How to get hired for a remote freelance job
Nowadays, remote work is essential. Competition for remote jobs is especially fierce today and remote work comes with challenges. Yet if you're ready to work from home, a few tactics can help improve your chances of finding a suitable position and get hired. Here's what you need to consider based on our experience as a hiring agency.
Look for remote-specific job boards
Not all common job search boards make finding a remote job easy. At Gegidze, however, every freelance or full-time job opportunity is 100% remote. Thus, to speed up your search, start with job sites or agencies that specialize in remote work like ours.
Showcase any previous remote experience
Once you've found job openings for which you want to apply, adjust your application so that it demonstrates you're not just ideal for that particular role but also a perfect remote worker.
Include the location of previous remote jobs as "Virtual;."
Highlight experience managing or coordinating remote teams;
Talk about your ability to work effectively with diverse groups;
Use the words "virtual" and "remote" on your CV and LinkedIn profile. HR managers look for those keywords.
Keep in mind what recruiters are looking for in a remote worker
A few questions were designed to gauge whether remote work would suit the candidate and whether they could get along with a remote team. Skills a hiring manager looks for in a remote worker are:
Transparency: How willing are you to sharing their tasks and thinking with others?
Communication (oral and written): Can they translate their working style into a predominantly composed environment where teams often don't communicate live?
Autonomy: Can they be trusted to work alone for long periods of time? Do they like working independently and managing their own time?
Self-awareness: Are they aware of their weaknesses as well as their strengths? Are they comfortable letting team members know about these to ensure the team runs effectively and transparently?
Humility: Do they discuss shared accomplishments rather than focusing solely on personal achievements?
When you interview for a remote vacancy, be ready to respond to questions like:
-
Tell us about your favorite project you've worked on.
-
What was the hardest non-technical problem you to solved at work?
-
Tell us about a time when you had to solve a problem but needed to have all of the information.
-
How do you manage your time on tasks to meet deadlines?
-
Tell me about a coworker you've worked with who has impacted you most significantly.
Don't concentrate just on the remote aspect of the vacancy
Although you should emphasize that you have the remote-specific traits discussed above, make sure not to come across as wanting to join the company simply because you can work from home—it's often apparent when a person is applying just because the position is remote and not because they want that specific job.
Getting hired for a remote job is different from traditional on-site jobs as, in addition to demonstrating you have the skills for the role, you have to showcase that you can work well on your own in a remote team. But once you've managed that, it'll be easier for the company to see a great fit. Good luck with your job hunt!
_edited_edited.png)
Benefits of being a freelancer working remotely
In recent years, freelancing has become more popular, with more than one-third of people pursuing it. Moreover, people aren't freelancing out of necessity. The majority deliberately choose the freelance lifestyle. It isn't surprising considering the benefits and freedom of being your boss.
While it may take much time and hard work to get started, becoming a successful freelancer is achievable. It comes with many benefits that continue to attract increasing numbers of people to this lifestyle.
Freedom
One of the pros of freelancing is that you have much more freedom than when you work for someone else. You're essentially running your own business, and it's up to you which new clients you take on, what your hourly rate is, and what hours you work.
For example, if a potential client comes to you with a job that seems complex and needs to pay better, you can turn them down. You are not obligated to take on any projects you don't want.
Location flexibility
Because you aren't beholden to a single company or boss, you can choose to live anywhere as a freelancer and travel while working. While some freelance jobs may require you to be near your clients, finding them wherever you go is possible.
Much freelance work is done digitally, which means you can be fully remote—with clients worldwide—and live and travel wherever you please while completing it.
Flexible hours
The ability to set your hours can be desirable. If you have kids, you might choose to do your work while in school and after they've gone to bed. If you want to take off Wednesday because the weather is nice and work on a Saturday instead, it's entirely up to you.
Generally, as long as the agreed-on deadlines complete the work for your clients, you have complete control over when and how you do it.
Compensation and earnings control
As a freelancer, there's no need to ask your boss for a raise. You set your rates. You also choose how much work you take on. However, rates and employment amounts are subject to market forces to a certain degree. You can only ask for astronomical compensation by reducing your list of prospective clients.
However, many freelancers find that they can raise their rates over time as they do more work and gain a strong reputation.
Self-management
Again, as a freelancer, you're your boss. You choose your workload, schedule, dress code, and every other aspect of running things.
That said, freelancing isn't a vacation. It's up to you to ensure you keep your clients happy, keep track of budgeting, seek new clients, and negotiate rates. Keeping on top of everything means you work double some weeks and tiny others. However, it's all under your ultimate authority.
Improved skills
Freelancing means you take on various projects from multiple clients. Each project brings something new and allows you to expand your skill set. You'll likely learn new things as you go.
You may feel more stagnant in a traditional full-time job that may only sometimes involve continual learning and development. Freelancing provides many more opportunities for growth as you tackle a wider variety of project types.