How to Find a Remote Job in Tech
Reading Time: 7 minutes Remote working has become significantly more popular over the last two decades. An analysis conducted by FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics found that, between 2016 and 2017 alone, there was a 7.9% increase in the number of people working remotely.
This demonstrates that more people are turning away from the traditional office culture to jobs where they are able to work from home, for either part or all of their week. It makes sense that more people are working from home, given how remote workers are usually given more control over schedules and have no commute to worry about.
It’s not just that remote working is more flexible for employees. Research has found that people who work from home are less stressed, and perform better than those who work in an office. It’s no wonder why remote working has become more popular.
However, finding a remote job is a difficult journey, never mind being hired for one. Most of the advice around finding a job is still focused on in-person jobs. However, if you have the right guidance, you should be able to find a remote job that meets your needs. In this article, we’re going to break down a few tips on how you can find a remote job in tech that’s right for you.
Table of Contents
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Step 1: What Are You Looking For in a Remote Job?
Remote working is an umbrella term for a wide range of different work arrangements. Some remote workers work from anywhere—and can even be in a different time zone—whereas other remote workers spend some of their time in the office and the rest of their time at home.
Before you start looking for a remote job in tech, ask yourself: “What are you looking for in a remote job?” Here are two factors you should consider.
- What culture are you looking for? Do you want to work for a company that has been remote from day one? Or are you happy working for a company that is still dipping its toe into remote work? Every company does remote working differently, and so you should make sure you think about the culture you’re looking for at a business before you apply for a job as a remote worker.
- When do you want to work? In a conventional office job, you’ll often have to work from 9 am to 5 pm. Remote workers, on the other hand, usually have more flexibility over their time. When you’re looking for a job, you may want one that allows you to work when you’re most productive. Or you may want to look for a job that supports people in your time zone.
These are two of the many points you may want to think about as you start your journey to finding a remote job in tech. After you’ve thought about what you’re looking for in a remote job, you are ready to start your job search.
Step 2: Update Your Resume and Portfolio
When you’re looking for a job, it’s important that you know what is required of you from the company’s perspective. So, you should ask yourself: “What would companies hiring a remote technical worker be looking for?” For instance, here’s a list of a few attributes that employers may look for in remote workers.
- Organization. Being organized is an important part of working remotely. So, you’ll want to think about a few examples of when you have been organized that you can cite when you are talking with companies.
- Experience. Do you have any experience working remotely? Have you ever worked at home, even for a few weeks? If so, you will want to talk about this as you engage with companies, because it will help them learn more about you and how you may adjust to the company’s working style. It’s also important that you highlight your experience in your field, whether it is Software Engineering or digital marketing.
- Time Management. Remote workers need to be able to prioritize tasks and stay focused for long periods of time. When you’re applying for jobs, you should make sure you talk about your time management skills and even share an example of a scenario where you demonstrated timeliness in action.
Once you’ve thought about the characteristics that a company is looking for, then you are ready to start updating your resume.
As you start looking for jobs, you should read through the job description thoroughly and think about the attributes an employer is seeking for in an ideal employee. Then, as we did with the above skills, you should think about how you can update your resume and portfolio to reflect the expectations of an employer.
Your resume and portfolio should both be up to date and include a list of your most impressive projects. You don’t necessarily need to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, but you can also highlight your career education.
Ideally, you’ll also want to make reference to your experience working remotely, and any experience you have with remote working tools such as Slack, Zoom, or Trello. This will show employers that you’ll be able to easily transition into remote work if you are hired for the job.
Step 3: Start Looking for Jobs
After you have considered what you’re looking for in a job and adjusted your resume and portfolio, you are ready to start looking for jobs. There are a couple of approaches you can use in your job search, which can help you find opportunities that are right for you.
Networking
Networking has long been one of the most effective ways to find a job. If you’re looking for a remote job, make an effort to network with hiring managers, employers, and developers who represent companies with remote working policies. For example, you could attend a few tech conferences where you know companies hiring remote workers will be.
By networking with others, you’ll be able to develop one-on-one connections with people who may be hiring, or who may be able to connect you with an opportunity.
There are also many online communities for remote workers where they share their experiences working remotely, or finding a job as a remote worker. These communities are worth looking into because they provide a good way for you to connect with people who have been in your shoes before, and who may be able to help.
In addition, remote work communities often have their own job boards or email lists where opportunities are shared. This means that, if you join one of these communities, you’ll have no trouble finding a steady stream of job opportunities for which you can apply. For example, Remote.Jobs, Digital Nomad Jobs, and We Work Remotely are all communities for remote workers.
Remote Job Boards
Given the rise of remote work over the last few years, there is no shortage of job boards that list positions supporting remote work. Unlike generic job boards such as LinkedIn, remote job boards exclusively feature job opportunities for remote workers.
These sites are useful because they allow you to focus your search on opportunities that meet your needs. In fact, many of these sites have additional filters that allow you to look for jobs that are part-time remote, full-time remote, and so on.
To be successful using a remote job board, you should make use of the filters made available to you. Focus on jobs that meet your needs—based on your experience with remote work, job level, industry, and so on—and try to make yourself stand out. Write a custom application for each position, and tailor your resume to each job description.
If you’re looking for a place to start, here are a few of the top job boards for people looking for a remote job in tech:
- We Work Remotely
- Working Nomads
- Flexjobs
- Jobspresso
- Remote Work Hub
- Remote.co
In addition, you can also make use of general job search sites like LinkedIn. However, when doing so, you should make sure you focus your efforts on networking with people who work for remote companies.
Step 4: Apply for the Right Jobs
Once you have found a few interesting opportunities, you are ready to start submitting a job application. When you start applying, you should make sure that you focus your attention on those that meet the needs we identified earlier. Are you looking for a job where you can work from home all the time? Make sure that you focus on applying for jobs that offer this benefit.
It is particularly important to focus your efforts toward companies that meet your exact needs because remote working policies are not always flexible. If a company is only hiring in US time zones, for example, they will likely not entertain hiring someone outside of a US time zone for operational reasons.
When you are applying for jobs, you should make sure that you craft an application that is both interesting and articulates your skills well. Share examples of your work in your application, and if you have prior experience working remotely, you should make sure it is mentioned somewhere in your application. The more you can do to showcase your value to a prospective employer, the more likely you are to be contacted for an interview.
Conclusion
From the flexibility offered by remote working to the lack of a commute, it makes sense why so many people are seeking jobs where they are able to work from home. We hope that the tips we have outlined in this article will help you kickstart your transition to a remote job in tech, and help you streamline your job search.
Working remotely is becoming even more common, and so many more employers are hiring people remotely. If you follow the tips we have outlined in this article, you should be in a good position to find a remote job in tech that meets your unique needs.
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