Remote jobs are everywhere nowadays. But most people don’t know where to start because they’re looking at the wrong places and applying the wrong way.
You browse job boards, send job applications, and then wait to hear from them. And, after not getting any response for weeks, you start to feel like remote work is not made for you.
But that’s not the way to go about remote jobs. Previously, job boards were a great way to find jobs, but nowadays they are filled with candidates wanting to work for just pennies, or most of them turn out to be scams. So, you need a better approach to find and apply to remote jobs in today’s context.
In this post, I’ll provide you a step-by-step guide to find remote jobs in any company you want if they offer remote roles. Once you know where to look, you can easily find and apply to multiple jobs and increase your chances of getting hired.
What are remote jobs (and what are they not)?
Remote jobs are often viewed as a means of working from home, but the truth is that you’re not limited to home anymore.
A remote job is a job where you can work from anywhere you want. You don’t have to have a permanent address or be physically present at a given office. You just need a laptop and internet access.
Here are various types of remote work available in the market:
- Remote full-time: This is a full-time remote job, where you have regular hours and responsibilities just like an office job.
- Country-based remote: You can work from home, but only if you live in a specific country, usually because of legal, tax, or time zone reasons set by the company.
- Hybrid remote: This job is a mix of both remote and in-office work, meaning you work from home some days and go to a physical office on other days.
- Time-zone remote: You can work from anywhere in the world, but you must be available during a specific time zone’s working hours (for example, matching a company’s schedule in the US or Europe).
Here are some of the most common remote jobs companies hire for:
- Marketing
- Design
- Software development
- Customer care
- HR
- Data analysis
- Writing
- SEO
- Finance
- Virtual assistants, etc.
When a job can be performed mostly on a computer and doesn’t require physical equipment, it is most likely to be performed remotely.
Why are remote jobs becoming so popular?
Remote jobs have been on the rise over the last couple of years, and most employees find them more favourable than office jobs. Why?
One reason is the time people save on a daily basis. Employees get several additional hours per week that they would otherwise spend travelling to and from the office.
Remote work also helps people focus better. Working in the office may be noisy and distracting, while working at home can help you have a calmer and more comfortable atmosphere.
The other advantage is flexibility. Even if you’re miles away from your office, you can still work for the company. Therefore, it becomes easier to juggle work, family, wellness, and leisure.
Because of these benefits, remote jobs are getting more and more popular day-by-day.
Common Mistakes People Make While Searching for a Remote Job
Job boards are among the most widely used resources to find remote jobs, and one mistake you can make as a job seeker is relying completely on them.
You might’ve tried this approach:
- Go to a job board
- Type “remote job”
- Apply to 100 listings
- Hear nothing back
And you assume remote jobs are impossible.
The issue with this approach is there are thousands of other individuals who are competing for the same job. Popular remote job boards can get a lot of candidates on the job post within hours.
So, the best solution would be to target certain companies of your choice and seek remote opportunities there. This reduces competition and increases your chances of actually getting the job.
Step-by-Step Process to Find Remote Jobs at Any Company You Want
Step 1: List companies that you would like to work for.
You should not apply everywhere, but rather select a few companies that you like.
A list of 15 to 20 companies is good to start with. You can just consider the companies whose products you use on a daily basis. Or any other companies that you want to work for.
Most remote workers end up being hired by the companies they already follow or admire.
When making a list of companies you want to work for, you can ask these questions to yourself:
- Do I actually use or like this company’s product?
- Do they hire for roles that match my skills?
- Do they offer remote jobs for people in my country?
- Is the company an international company?
Companies that operate globally often have distributed teams and are more open to remote hiring. After making your list, the next step would be to find out how those companies actually recruit.
Step 2: Start by Checking the Career Page of the Company
There are many remote jobs that don’t appear on major job boards, as companies choose to advertise their positions on their own websites.
So, the company’s official career page can be the best starting point. To locate it, go to Google and type the company’s name, then the word “careers”.
In most company websites, a link to the careers section is also present at the bottom of the homepage.
After arriving at the career page, you can explore job options and filter the available ones using the filters. Most sites allow you to search by job category, location, or department.
When searching for remote jobs, consider such phrases:
- remote
- remote-eligible
- distributed team
- flexible work
- work from anywhere
Quick tip: Sometimes, you won’t see “remote” written in the job title. That’s where you need to pay attention to the entire job description.
Step 3: Find remote-friendly companies via LinkedIn.
This is my personal favourite way to find any remote work in different roles. If you’re not using LinkedIn, you’re falling behind other candidates.
You can visit the LinkedIn company page for the company you want to apply to. On their page, you can see the job options and find out if any job vacancies are open at the moment. Also, you can check the job type in the job description to see whether the role is on-site, fully remote, or hybrid.
Even if you’ve not listed any companies, you can just type “remote opportunities” in the jobs section of LinkedIn, and you’ll see tonnes of roles available.
My personal tip for you will be to make as many good connections as you can on LinkedIn, especially with the HR of the company that you desire to work for. After you get connected, you can directly DM to find out if there are any remote opportunities available.
Step 4: Be a member of online communities where jobs are posted.
The use of online communities for hiring has become common among many companies, replacing traditional job boards.
These groups are hosted on services such as Discord, Slack, Reddit, and startup-exclusive forums. Within these spaces, firms tend to advertise job openings in an informal manner and then develop formal job advertisements.
You might see posts such as the following:
- An entrepreneur seeking a freelance marketer.
- A group of people seeking a remote copywriter.
- An organisation hiring virtual assistants or call centre staff.
Since these communities are smaller and more niche, the number of applicants tends to be lower than on larger job boards.
To identify these communities, search for keywords in your area, such as “marketing Discord servers”, “startup Slack groups”, or “remote job communities”.
Step 5: Follow founders and hiring managers
Many job opportunities are posted on social media before they appear on official job pages. When their teams are expanding, startup founders or hiring managers post on their accounts, such as LinkedIn or Twitter, to indicate they are searching.
By following them, you can identify opportunities in time. When a founder of a company posts that they are looking to hire a designer or marketer remotely, you might find the position before it becomes widely known.
Step 6: Watch for hiring signals from companies
Companies usually drop hints even before they begin recruitment. When the company announces expansion, new products, or new markets, it means the company might need additional workers.
For example, when a company has written that it’s expanding internationally in its blogs and articles. This might create remote opportunities. It is better to visit its career page frequently over the next few weeks.
When the early application is made, the competition is likely to be lower for you. Now that you know how to find remote opportunities in general, let’s look at how you can apply these steps to large companies.
How to Find Remote Jobs at Large companies (Google, Amazon, and Coca-Cola)
Many people believe that big companies only hire on-site workers. But nowadays, there is a trend in large companies to provide remote jobs, especially in industries like marketing, technology, customer service, data insights, and operations.
Let’s walk through step-by-step how to find remote jobs at the following:
- Amazon
- Coca-Cola
How to find remote jobs at Google?
Steps to find remote roles at Google:
- Go to the official Google Careers website.
- Use the search bar to enter a job title like marketing, analyst, or UX designer.
- Open the Location filter and choose ‘Remote eligible’ or select a region.
- Open each listing and check the job description for phrases like ‘flexible work’ or ‘remote eligible’.
- Create a profile on the site and submit your resume directly through the application portal.
How to find remote jobs at Amazon?
Steps to search for remote Amazon jobs:
- Visit the official Amazon Jobs website.
- Type a role in the search bar, such as customer support, analyst, or marketing.
- In the location filter, type Remote, Virtual, or Work from Home.
- Use filters to narrow jobs by team, category, or experience level.
- Open listings and confirm the role is marked as a virtual location or remote.
- Apply directly through the Amazon job portal.
How to find remote jobs at Coca-Cola?
Steps to find work at Coca-Cola:
- Search for the official Coca-Cola careers website.
- Use the search function to explore corporate roles like marketing, finance, HR, or analytics.
- Filter jobs by department or region.
- Open each listing and read the job description carefully.
- Look for phrases such as flexible work environment, hybrid, or remote, depending on location.
- Submit your application through the careers portal.
Final Thoughts
The process of finding remote jobs in any company of your choice is not about luck. It is mostly knowing where to look and trying a more intelligent approach.
Rather than applying to hundreds of postings on job boards, you should look at companies that you are interested in working for and check their career pages regularly, and use sites such as LinkedIn and online communities to see vacancies posted before others do.
Have patience. It will take time, but once you’re hired for your first remote position, you’ll have the flexibility that most of the people desire to have nowadays.
