6 Hacks for Finding Remote Jobs in 2024

If you work in tech, you already know that finding remote work can be difficult. Even though remote working has increased drastically since 2020, there still aren’t enough positions for all employees seeking a remote career.

The internet has made job searching much easier, but among the thousands of job postings you can find online, remote jobs are still a rare find.

However, if you adjust your job search techniques, you’ll find that quite a few companies are willing to work with remote teams, even if they don’t seem to be looking for help or aren’t advertising their openings.

This post will show you how to find a remote job with detailed examples for job seekers. These strategies can help you increase the chances of finding a remote job that fits your skill set. Let’s get started.

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Things to consider before you begin your remote work search

You may be excited to start looking for remote jobs, but it requires careful planning and decision-making to job search effectively.

Are you willing to work hybrid?

The rise of hybrid work is undeniable as organizations across industries embrace flexible work models. Fueled by technological advancements and a changing perspective on work-life balance, employees are increasingly seeking a blend of remote and in-office work. This shift has been expedited by the global events of recent years, prompting companies to reevaluate traditional office-centric structures.

The advantages of hybrid work, such as increased employee satisfaction, enhanced productivity, and access to a broader talent pool, contribute to its growing popularity. As businesses recognize the benefits of flexibility, many are adopting hybrid work policies to create a dynamic work environment accommodating remote and on-site collaboration.

This transformative approach is reshaping the future of work, offering employees the autonomy to balance professional and personal responsibilities while maintaining effective teamwork.

Decide if you are looking for full-time or freelance work

To get started, you’ll need to decide whether you want to take a freelancing/contract position that might include everything from doing a few hours once to doing 40 hours (or more) a week for the long term versus taking an employee position.

In most cases, you will find it easier to secure freelancing work. Still, remote positions are increasing as companies adapt to remote trends and transition to more remote-powered teams.

What salary do you need, and are benefits a priority?

Although salary negotiations typically come during the interview phase, it’s still essential for you to determine how much you will be asking for your services. You can try looking up average salaries based on years of experience for the positions you are considering to get an idea. If you’re wondering how remote vs. office positions differ, don’t worry. There’s no shortage of remote jobs that pay well.

The number of benefits you can have differs from one employer to another. However, you can get an idea of whether or not a particular company offers benefits based on their sites and job listings, so be sure to give them a look.

You’ll find that many companies in the digital and marketing industries offer many additional benefits. Home office budgets, personal development budgets, additional vacation funds, book funds, Starbucks gift cards, and team retreats, to name a few.

Tech companies, in particular, try to offer unique perks to entice new applicants. Decide what is important to you, and if you need all of the additional bonuses, then keep them in mind as you find places to apply.

For example, here are some of the benefits of working with Buffer:

Get training if you feel you need it

If you need to develop your skills for the position you are aiming for, there are many free courses you can take online to help you learn what you need for your desired job.

Codecademy and freeCodeCamp can teach you how to code for free. Platforms like Skillshare, Coursera, and Udemy have vast selections of courses in everything from Adobe Photoshop to presentation skills. Be sure to take advantage of all opportunities to add to your skills.

Your resume should be perfect for the job

Your resume should include work related to the positions you want to accept. For instance, if you want to be a marketer, your resume doesn’t need to have your experiences in completely different fields. You can take that cashier job off the list.

Since you’ve made a list of positions you want to apply for, it’s recommended that you create a version of your resume for each position. At the very least, tailor your cover letter or introduction to the job you’re applying to as it shows your interest.

Important tip: It seems redundant to have multiple resumes of similar positions, but a custom resume for each position will stand out based on the skills, tasks and opportunities you’ve had. This can make a huge impact in your search.

Speaking of cover letters, you’ll have to write a cover letter every time you send an application. Remember that it’s better to make your letters as personalized as possible; sending out a single pre-written draft for all your applications will not be successful. You could also prepare cover letter templates that you could customize depending on the recipient before sending them out.

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1. Networking to find work

Everyone says to tap your network to find open positions and that it’s all in who you know. It’s true, but no one tells you how to do this, and many of us have a lot of anxiety about it. Here’s how you can get started.

Who should you contact?

Who should you contact for job search support? People with whom you have a comfortable relationship. These are people you’ve had casual conversations with, emailed or chatted multiple times or connected with in some other way.

Avoid connecting with people who don’t know you, as you’re less likely to get a response for your efforts. It will be a waste of time, and you’ll burn bridges before they are even standing. Only reconsider if you’re confident you can make a decent approach with someone.

Where to find people to contact:

Linkedin connections
Email contact list: in Gmail, emails you respond to are saved as contacts, so you have a lot of possible connections.
Slack channels
Twitter and direct messages
Facebook groups or private messages
Community sites: Inbound, GrowthHackers, HackerNews

Here is a sample of a basic template:

Hi Chris,

How are you? I hope I’m not bothering you, but I wanted to let you know I’m looking for a new position (in industry or as a position). I was wondering if you knew of any openings we could chat about. Either way, I’d love to catch up.

Thanks,

John Smith

Once you get a lead, send them your resume. In your cover letter, mention the person who referred you to the position.

Cover letters should be unique to the position and company hiring. By taking the time to customize your letter to the position and company, you are showing them respect.

Here are a few more tips for your messages:

Ask about their business, projects, or position
Refer to an earlier discussion
Think of how you can help them and talk about it
Make it easy for them to refer you to another company
Be short; always err on the side of being too short. No one has time to read long emails.

2. Research remote-friendly companies

Even as some businesses shift from a remote to a hybrid work schedule, some remote companies publicly state that they plan to be remote-first permanently. If you’re looking for a remote job, it’s essential to keep in mind all the companies that are remote-friendly.

Many companies might hire remote workers to do specialized jobs, but working with an entirely remote team means you aren’t the odd one out.

When researching remote-friendly companies, consider the following practical tips and examples:

Review company policies: Look for companies that have clear remote work policies. Check their official websites or employee handbooks for information on flexible work arrangements, remote work options, and telecommuting policies.
Search remote job sites: Take note of the companies that offer work-from-home jobs and list job postings for remote positions, and keep a list of them for future reference.
Read employee testimonials: Read reviews on platforms like Glassdoor to gain insights into employee experiences regarding remote work. Positive reviews about a company’s remote-friendly culture can be a good indicator.
Double-check job descriptions: Pay attention to how companies structure their job listings. If they consistently mention remote work options, it’s a positive sign. Some companies may even have a dedicated section on remote job opportunities.
Study industry reports and rankings: Consult industry reports and rankings highlighting remote-friendly companies. Organizations like Forbes and Fortune often compile lists of companies with strong remote work cultures.

By combining these strategies, you can identify companies that align with your preference for remote work and increase your chances of finding suitable opportunities within those organizations.

Remote-friendly companies

Here are a few of our favorite remote-friendly companies to get you started on your search.

Hubstaff
Buffer
GitLab
Zapier
InVision

3. Search for unadvertised positions

Several companies help businesses manage hiring through an online dashboard that captures applicant information, making it much easier for hiring managers to handle applications.

You’ve probably seen these sites:

BambooHR
Zoho Recruit
Workable
Jobvite.com
Recruiterbox.com

The problem (for you) is that you need help to search their sites for positions, yet they are full of great jobs that need to be filled. So this is what you do:

Use Google to find hidden remote positions

Go to google.com and type this in for your search:

site:zoho.com + (position, remote, or industry)

for instance: site:zoho.com remote marketing

More tips for success:

Do this with every site listed above. The search results will not be perfect; you might find one that doesn’t fit, but it will be fine in most cases.
Use Google’s Tools option to filter results to show the last month. Then, check back regularly and select results only from the previous week.
Search for “recruitment platform” to find more sites like those listed above.
Some of these sites have a directory of their site where all positions are held. Figure these out by locating any available jobs, and you’ll have the formula for their listings.
Save these searches to your bookmark folder for easy access.

Finding remote positions with Twitter’s advanced search

Take any of the domains above and search for them on Twitter’s advanced search. You can include keywords such as “remote,” “marketing,” or “location” to help you narrow the results.

Choose Live from the results to see all of the most recent tweets. Save the results page in your job search bookmark folder.

4. Cold emailing or job outreach

Cold emailing is one of the most used marketing techniques, and it can also work when searching for jobs. But for some reason, cold emailing scares people. They closely relate it to cold calling, when it is more like sending out your resume. For that reason, it can also be referred to as job outreach. This method allows you to find jobs quicker versus waiting for opportunities to find you.

Here’s how to get started.

Step 1: Select a Target Audience

It’s essential to identify the type of business your skills would best fit in and be a good experience for you. Here are some key points to help you:

Who needs your services?
What sector or industry are they in?
What kind of companies would you enjoy working with?
What does your experience apply to the most?

Say your service is blog writing. Anyone with a blog could use the service, but that would be millions of companies. You should pick something you enjoy writing about — for example, SaaS tools.

Now you know what you’re looking for: SaaS startups.

Step 2: Find a directory

AngelList, GetApp, and Product Hunt are good examples of where you can start looking. They offer tags and decent search options to narrow the results to the specific types of companies you might want to approach.

A great platform to look into is Hubstaff Talent, which connects you with thousands of employers looking for remote professionals. Plus, it’s completely free to search and hire on Hubstaff Talent.

Keep in mind you can do this for ANY business sector. B2C works even better than B2B because there is significantly less competition, and the topics might be far more relevant to your experience.

For B2C products, you can search Google for brand names that you would want to work for, and many will have a list of places to purchase products on their site. This list is your directory.

Additionally, these sources work as directories:

Chamber of Commerce (when you are looking for local businesses)
Trade Associations (for instance: Associated Builders & Contractors)
Trade Magazines Advertisement Area (Kiwi for green/all-natural parenting)
Software partners such as Microsoft, Salesforce, or HubSpot

The Association of National Advertisers has an extensive list of companies that can afford to advertise and could send you work if you write them.

Step 3: The pitch

Unfortunately, this is where things get a little fuzzy. Do you want to be completely honest or make it sound legitimate, even if it isn’t when getting your foot in the door? Some will try to be as open as possible, but some won’t.

The email shouldn’t sound like too much of a pitch, and it also cannot be all about you. You have to ensure they know it’s beneficial to them and sound as personal as possible. Most importantly, it must be short.

For example:

Hello Software Company team,

I was just reading your latest post “How to save money on the hiring process” and wanted to reach out. I love the bit about saving time with interviews.

I was wondering if you are looking for additional bloggers, or have any other positions open for someone with a marketing background.

Thank you for your time,

Jane Smith

http://linkedin.com/jane-smith

Step 4: Build a spreadsheet

Once you have the pitch written and the directory found, it’s time to get to work. Visit each company’s site and see if they have a blog (when you’re searching for writing jobs, for example). You’ll have a hard enough time selling your service if they don’t believe in what you do. If you find any websites without blog pages, you can ignore them.

Here are some of the information to put in your spreadsheet:

The company’s name
Link to their website
Do they have a blog?
When was their last post? (contact those who haven’t posted in a month or two)
The date when you first contacted them
Their response
Contact information or the link to their contact form

Step 5: Send your pitch

Once your pitches and contact spreadsheet are ready, it’s time to send out emails. Remember that while getting cold feet right before the moment you send them isn’t uncommon, the people you will be in touch with are professionals just like you, and this is business.

If you get responses telling you to stop emailing them, mark those companies on your spreadsheet and avoid contacting them again. You can use emailing tools to make things easier. Mailshake, Woodpecker, and Quickmail.io are great apps that make cold emailing more efficient.

Step 6: Include a link to your profiles

This might be more difficult, but if you can send them a link to a site where they can learn more about your writing or service—especially costs—they’ll appreciate it.

Otherwise, talk to the people who respond, thank them for their time, and try to build a relationship for the future if they cannot hire you now. This is a great way to get more work (see networking above).

Getting good at cold emailing takes time, but it almost always provides work. You don’t want to sound like a robot or automated message, so try to add a bit of personalization to each email if you can.

Another tip: use a new Gmail account to avoid being listed as spam.

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5. Be an early applicant

Hiring employees can be very tiring, especially when the list of candidates doesn’t seem to have an end. Employers can sometimes hire the first to apply to save time and hassle. When they don’t, the main reason is that they aren’t fully convinced that any earlier candidates are fit for the job.

Try to be one of the first applicants (or the very first, if possible) for your desired job. The important thing is to be fast and practical. Aim to make a good impression and convince them as early as possible that you’re perfect for the position.

Tips to success:

Show you want the position. Put a lot of care into your application and ensure it is relevant to the job you’re applying for.
Be proactive. Connect with people on Linkedin, send InMail, and follow them on Twitter. Follow up on emails and respond promptly.
Put it all out there. Tell them how you will bring results to the position, and then follow up with them. Push respectfully while paying attention to their response until you get an interview.

Keep your eyes open for new openings:

You must stay on top of new opportunities to make this hack successful. This requires setting up alerts on emails, SMS, app notifications, etc. You want to be one of the first to apply before they get so inundated with applications that they just throw them in the trash (yes, this happens).

Set up alerts:

Here are some apps to set up alerts so you don’t miss anything.

Buzzsumo
Google Alerts
Mention
TalkWalker.com

You could also do it manually. You can leave tabs open for the websites you’re monitoring and refresh them, then scan them several times daily. When you find something you like, send out an application as soon as possible.

6. Treat it like it’s a project

When you start your remote job hunt, the to-do list will be long, and the process might be daunting. It’s easy to get lost and disorganized, especially since you have multiple steps for each application or search.

That’s on top of some follow-up tasks you will encounter once you start the applications, such as filling out questionnaires, setting up interviews, or completing trial tasks.

Therefore, treating the whole process as a project is a good idea. Break it into smaller tasks, and create detailed checklists to ensure you’re completing all the necessary steps. Use the tasks to leave notes or even add comments with updates. You can also set reminders for yourself with weekly tasks you need to do, such as checking a job board for new positions or doing another wave of LinkedIn prospecting or following up.

This will not only help you stay organized and on task, but it will also give you a realistic overview of your current opportunities so you can better understand how to prioritize the time you have.

Treating the whole search as a project will help you get organized so you can return to doing what needs to be done for your dream job. To keep track of your job-related tasks, check out Hubstaff Tasks add-on. It’s an Agile project management tool to organize a remote job search. Plus, it’s free for teams of up to five people.

Cheat sheet for remote work searching

Bookmark with Pocket: If you can’t immediately apply for a position, you can Pocket it and get back to it later. After finishing the application, you can tag it as ‘applied’ and quickly go back and follow up after a week.
LinkedIn profile tweak: A quick LinkedIn profile edit can go a long way. For example, indicating on your profile headline that you’re looking for a specific position and visiting business founders’ profiles can turn into several connections—and job opportunities.
Save application answers: There are always creative questions to answer in tech and marketing. You can save answers on a document on your computer and return to them if you encounter an identical query.
Ask if they can consider you for remote: Several positions explicitly state that an in-office person is needed, but sometimes you can convince them otherwise. There’s nothing wrong with sending a short email asking if they would consider you for remote based on your skills.
Find a low-traffic remote job board: While sites like Jobspresso have a lot of traffic, other remote job boards do not. Inbound.org, Growthhackers.com, and ProductHunt.com have job positions listed, yet they don’t get as much traffic to this portion of their site. Finding remote job listings that aren’t on popular job boards can help you get a leg up over other remote workers.
Google your position: Similar to the above hack, search Google for the position you want with the keyword ‘remote’ (i.e., digital marketing remote). Filter the results based on the last month. Be careful to ensure the postings you find are for legitimate remote jobs.
Visit company websites: If you are interested in working with a company, go to their site and look at their careers page. Many are hiring but aren’t marketing it well.
Register at remote working sites: Make sure to create an account on remote hiring sites like Hubstaff Talent, FlexJobs, and Remote.co so that employers worldwide will know that you’re interested in a remote position. You can also search and filter jobs based on the kind of work (freelancer or full-time), schedule, and pay to make it easier to find the job you have in mind.

Tools that help with remote work

Hubstaff is a workforce analytics tool that monitors productivity and is built with remote teams in mind. Thanks to its accurate activity monitoring, screenshots, and automated payroll features, the team behind it can work remotely while saving much time spent on admin work.

Here are the main reasons why Hubstaff works for a remote team:

Being a remote company means a much larger talent pool, plus all the benefits of remote working.
Hubstaff makes it easier to track the team’s work and how active they are without needing to be in a single office space.
The team better understands its customers and the challenges that Hubstaff can help overcome for remote teams.

Different companies will have different policies; some companies might allow you to work remotely depending on the type of work you will be doing, while others will require you to come into the office for a set number of days. Ensure your preferences align with the companies’ policies you will be applying for before sending out applications.

Time to find a remote job for you

Even as technology is making it much easier for companies to collaborate remotely, finding remote work is still a challenge. The number of people who want to shift to highly coveted remote careers is constantly growing. You must ensure that your application stands out above everyone else’s and convince your potential employers that no other professional is more fit for the job than you.

If you can execute the hacks mentioned above correctly, you can secure some interviews and be one step closer to landing a good remote job.

How about you? Do you know of any lesser-known techniques for finding remote positions? We want to hear about them in the comments below.

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