This is part 2 of our mini-series, which will guide you step by step on how to land a remote job. It is recommended you read the previous article and complete the checklist before continuing here.
So now, tell me.
- What are you good at?
- What do you enjoy doing?
- Can any of that be monetized?
- What will I see if I google your name?
- Can you show me examples of your previous work?
These are the questions you should definitely have answers to before we are done here.
They are tough questions to answer, too. I know.
But you know what? These are essential. If someone asks what kind of remote job you are looking for and you answer “oh, just about any“ – you are already doomed. And you are going to the nope pile.
So let’s assume for a while that you have completed our little homework from the previous article. You have been studying your industry carefully. Listening and learning from the top personas for some time now. You know what’s up.
Your online footprint
CVs and cover letters are nice. But they are not gonna cut it for you when it comes to remote work.
Remember – companies are taking big risks when hiring someone remotely. The amount of time and resources invested in picking the right candidate is not negligible. The amount of time and resources invested into picking the wrong candidate, having to start the process over again, is huge – while the work is just piling up. It may even discourage them from hiring remotely in the future altogether.
In other words, there has to be a mutual attraction from the beginning.
List of things your potential future remote employer should definitely find when they are gonna google your ass: (and they will)
Your little internet corner
You may think the age of personal blogs and websites is gone, lost in the 90s and early 2000s. Replaced by unified experience on LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks. But it’s not. With so many candidates hunting for remote jobs, it is more than ever important to differentiate yourself.
One great essay is all that separates you from getting hired remotely in top companies of your field.
Create your online business card on AboutMe. Start a new blog on WordPress. Make a new Ghost page. Build your fancy site on Carrd. Make your website from scratch. It’s up to you. The important message is to build something of your own.
Your social media
Now. We don’t suggest you make it easy for your potential employer to find pictures from your last romantic getaway or island hopping. On the contrary – make your social accounts as private as possible for the general public. But! At the same time, make it possible for people to find you. It makes you look more legit.
Why? Because what do you do when you get an offer from a company you didn’t hear before? You look them up online. It gives you the confirmation you need before starting any business with them.
Going the Extra Mile
We strongly encourage you to create an extra account for your professional alter-ego and share your journey here. Things you’ve already learned on the way and other niche-related bits n bites. You will eventually attract your own audience, which will help you immensely.
Pick the platform typical for your industry.
Marketer? Probably give Twitter a shot. Photographer? Instagram, or maybe YouTube/Vimeo. Coder? Github. Designer? Dribble. Translator? Translators café. You get the idea right.
Showcasing your work
This is the perfect job for your website. Slam the Showcase button to your main menu and create a gallery/list with all your recent work.
Use external services to host if needed. Youtube, Vimeo, Instagram, Github, Medium. Based on your industry. You know the drill.
This can be your recent client work, cool side projects, university projects you are really proud of, content you made during your last gig. Careful with the last one as there could be some copyright issues depending on your contract.
Don’t have any recent work? Make some.
Look for websites in your niche with weak copy, bad graphics, or slow loading time and remake them on your own. Create a valid social media strategy and offer it to a local restaurant that is clearly struggling in this area. Maybe they will be excited. Maybe they won’t.
The great thing is that even if not interested in your work, you now have content for yourself. Worst case scenario = you just built a personal portfolio.
References and recommendations
We can safely skip this part. No one cares what your former boss, director, or HR thinks about you and how much you scored in the latest quarterly productivity company-wide competition.
Is that all?
For now, yes.
We’ve now established your virtual presence. You can start hunting, messaging, applying. Something we will look into in the next and final episode.
To summarize – your checklist for today:
- I have a cool CV prepared. ✔️
- I have my own little internet corner where I can publish stuff. ✔️
- I made my personal social media accounts private but still searchable. ✔️
- I created my professional social media account on the correct platform where I’m planning to share my journey and build my own audience. ✔️
- I published my recent work. ✔️
See you next time.
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