and weāll get to work for you.
ZipRecruiter is a leading online employment marketplace, actively connecting people to their next great opportunity.
6,496,044 Work from Home Jobs
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59,791+ Virtual Teacher Jobs
Step 3: Get your internet on point
Remote working is contingent on one central element, your internet. In many cases, employers will require you to submit verification of your internet speed to be considered for a role.
They need to verify that you have a stable and strong internet connection to be confident that you can be reliable.
Even if this isnāt a prerequisite for the role, youāll want to do this anyway since having patchy internet can make you look unreliable, the last thing you want to appear to be to a new employer.
Optimise your wifi
If youāre finding that your home wifi connection isnāt as stable as youād like, there are some easy fixes you can try. If you canāt move your router closer to your workspace, consider installing a wifi range extender to gain a stronger connection.
Wifi security
On the topic of wifi, be wary of working from coffee shops and other public wifi networks. The security is minimal and you risk having sensitive data stolen from your laptop.
Research the different alternatives to protect personal data when working in public wifi networks and remember that unless you can connect to a private VPN, itās best to only work from secure networks.
Why use a VPN
SECURITY: Our secure VPN sends your internet traffic through an encrypted VPN tunnel, so your passwords and confidential data stay safe, even over public or untrusted Internet connections.
PRIVACY: Keep your browsing history private. As a Swiss VPN provider, we do not log user activity or share data with third parties. Our anonymous VPN service enables Internet without surveillance.
FREEDOM: We created ProtonVPN to protect the journalists and activists who use ProtonMail. ProtonVPN breaks down the barriers of Internet censorship, allowing you to access any website or content.
Step 4: Create an online portfolio
Creating an online portfolio can be a huge factor in winning new clients if youāre a freelancer or landing a full-time remote role.
Having a quick and easy way for prospective employers to check out your work history can give you a definite edge over people who only submit a written resume.
Keeping your portfolio updated and organised, with descriptions of each item, is a great best practice to put your best foot forward.
Step 5: Have the ultimate resume
When youāre putting together a resume to target remote roles, some key considerations will make you look even more attractive to potential employers.
Making sure your resume is concise and updated is critical, but there are a few more specific things for remote roles. If you verify your internet speed, put that into an information section.
Additionally, include your experience and familiarity with common collaboration platforms like, Slack, and Teams, as well as project management programmes like Trello, and Redbooth.
Step 6: Nail online interviews
Doing a great job in an online interview comes with all the same advice as an in-person interview, with some additional elements to consider.
Your lighting, background, and camera position, all contribute to your overall image, so ensuring you have a clean backdrop and good natural lighting is essential.
In addition, take time to test your video beforehand so that you can ensure your camera angle presents you in the best way.
Related article: Top 10 tips to master an entry-level job interview
Step 7: Create a schedule
Creating and sticking to a schedule is critical for people who work from home to maintain productivity and consistency. Chances are, whatever worked best for you in the office to organise your day, will also work best for you when youāre working from home.
Routines help us structure our days, which applies whether youāre working in an office setting or at home. Take some time and experiment with what type of routine works the best for you and what helps you stay consistently productive throughout each day, and make an effort to stick to that.
It can be tempting to stray from routines when working from home because of the increased amount of flexibility. However, doing this can result in a varying level of productivity which usually spells trouble.
Related article: Entrepreneurship: 9 surprising things you learn the hard way
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Step 8: Set boundaries
For other work-from-home employees, setting boundaries is incredibly important. Itās an easy habit to fall into to let random and spontaneous plans guide your day, but it rarely leads to good outcomes in your work life.
Whether itās letting your family know that just because youāre working from home doesnāt mean youāre available to them throughout the day or enforcing a schedule for yourself. Itās essential to set boundaries.
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Step 9: Learn to deal with demanding clients
Being a freelance employee means you work for yourself and contract out timelines or projects with clients instead of working for one employer full-time.
There are many benefits to freelancing, including scheduling flexibility, choosing projects that interest you, and having the freedom to work where and when suits your lifestyle the best.
This isnāt to say that being a freelancer is all rainbows and puppy dogs, though. It comes with an increased risk of uncertainty and where your future income will come from, as well as the trials and tribulations of dealing with clients as a business owner daily.
Learning to deal with demanding clients is a part of the freelance learning curve and you will make some mistakes and learn from them along the way, eventually finding your groove if you decide that freelance is the way to go for you.
Finding the best fit for you
Not every job will be the right fit for you just because itās remote. Similar to in-office jobs, each company will have its own culture and style, even if youāre remote. Taking time to learn about the company, its culture, and its expectations is critical to finding the best fit for you.
Easing into remoteĀ workĀ is also a great way to test the waters and see if a career change suits you. Instead of fully diving into a new type of job, you can take on small freelance projects that fit into your current schedule, and see if you think that type of work would suit you on aĀ full-timeĀ basis. If so, great!
If not, youāve tried something in a low-risk way, and it might still be something that works for you to make extra money on the side ā if not full-time.
Requiring a high level of trust from employers, remote jobs are often based on commission, have clear milestones and project deadlines, and are easily measured with key performance indicators (KPIs).
It can be a bit hectic once you reach the tipping point where your side work is getting busy and itās tough to juggle both jobs, but itās all part of the process!
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