How to find remote work in a nutshell.
I hope you went through all of my articles about remote work, got interested now you got this feeling that you could get so much more from your life if only you could work remotely, and then... yeah, good question - what then? Talking about all the positive sides of remote work is one thing but finding the right one for us may be tricky. So, let me guide you through the job market of the future and who knows - maybe at the end of this article you will have a much clearer view of your future job…
Different kinds of remote work
There is an abundance of remote jobs around there, but before you venture out to seek on your own, you must consider which option suits you better:
- A standard full-time job for a company that allows remote work. It provides you with all the benefits of a full-time job together with greater security, but for some people - for example digital nomads - it still may be too strict, and they may feel tied up.
- Freelancing, which is basically not being tied up to one company in exchange for a significantly bigger instability in your earnings - one month you get plenty of jobs, another - barely any.
While it is worth considering what kind of career suits you better, most websites we will talk about in a moment will not differentiate and you will be able to find both kinds of jobs on them.
One important thing to note before we begin our remote work search - there are dozens of remote job boards all across the web, and naming and describing them all would be a task both arduous and nearly impossible, so I will just focus on the most well-known websites for the beginning. And the list goes as follows:
The biggest community of remote workers in the world, WeWorkRemotely prides itself with over 2.5million visitors every month. It offers both full-time contracts and classic freelancer jobs and sports a very simple mechanics of applying for jobs you like.
One of the most well-known remote job boards, Upwork offers you a free membership and 20 "connects" for starters - Upwork connects are virtual tokens that you can use to apply for jobs posted on the website. The bigger and better paid the job is, the more connects will it require to apply, with at least 2 connects being necessary to apply to the beginner-level jobs. While you can buy those connects for your account, you can also buy yourself a paid membership which, depending on the type you choose, will provide you with a monthly influx of connects.
While an astonishing amount of job offers may be overwhelming at the beginning, you can find some really great jobs on Upwork - and when you get to an expert level and you have a great reputation, you really can earn good money using it!
A very popular website with a mechanics fairly similar to Upwork, with a slight difference in memberships - your standard free membership allows you to” bid" for a certain number of projects per month. While bidding, you write your job proposal including your expected payment and an amount of time you will require to hand in the project. Of course - as always - you can buy a premium membership which allows you to bid for more projects per month.
It prides itself with its high-level payment security measures, thanks to which you can be sure you are not walking into fraud.
A well-known and popular site, Fiverr allows you to sell and buy services for a minimum of $5 - so the basic mechanics are a little bit different, but the principles behind the page are the same as always.
Once you set up your account, you have to create a "Gig", which is basically a service you are selling to the clients. You can offer services from all the different branches, ranging from graphic design to the translation. You can add extras and additional content (for example a short video depicting your work) to encourage your clients. All in all, it is a very interesting and useful tool!
A very specific webpage, Dribbble was created by designers of all kinds in mind, and that is the majority of jobs you will find there - so if you were afraid that those 5 years in the art school were a waste of time, then Dribbble is here to prove you wrong!
Looking at you, programming students! Stack Overflow is a community of web developers that offers a job for every person that is fluent in one of the programming languages. So, if you feel like giving your programming skills a shot, that would be a place for you!
TorreFind remote work, talent, and mentoring. Torre prides itself for being the next-generation professional network where you can find work, talent as well as mentoring. Just set up a free account - it's really that simple!
A few more words about the remote work market
I could write an entire book describing remote job boards, but in fact, apart from some technical differences, most of them are based on the same principles - you have to:
1. Set up your account - always put some effort into creating a good profile that would allow your future employers to find you and correctly assess your skills. Don't omit anything - when you are just beginning your journey on the job market, even your charity work or student association can be presented as a valuable experience!
2. Seek for the job you like - we already mentioned how you should consider what do you want to do and why, now it's time to find your dream job - always read the description carefully and consider the payment method, credibility of the employer, is it a one-time gig or a long-term cooperation etc.
3. Apply - you gotta dress to impress! Read the job description carefully and make sure to underline in your application why exactly do you think you are perfect for this job. Don't just copy the same application form to 20 employers - it won't work! Put some effort into it!
4. Do your best - good communication, keeping up with the schedule and high quality of work is something that should always be important. Remember - a satisfied employer is an employer who rates you 5 stars!
Well, that would be it. What are you waiting for, then? Go out and get your place on the remote job market!
