How to Find and Get Hired for a Remote Position

As the working world has pivoted to hybrid working models, remote work has become the latest startup perk companies are offering to attract the best talent.

However, employers are now taking an even closer look at how candidates can communciate and work virtually, as well as on top of regular job qualifications.

It may sound intimidating to polish one more thing on your resume, but don’t panic! We’re here to help. Here’s how to find a remote job that works for you(And how to get hired once you do.)

Which Jobs Are Best Suited for Remote Work?

Not every career is equally adaptable to remote work. Some jobs, like retail, hairstyling, or bus driving just can’t be done over the internet. Others, however, are well-suited to working from home. (Or a coffee shop, or anywhere else you choose.)

Some of the best careers for remote work include:

• IT
• Software engineering
• Marketing
• Copywriting
• Sales
• Graphic design
• Accounting
• Teaching/tutoring
• Customer service
• Consulting
• Journalism
• Translating
• Project management

If you work in any of these fields—or any like them—then remote work may be an option for you.

Tech startups in particular are known for letting employees work remotely. If you think a startup might be right for you, check out our guide on how to get hired:

How to Get a Job at a Startup

Are You a Good Candidate for Remote Work?

Your career may be suited for remote work, but that doesn’t mean that you are. At the end of the day, the remote lifestyle isn’t for everyone. So before you look into how to find remote jobs, take some time to decide if you’re right for the part.

First of all, let’s be clear about what we mean by remote work. We don’t just mean telecommuting. Telecommuting implies that you live near the workplace. You may even visit a physical office occasionally. Maybe you go into work two days a week, and work from home the other three.

Remote work, however, means that you don’t have to live anywhere near your employer to fulfill your responsibilities. You could be in an entirely different time zone or even another country. You do your job from wherever you choose every day, whether that’s your home office, bedroom, or the local café.

There are quite a few obvious advantages to that lifestyle, but plenty of challenges as well. One of the biggest is isolation. When you don’t interact with your colleagues in an actual office, it’s difficult to feel connected. The isolation can hamper your sense of belonging, reduce your motivation, and stunt your productivity. Now, if the company has a public org chart, that can help you establish relationships with your coworkers.

But in order to do your job away from coworkers and managers, you’ll need to possess certain qualities, including:

• Motivation and drive
• Self-discipline
• Initiative
• Virtual communication skills
• Tech savviness
• Problem-solving skills
• Independence
• Awareness of your strengths and weakness
• Time-management skills
• Resourcefulness
• A wiliness to learn
• Organization skills

If that sounds like you, great! You may be the perfect candidate for remote work.

How to Find Remote Jobs

If you’ve decided that the remote life is right for you, you’re probably wondering how to find remote jobs. Here are some of the best strategies.

1. Search Job Posting Sites

The internet is full of platforms designed to connect job seekers with potential employees. We put together a list of our favorites here:

The Best Job Posting Sites for Finding Top Talent

(That’s primarily directed at hiring managers, but there will be useful information for you, too.)

However, not every online job board is designed for finding remote work. To speed up the process, focus on job posting sites that specialize in remote careers. Some of the best sites to find remote jobs include:

• We Work Remotely
• Remote
• FlexJobs
• Dynamite Jobs
• Remotive
• JustRemote

Browse these sites for positions that appeal to you and fit with your skillset. Then, set up some alerts so that you get an email whenever anyone posts a new job that matches certain keywords or categories. For example, if you’re a software developer, you would get a notification that someone posted a job with “software developer” in the title.

2. Network

There’s an old saying: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. That’s especially true when you’re trying to find remote jobs.

Do you know anyone who already works remotely? How about someone who works at a company that allows remote work? If you have a close enough relationship with that person, go ahead and reach out. If you have a connection on the inside of those kinds of companies, it can make all the difference for getting your foot in the door.

And if you don’t know anyone like that, don’t lose heart. That just means it’s time to grow your network. Use sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook to meet professionals who might be able to help you find remote jobs. Joining groups, organizations, and channels is an especially good way to cross paths with the right people.

3. Use The Org

The Org primarily helps companies create public org charts, but we also offer a unique job board. Companies who’ve signed up for The Org can add open positions to their org charts, complete with thorough job descriptions, which then show up on this board.

Explore was also built with job seekers in mind. Browse our curated lists of top startups hiring for remote workers right now, plus get valuable info such as funding numbers and key org chart information without leaving the list.

And every day, countless jobseekers visit our site to find openings in a wide variety of careers—many of which are remote.

Better still, if you see a position you like, The Org makes it possible to get a better idea of whether it would be a good fit for you. By checking out the company’s org chart, you’ll be able to see:

• How they’re structured
• Who you would be working with
• Who you would report to
• What your responsibilities would be

All of these factors could be useful when deciding if you want to apply for a position. Then, if a job seems promising, you can submit an application right from our site. The Org makes the whole process quick, easy, and effective.

How to Get Hired for a Remote Job

Knowing how to find remote jobs is half the battle, but you’re not done yet. Next, you have to prepare yourself for the application process to make it more likely that you get hired. Here are some steps you should take.

1. Optimize Your Resume for Remote Work

You may have a stellar resume for traditional work. But to increase your chances of getting your dream job, you have to optimize it for a remote position. Here’s how:

• If you’ve worked any remote jobs before, emphasize that fact. List the location for those jobs as “Remote” or “Virtual.” If a job was only partially remote, list both the physical location of the company and mention that it was remote as well. For example, “Chicago, Illinois and Virtual.”
• If possible, use the words “remote” and “virtual” as often as you can in your resume. Hiring managers will be looking for that.
• Highlight any experience you’ve had managing or coordinating teams, whether remote or otherwise. This will demonstrate many of the same skills required for remote work, where you’ll effectively be managing yourself.
• If you’ve worked as a freelancer or operated your own business, emphasize that for the same reason.
• Talk about your ability to work with diverse teams. Many remote teams are made up of diverse members, so hiring managers will appreciate your capacity for working with people from different backgrounds and cultures.
• Make a list of the things hiring managers are likely to be looking for in a remote worker.

You can use all these tips to optimize your LinkedIn profile as well.

2. Prepare for the Interview

Once you get to the interview stage, many of the questions will be designed to gauge if you’re suited to remote work and if you’ll get along with a remote team. Prepare for prompts and questions like:

• “Tell me about your favorite project you’ve ever worked on.”
• “What’s the hardest problem you’ve had to solve at a previous job? How did you solve it?”
• “What time-management strategies do you use to ensure you always meet deadlines?”
• “Tell me about the most ambitious project you’ve ever taken on.”
• “Give me an example of a time you failed. What did you learn from that experience?”
• “What’s the most significant conflict you’ve ever had with a coworker or manager? How did you resolve it?”
• “What would you miss most about working in a physical office?”
• “Tell me about a time someone gave you constructive criticism. How did you respond?”
• “Are you able to work independently outside of a traditional office environment?”
• “What is your virtual communication style?”
• “Why do you want to work remotely?”

Make a list of the qualities hiring managers are likely to be looking for in a remote worker. Then, think of ways you can highlight those qualities during the interview process.

If you don’t have any obvious work-related stories to highlight, don’t be afraid to think outside the box. For example, maybe you’ve never managed a team at a previous job. But if you’ve coached a local sports club, that could still count. Find any life experiences you have that demonstrate your aptitude for a remote position.

3. Don’t Focus on Only the Remote Aspect

When looking for remote jobs, it’s essential to focus on the remote aspect. But you don’t want to focus on only that part. So while you’re zeroing in on your remote-specific skills and qualifications, don’t forget to showcase the reasons why you’re a good fit for the position in other ways.

If you’re applying to become a remote project manager, you definitely want to give hiring managers and interviewers plenty of indications that you’d be the perfect remote employee. But you also want to make it clear you have a knack for project management. Finding the balance can take time, but with a little practice, you’ll get it right.

Want some more ideas on how to find remote jobs? Try putting yourself in a potential hiring manager’s shoes. For a behind-the-curtain look, take a look at our guide written for companies trying to hire remote teams:

How to Hire and Onboard Remote Teams