Securing the Role: How to find a work from home job

Due to technological advancements as well as significant cultural changes working from home aka remote work opportunities have exploded in recent years.  Not only is this great news for employees who need or want increased flexibility in their role, but also beneficial for employers who are now able to secure the services of talented individuals they may have previously struggled to get access to.

However, securing a ‘work from home’ job is not easy as there is ever increasing competition for these roles.  Furthermore, unfortunately some nefarious people have recognised that as so many people are looking for work from home jobs, they can exploit them with either fake opportunities or scams so it is important to remain vigilant, remember if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Thankfully though, there are many opportunities out there and below, we list the best ways to secure the role, working from home.

Match your skills with opportunities

When you decide to make the transition to working from home, perhaps after a career break or due to a significant change in circumstances or purely down to a change in working preference, it's important to look at your current skill set and see what work from home roles suit them.  For example, if you are a software developer or bookkeeper, it is quite likely that you will be able to find a role in the exact same industry that now is more open to working from home opportunities.  However, if you were previously working in retail or hospitality, you may need to think about what transferable skills you have to a role which allows working from home.  Using retail as an example, a transition to a work from home customer service representative should be a good fit, given the amount of customer service experience gathered in your previous career.  Likewise if you have worked in hospitality, seeking a role as a virtual assistant could also be a good fit.

Specifically highlight remote focused skills and experience

When listing your skills and experience on your resume, make sure that you showcase those that are highly relevant to a remote position.  A prospective employer wants to know / see you demonstrate that you are able to succeed in a remote work environment.  Skills that demonstrate this are working with online collaboration tools (Slack, Zoom, Asana, Trello etc), time management, online and offline communication, reliability, independent working, self-motivation and trustworthiness.

Update your presence 

This links very closely with points 1 and 2 so it almost goes without saying that, should you take on board the previous points, you need to make sure that those changes are made to both your resume and your professional networking profile(s) (LinkedIn, Xing etc).  Putting a heavy emphasis on those skills that show how great you would be in a remote position could be key to securing your dream role.

Utilizing your online and offline network

Although it is hard to calculate the exact number of people who find a job via networking, experts have estimated it could be as high as 50%.  In the past, this would have meant having to ring around or catching up with old colleagues and friends to see if they know of any open positions.  But now you are able to be much more efficient in your approach and can use your preferred professional networking site to highlight that you are available for remote work and direct people to your respective skills set and the way in which they can contact you.

Be ready for online interviews

As you get further down the application process, it is likely that you will be asked to take part in an online interview.  Although it is not impossible for the interview to be in person, it is much more likely that a remote job will involve a remote interview.  In many ways, a remote interview should be treated in much the same way as if it were in person, you should be dressed appropriately, logged in early and fully prepared for any questions that may arise.  However, you should also make sure that you are in a suitable location, there is nothing worse for an interviewer than the interviewee taking the call from a noisy environment.  It is also worth mentioned that it makes sense to have tested your computer equipment (speaker, microphone etc) and also please, please make sure you download the specific interview software the employer is using the day before the interview takes place so you can fix any issues you may experience when trying to access the call.

Learn, Adapt, Improve and Overcome

The final point to remember is that the remote working landscape is a relatively new one and, given it is driven largely by technology, it is evolving at a rapid pace.  Therefore you need to be prepared and open to using new technologies, adapting to different working styles, taking a flexible approach to your work schedule and above all, embrace change.  It is worth making sure that you are keeping up to date with remote working trends and even take courses or qualifications in any relevant technology or field where appropriate.

In conclusion, to secure a job that allows you to work from home will likely require many different approaches and take you down a number of routes before you are able to find it.  However by taking onboard the points made above as well as being committed to securing a remote role, you should hopefully be able to secure an opportunity that exceeds your expectations.