how to get a remote job

NOTE:  This was written from the perspective of a native english speaker from the u.s. -  cultural differences will apply to wherever you are

1. Identify the job

Look at your previous education and professional experience to help guide what you think would be a good fit. But don't feel limited, if you lack some skills or direct professional experience this can be made up for on free online courses or on personal projects.

Not every job can be done remotely, but Covid certainly opened the gates to a lot, lot more options. Some possible popular remote job titles include

- Marketing jobs (Social Media, Paid Ads, Sales, SEO)

- Content Creator ( Copywriter, Graphic Design,)

- Software Management (Web Developer, Software Developer, Medical Coder, Data Entry,

- Service Jobs ( Virtual Assistant, Customer Service, Tutor, Interpreter, Translator, Medical Transcriptionist

- Business ( Human Resources, Accountant, Financial analyst.

2. Research the job

Hop around on job boards and find out the skills you need. These should be hard skills, programs, or tools used by the company. In digital marketing for example, some examples include SEO, Salesforce, Hootsuite, Cision, WordPress, HubSpot, SQL, and Adobe Photoshop

3. Build the Resume

The resume is arguably the most important part of this process. After all, all you have to show for yourself before you land your interview is this one page. Use as few words as possible, and make them count. It's important to know that many job hunters these days use AI to scan through resumes, so using keywords and skills you've learned from the research stage, put that in the resume.

My personal belief is that it's way better to include a skill you have limited experience with, than to leave it out. So if you research and find out that Salesforce is important, but you've never used it before, that's okay! Go on youtube, watch a few videos, understand the basics, and put it on the resume. When you land the interview, that's when you'll be able to explain that while you've never had first hand experience with it, you understand it enough and feel confident to be able to learn by the first day of work.

I'll attach my (outdated) resume as a template to build off of, and once you have it done, get it read over by someone else professional you trust! I'm happy to help and give feedback in any way I can!

4. Applying for jobs

Now that you have a general idea what types of jobs you're looking for and have a resume built, it's an important time to share yourself with the world. Obviously you could go through job boards, but they get so many applications and each individual one you often have to complete a cover letter for which is exhausting and I don't believe is the best use of your time. Instead, I suggest the following -

First thing first is build a LinkedIn, upload your resume and complete the steps. Set yourself visible to employers on it so they'll start reaching out to you (My last 2 jobs came from this)

My other favorite way of applying for jobs is through job recruiting firms. Basically, these are companies that businesses pay them money to match them with talented employees (us!) typically in a 3 month cycle. To do this, google "Top recruiting firms in (Insert city here)". Then, go to their websites and find where it says something like "send us your resume". You'll put in your name, email, and resume.

The key here is that the vast majority of these firms will never get back to you. But you only need a few, and once you're in the system, they will do everything to make sure you get a job. After all, they get paid when they match jobs, so they'll call you and give you advice to make it a reality. And it costs you nothing. It really is that simple.

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There's a lot more to include of course and I'm simplifying the process but in general I think this provides a pretty good place to start. I feel so lucky to have the life I have, and it's only because I learned and felt inspired by others doing the same. So once you land your remote job and are living on the beach in Rio, pass it on to others. Use me as a resource and call me any time for questions :)