Most people are now realizing how good remote work can be when it is done right and more professionals do not intend to go back to the office at all or at least not full-time. Few months ago, working remotely was like a forced experiment as most people had no option other than to work from home because of the strict lockdown measures, with these strict lockdown rules being lifted, more and more people now enjoy not only the flexibility that comes with being remote, but the true freedom and productivity.
This has lead to more companies creating more remote-friendly roles and even more people preferring remote work, By 2028, 73% of all departments will have remote workers. (Upwork), This boom will see the remote working landscape become even more competitive for existing remote workers and young professionals who have little or no experience working remotely.
What steps can professionals take to boost their chances of landing a full-time remote job?
Being skillful with tons of professional experience is one thing, being remote-ready is another, these two components will play a huge part in building a successful career remotely as more companies would go for talents who are able to collaborate and execute virtually without hassle, so how do you become remote-ready and boost your chances of landing a full-time remote job?
- Pick up in-demand skills for remote workers: How can you prove that you are made for the job despite being an early professional with little or no remote working experience?
Being able to schedule work, navigate through communication and collaboration tools like Notion, Miro and Zoom to clearly explain issues, ask questions, and present ideas will always count as a positive for companies with a remote-first or hybrid workforce model. This basic in-demand skill coupled with a self-motivated, goal-driven and technically skilled individual will always fit the bill as an ideal remote talent. - Embark on virtual work experiences: Virtual work experiences play a huge part in gaining remote work experience for early professionals or professionals looking to switch from the office to working remotely.
One of the best platforms to gain virtual work experience is The Forage, with over 1 million+ enrollments, over 70 programs and 100+ countries in representation, the forage is building a world where opportunity is truly evenly distributed, where technology allows more people to find the perfect career. - Take remote-ready courses: There are tons of crash courses out there to teach you how to work remotely effectively and also certify that you understand what it takes to do remote work right, most of these courses teach on the best practices to increase productivity and also maintain a healthy life-work balance to avoid burn out and under-delivery. Check out my recommendations for some of the great courses you can try out, Remote-how and Oyster offer great courses that are widely recognized.
- Create a remote-ready resume: Now that you’ve got the basic skills needed to work effectively as a remote worker and a virtual experience to show you that you can get things done virtually without hiccups, having a remote ready resume can be achieved in these simple steps,
- Create a gnome / resume with a remote talent management platform rather than a random resume maker, One of the best place to do this is on Torre
- Include your virtual experience in the location section and resume summary.
- Incorporate key collaboration and remote worthy skills in the skills section.
- Be clear about your desire for remote work
- Tailor your resume to the desired role - Understand the local terrains you intend to work in: Every successful company has a considerable market share percentage in various regions, thus, the presence of multiple personas and target markets with unique consumer behaviors. For people in design, marketing, product, sales and support, knowledge of these markets (the culture, economy, consumer behavior and language) can help you secure full-time opportunities at globally distributed companies.
- Create profiles on remote talent management platforms: One of the best ways to increase your chances of getting a remote job is putting your search on auto-pilot, to do this, all you have to do is create a profile on job boards like remotejobs.ninja, Torre,EUremotejobs, remotive.io, weworkremotely, dynamitejobs, searchremotely, remoteworkhub, Sheworks and much more, with these platforms you get the best opportunities coming to you through job alerts and newsletters.
- Identify with remote work communities: Identifying with a remote work community goes beyond making an introduction and going incognito, connect with people with same interests, jump on opportunities to work on passion projects, share articles and even job openings to keep the community going, the best way to get referrals and offers from Industry leaders and entrepreneurs in any community is by being ready to give and to be involved. Some of the best communities out there for remote workers consists of AfriSplashRemotely, Remotive.io, Remotelyone, EUremotejobs, weworkremotely, dynamitejobs,searchremotely, Nomadstalk, Growremote and the contra community.
- Research and identify remote-friendly companies: While some companies are still debating on returning to the office or staying remote, a handful of companies have decided to stick with the winning strategy by allowing their employees to work remotely or even better still, work from anywhere. These companies build their culture around giving their employees the best tools not only to work from anywhere but to succeed from anywhere and have a better living around work. Create a list of these companies and check their openings from time for open remote roles.
- Apply for desired roles in these remote-friendly companies: One of the best ways to apply for these jobs is to have a list of your dream jobs on an excel sheet, this list should contain the roles, companies and other vital information that would help you keep track of your application process, You can then set about sending in your applications and ticking them off to indicate application success, If you’ve been able to follow number 1– 8, you wouldn’t be ticking your list for long as remote work always makes sure the best jobs goes to the best fit, no matter where they live.
- Prepare for remote job interviews: The first thing you would want your prospective employers to be confident about is your skill, make sure you are ready with the technical details as remote work is just work. Up next is preparing your setup, for someone who has little or no experience of working remotely, having a good background, proper lightening system, great visuals and communication setup can set you up for success when you have the right skills. Finally, read about the company that you are interviewing for, think about the questions they may ask you, prepare your questions, show some enthusiasm and have a two-way conversation, it’s an interview not an interrogation.
Thinking about getting into the remote workforce or identifying with a community of remote workers?
Join the community @ AfriSplash Remotely 🌍
Website: https://afrisplash.com
AfriSplash Remotely - Live, Work and Succeed from Anywhere 🌍
Written by: Godspower Eseurhobo Ogaga
