12 Tips for Landing a Remote Job

Are you thinking about finding a remote or work from home job but not sure where to start? 

In this post, you’ll learn where to search for remote jobs, tips for updating your resume, updating social media, interview preparation, where to go if you need help, and more.

So let’s cut to the chase and get started!

| Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, and I may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

1. Where to Search for Remote Jobs

Job Boards

You don’t have to take just one approach when searching for a remote job. There are multiple avenues you can choose to find your dream remote job that works for you and your chronic illness.

If you’re getting started, it might be helpful to check out some job boards to see what type of remote jobs are being offered. My post on the Ultimate List of Remote/Work from Home Jobs has 30 different job board listed on sites that claim to post legit remote jobs.

You might be surprised to find that there are more than just tech jobs being offered these days. My post lists out the different industries each site provides job posts for.

Search at the Company Level

Many of the remote job boards also list the companies they work with that hire remotely. Find companies you think you’d like to work for and check periodically for any new remote job listings on the companies own website.

Get Connected

Taylor from Remote Like Me has a great Facebook Live recording, where she talks about finding remote jobs by getting connected.

Taylor mentions you can find remote work through networking, word of mouth, or connecting and investing in the remote community.

She also recommends listening to podcasts/interviews with remote workers, reading blog posts about remote jobs, and signing up for events and conferences related to remote work.

Why might you ask? Because these are all avenues where you can learn the names of remote companies. You can then can research these companies to see if they have any remote job postings.  

Here’s the link to the full Remote Like Me’s Facebook Live mentioned above. Taylor dives into this around minute 5:15.

2. Resume Tips

Written Resume

If you’re applying for your first remote job here are some tips I found to help you create a remote worthy resume.

1. FlexJobs suggests playing up any skills that will help show your ability to work alone. Also, FlexJobs has an excellent section on resume tips.
2. The Work at Home Wife suggests highlighting the following skills in your resume.  
   • Technical know-how
   • Writing and communication skills
   • Decision-making skills
   • Reliable and dependent
     ***This article is a great resource, and I recommend clicking through and reading the whole post.***
3. The Muse offers 185 powerful action verbs to help make your resume stand out.
4. If you’re working on a course or certification program, this Remote Like Me post suggests including it on your resume but mark it as pending. This shows future employers you’re willing to put in the time and effort to learn a new skill that could help their company.

Video Resume

I only recently started hearing about video resumes. Due to EEOC rules about possible discrimination bias, I would be hesitant to send a video resume voluntarily to a potential employer.

In the US, applicants are discouraged from including their photo on their resume to eliminate discrimination bias, so I think video resumes would also fall under that category.  

If you’re asked to submit a video resume, an article on Monster suggests that “…job candidates should check with the hiring manager to ensure the company does not have a policy against their use in evaluating candidates.”

You can read more about video resumes from The Balance Careers and FlexJobs.

If you do want to or need to do a video resume, here’s a video tutorial on how to make one.

3. Update/Create Your Social Media Profiles

Update/create social media profiles, especially LinkedIn. Not sure what to put in your LinkedIn profile? Work from Home Happiness has a great LinkedIn Profile Tutorial you can follow.

If you’re worried your coworkers will see your updates on LinkedIn, you can turn off your notification settings. This allows you to update your profile without it showing up in your newsfeed. Check out this YouTube video on how to do this.

4. Interview Tips

Preparation

a. Practice! Make sure you practice answering interview questions either in the mirror, with a friend/family member, or go on an interview for a job you don’t really want.

I’ve done the last one because I felt it helped the most since I was in an office setting. Also, it helped me get over my nerves of meeting new people, and I got to practice answering different types of questions on the spot.

I also got to practice asking my questions and seeing what types of reactions I would get. If I got a not so great reaction, I would go back and reword the question or rethink if it was necessary.

b. Rat Race Rebellion has an excellent list of 17 tips for acing your work interview. They range from thinking about potential background distractions/noises that could occur during a phone or video interview to how to answer the question, “Why do you want to work from home?”

c. Look on Glassdoor to see if anyone has posted interview questions for the company you’ll be interviewing. Remote Workhub also provides some common questions asked during remote job interviews and advice on how to answer them.

d. Familiarize yourself with the STAR technique to help you answer interview questions. Remote Mission explains what the STAR technique is and how to use it to ace your interview.

e. Get a little insight as to what the hiring manager might be thinking during your interview with this post by Remote Workhub.

Questions to Ask

In addition to your standard and company-specific questions, think about asking questions related to how you work with your illness.

During my research, a couple of questions came to mind that would specifically impact me working with my chronic illness, and I’ve included them below in case they may impact you too.

a. Schedule Flexibility:

Since there will be times when extra rest may be needed, it’s worth asking about schedule flexibility, such as, “Do employees work during a standard/consistent time block every day or can employees work any time of day as long as they meet deadlines and clock in their eight hours for the day?”

If needed you could give an example, “For example on Monday, I might work noon to 8 pm, but on Tuesday I might work from 8 am to noon and then again from 4 pm to 8 pm. Is this okay or do you prefer employees to work from 8:30 am – 5:30 pm?”

b. PTO Expectations:

I found out that some remote companies say they have PTO but then expect their employees to work while they’re on PTO. I don’t know about you, but when I’m on PTO, I don’t want to be working. If there’s something significant coming in, I’ll be up for checking email and forwarding things along, but that’s pretty much it.

It is fair to ask, “What is the company’s expectation of employees while they are on PTO?”

c. Overtime Expectations:

I also heard that some remote employers expect employees to jump on their computers at any time they are needed because they’re at home and should be available. I would ask potential employers about overtime expectations.

For example, “What are the company’s overtime expectations?” If they are vague, maybe ask a more direct question. “If a request came in after I signed off for the day, what would you expect me to do?”

You want to know if you’ll be expected to sign in and work on the request that day or can you wait until the next day to work on the request. If they say both scenarios or are vague again, you may note that this may not be the company you want to work for if they can’t give you a straight answer.

One of your goals of the interview should be to figure out if this company is going to be a good fit for you AND your chronic illness.

Remember: Don’t be shy about asking questions. You are interviewing the firm just as much as they are interviewing you.

Talking to Someone at Your Level

I think more companies do this now, but If you’re interviewing for a nonmanagerial position and you’ve only talked to management, ask if you could speak to someone who works at the level you’re applying for.

This is important for three reasons:

1. If the manager says no and doesn’t give a reason, this could be a red flag.
2. You’ll get a better understanding of what an actual work day/week will be like.
3. You’ll get a well-rounded picture of what the management style is really like.

5. Post Interview

Write a thank you note or email thanking the hiring manager for their time and letting them know that you’re still interested in the position.

6. Getting Help

First of all, do not be ashamed or feel guilty if you need to reach out and ask for help with finding a remote job. You have a lot going on just working and trying to take of yourself and possibly a family.

Looking for a new job is sometimes a job in itself, and it can be very overwhelming and exhausting at times.

That is why I have gone ahead and found the help for you!

Taylor, who started Remote Like Me, helps women find remote work. She also has a special interest in helping ladies with chronic illness/conditions find remote work!

You can check out her facebook live regarding remote work while chronically ill. (Just a head’s up, Taylor sometimes uses bad language, but she’s very passionate about helping our community!😊)

Taylor offers a comprehensive training course called The No BS Road to Remote Work. If you want to get a sneak peek of the course, check out her FREE Masterclass: The No BS Road to Remote Work.

The No BS Road to Remote Work course offers seven modules that give you the right stepping stones to transition from an office job to a remote job in less time.

Taylor’s course takes out the guesswork, so you know what to focus on and how to go about doing it right the first time.

We know you’re busy, and you may have limited energy and brain power at times, and we want you to succeed as quickly as possible.

The course modules focus on:

• Finding your ideal remote job
• Where to find your remote job
• Customizing your resume for a remote job
• How to boost your application which focuses on cover letters, video resumes, and networking
• Acing the interview
• Negotiating your Salary
• Action Plans, Mindset, and Bonuses

Find out more about the course by clicking here and selecting The No BS Road to Remote Work icon.

Recap

Here are all of the links to posts/articles mentioned above by section:

Where to Search for Remote Jobs

1. Ultimate List of Remote/Work from Home Jobs by Managing Chronic
2. Remote Like Me’s Facebook Live on getting connected.

Resume Tips

1. Resume Advice for a First-Time Remote Job Seeker by FlexJobs
2. Resume Tips articles by FlexJobs
3. Mega List of Work-from-Home Resume Tips by Work at Home Wife
4. 185 Powerful Action Verbs That Will Make Your Resume Awesome by The Muse
5. 18 Ways To Go Remote In 2018 by Remote Like Me
6. Video Resumes: Let the Applicant Beware by Monster
7. All About Video Resumes by The Balance Careers
8. Why Video Resumes are on the Rise by FlexJobs
9. Video on How to make a Video CV by Careercake

Update/Create Your Social Media Profiles

1. How to Write a Powerful LinkedIn Profile to Help You Find a Work From Home Job by Work from Home Happiness
2. Video on how to Hide profile updates from your LinkedIn network (2019) by In 30 Minutes

Interview Tips

1. 17 Tips for Acing Your Work from Home Job Interview by Rat Race Rebellion
2. Glassdoor
3. Nail Your Remote Job Interview: 10 Common Questions & Answers To Help You Prep by Remote Work Hub
4. How to create compelling answers for a kick ass interview – STAR Technique by Remote Mission
5. Knowing This About Hiring Managers Could Maximize Your Chance of Landing a Job by Remote Work Hub

Getting Help

1. Remote Like Me’s Facebook Live on Working Remotely with Chronic Illness
2. FREE Masterclass: The No BS Road to Remote Work by Remote Like Me
3. The No BS Road to Remote Work by Remote Like Me

Do you have any tips that I may have missed? If so, I’d love to read them in the comments below. 🙂