A few weeks ago we asked you what the hardest thing about getting a remote job was. Twitter and Instagram accounts. We received a ton of answers, and now we're sharing the best answers to your top 10 challenges:
What are the biggest challenges you face in finding a remote work job you love?
We recently asked this question to our amazing We Work Remotely community and received a ton of different answers.
You may be struggling with some of these obstacles yourself. Or maybe you haven't encountered them yet, but would be happy if you knew how to deal with them.
We completely understand that. Job search depression is real and the process can be very stressful - especially if this is your first time looking for a job remotely.
That's why today we're answering the 10 most common questions about remote work and helping you create a successful plan to overcome these difficulties without breaking a sweat.
FAQ: How to overcome the biggest difficulties in getting a remote job
Since one article cannot address all of these challenges in the required detail, we provide a brief overview of each question/problem. Then we either give an answer or provide a source where you can find out more.
The goal is to give you some ideas for solving these problems so that you can develop a strategy that breaks these obstacles down into smaller, more manageable tasks that you can tackle with ease.
Here are the 10 most frequently asked questions about remote employment:
1. How do I find remote jobs that will hire me where I live
The biggest disappointment when looking for a remote job was how to find companies that hire virtual candidates. outside the USA and Canada. And we have to admit that this can be difficult.
There are a variety of rules and regulations for hiring employees from abroad as a US-based company. Therefore, it is often easier for American companies to hire applicants from the USA.
However, don't be discouraged! There are a few ways to get around this:
Check the world's leading companies first . Google, Microsoft, Twitter - these companies are known all over the world. And many companies of this caliber now allow remote work. Visit these companies' career portals and see if they have remote work offerings in your field or industry.
Let keywords work for you . Search engines can lead you to distant positions that you would never have come across organically. But only if you use the right combination of keywords to unlock them.
Essentially, you'll want to write down:
Whether you want to work full time or part time
What type of company you would like to work for
Job titles, positions or roles you are looking for
Education, skills and certificates you possess
Then add specific keywords that only show distant positions, such as: E.g.:
remote control
Virtually
Telework
Work from home / work at home
100% remote controlled / 100% distributed
Fully remote controlled / Fully distributed
The last keywords on this list mean that a company does not have a headquarters, so at Employees around the world are working remotely. Or you can enter your specific country as a keyword to receive offers from organizations that operate locally.
Combine these terms and you might get a search like 100% Remote Software Engineer CSSLP Certification Poland.
Think of a few variations on your keyword list to cover all bases and see what you come up with!
2. How do I know what is a scam and what is a legitimate job advertisement?
Thanks to the increase in remote work during COVID-19, the number of job scammers has also increased. These fake offers often sound too good to be true (because they are), leaving unsuspecting, hopeful job seekers open to cybercrimes like identity theft.
So check out this post How to distinguish a legitimate remote job from a scam Find out how you can recognize fake job advertisements and what five tips you need to find real jobs for home workers.
3. How can I best narrow down my scope of duties and find my ideal remote job?
Our guide covers How to find a remote workplace that’s right for you outlined four steps to finding your dream job. The first is knowing how you work best.
Next, you need to figure out what you're good at and what you really enjoy doing - which aren't always the same thing.
It therefore makes sense to make a list of potential tasks and then read the tasks and responsibilities in the relevant job advertisements.
Look for specific tasks that you would like to do on a daily basis and note which tasks you don't particularly enjoy doing. Then use these criteria to find remote jobs that fit your “must-have” and “must-avoid” list.
4. Do I have enough experience to get a distance learning position?
You might be surprised to learn that you can impress hiring managers at companies that offer remote work even if you've never worked in the field before. Why? Because many of the skills you honed in an office job are also applicable in the world of telecommuting. You just need to frame these skills in a way that will be an asset to a remote employer.
However, you should also consider educating yourself and investing in yourself. Every new skill you acquire makes you a more qualified, well-rounded candidate that companies want as quickly as possible. For this reason personal development catapults your long-distance career .
So consider whether you want to learn:
Familiarize yourself with the most common telecommuting tools and processes so hiring teams can trust that you're capable of getting the job done despite your lack of telecommuting experience.
If your resume passes this initial check, your job search materials may end up in a hiring manager's inbox. Then he will see how qualified you are for the job. But if you fail the ATS test, your application may end up in the trash and never be read.
Once you know what the algorithms are looking for, you won't have any problems outsmarting them.
The competition for remote positions has never been greater. So once you've found a job you're interested in, you need to show hiring managers what makes you different (and what makes you better) from all the other candidates applying for the job. To do that:
Use a bold, eye-catching resume that grabs attention instead of lulling hiring teams to sleep. There are tons of websites for modern, free resume templates that you can easily customize to suit your work history, skills, and appearance.
Find a career coach which suits you best. You may be able to highlight qualities or skills that people in your industry are specifically looking for and that you possess. Use their insider knowledge to give hiring teams exactly what they're looking for.
7. How long does the remote interview take? How long does it take to get a remote job?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 28.7% of unemployed Americans found a job in less than five weeks (as of September 2021). But a staggering 47% took 15 weeks or longer to find a job [ * ].
Keep in mind that this data reflects the entire job-seeking population, not just those who applied for remote work only. So take these numbers with a grain of salt.
To be honest, hiring candidates remotely is a much faster process. Using ATS, virtual interviews, and strategic partnerships with job boards helps employers find qualified applicants in less time.
However, there are a few simple but effective tips to improve your remote job search and get a response faster, such as: E.g.:
Follow up. Hiring teams are very busy and sometimes don't have time to connect with promising candidates. After sending your resume to a company, you should send a quick response a few days later. Maybe someone pulls up your resume and decides that you actually qualify for an interview.
Ask when you can expect to hear back. If you make it to the interview round, try to find out when the company will complete the other interviews and be ready to make a decision.
Send a thank you letter the day after each interview. This will help you stay top of mind for hiring teams and show that you are serious about the position. Companies will be impressed and will be happy to come back to you.
While these proactive steps won't speed up the process, they're much better than pigeonholing yourself and forgetting about it with potential employers.
8. How do I know if an external company has the best company culture for me?
Corporate culture is the values, mission, and practices shared by an organization and its employees. These guiding principles govern everything from the way employees speak to one another to where the company sees itself in five years.
Some people believe that it's easy to judge the atmosphere of a company when you walk into the office for an interview. But you can find out a lot about a company's culture if you know what to look for.
To determine whether a company's culture aligns with your goals and values:
Visit the company's website and the About Us section. Here you can find out more about the beginnings of the company, its mission and the employees in the team. Look for the best signs that an outside company is right for you.
Follow the companies you are interested in on social media. Do they share information that you find valuable? Do you agree with the team's positions or statements?
Look for these 7 signs that an external company is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) so you know you are welcome and free to thrive.
Use these Top Questions to Ask During Virtual Interviews and see how your interviewer reacts. Does your heart feel warm or do you just want to run away again?
Follow these tips and listen to your intuition. You will feel it immediately when you find your potential tribe.
How do you know if you like remote work if you've never done it before? Unfortunately, we can't give you a simple answer here. But we can help you initiate a deep, productive soul-searching that will help you decide.
How to find out whether telecommuting is right for you , please refer:
And to prepare for successful remote work , read more about :
Use the advice in these guides to get a more complete picture of your possible life in the virtual workplace.
10. Where is the best place to look for serious remote jobs?
This is the easiest question to answer on today's list: it says We work remotely!
WWR is the largest remote work community in the world and the premier destination for finding incredible, reputable remote jobs around the world. Some of the largest companies like Google, Amazon, Basecamp, and many more rely on our telecommuting job board to advertise their work-from-home positions.
Unlike traditional online job boards that only post a handful of remote job openings, our remote job board focuses on exclusively on teleworking positions.
We also make it easy for you to find out where employers are looking for employees. Our job postings will show you whether a company offering remote work is looking for applicants in the US or employees in Europe, Asia, Canada or anywhere in the world.
So make Remote Scout your first and only port of call when looking for a remote job, and you may have better luck overcoming some of the difficulties that come with filling a virtual position.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be turned off in our systems. You can set your browser to block these cookies, but then some parts of the website might not work.
Security
User experience
Target group oriented cookies
These cookies are set through our website by our advertising partners. They may be used by these companies to profile your interests and show you relevant advertising elsewhere.
Google Analytics
Google Ads
We use cookies
🍪
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, optimize the user experience and to indvidualize and evaluate advertising. By clicking Okay or activating an option in the cookie settings, you agree to this.
The best remote jobs via email
Join 5'000+ people getting weekly alerts with remote jobs!