It’s all about knowing what you want, knowing where to look, and how to make the best impression possible, just like in any other career. Here’s how to work from home with no experience in our ever-changing world.
Working Remotely: Which Job Is Right for You?
Before sending out your resume, we recommend evaluating where you stand as a professional honestly and frankly:
What skills do you bring to the table? What are you good at? What can’t you do? Which skills do you hope to attain in the future? Are you educated? What formal qualifications outside of work experience can you show? Where would you like to be in five or ten years’ time?
Once you’ve done a bit of soul-searching, you’ll be much more adequately equipped to find your one true calling. What are your options?
What Are the Best Work From Home Jobs?
Let’s say that you’re starting from scratch. What are the best jobs to work from home for anybody?
Creatives aren’t the only ones who stand to make a killing working online. Some of these positions may require you to earn some experience in their entry-level analogs, but all of them are career goals that you can aspire to as you grow as a professional:
Project manager Software developer IT specialist Graphic designer UX designer Account manager Content writer or editor Copywriter Technical writer Customer support Data entry Sales representative
There is no clear definition of what a job that allows you to work remotely from home entails, other than the fact that you can perform remotely. Opportunities to work from home come in all shapes and sizes, so try not to limit your search to only the broader examples listed above.
How to Find Remote Work: Putting Your Best Foot Forward
Getting hired has much more to it than the job boards that you peruse—if your resume is lacking, for example, you may find yourself passed over for those with more under their belts.
For some types of people, such as newly-graduated students, this is one inevitable problem with several possible solutions. You might, for example, be able to gird your resume with experiences and collaborative work that you participated in while matriculating.
Alternatively, you may be able to earn some experience by taking volunteer work in your field, such as writing for a non-profit, or even creating a demo portfolio of work that you’ve done independently. This is one popular route for graphic designers—try challenging yourself to completely revamp your favorite brand’s website or logo.
In some industries, such as data entry, administrative work, and other, slightly more traditional types of stay-at-home jobs, you may be able to break in with literally no experience at all. Entry-level work-from-home jobs aren’t always exciting, but they’re the perfect way to build up your experience for what may be a dream job later on.
Our take: just keep applying, and take note of the types of places that get back to you. If your results are discouraging, there may be something about your application or cover letter stopping you at the door. Reassess, refine, ask for advice whenever possible, and try to find examples online of the type of resume or portfolio that you’re trying to build.
Where to Find Remote Work Online
What are the best sites for finding remote work? Work from home opportunities abounds online. You probably already know about many mainstream ways to find jobs online, such as through Indeed, Monster, LinkedIn, and more.
While none of these job board platforms focus on remote work exclusively, you’ll likely find tons of remote working jobs in your field, often with the help of one or more “remote” or “online jobs” filters. Beyond th4is, you’ll also need to refine your search by time commitment, as well. Full-time? Part-time? Freelance? It’s up to you.
Some of the best sites for finding online jobs on a full-time basis:
Traditional job-hunting sites like Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, and the like We Work Remotely Remote OK AngelList FlexJobs Remote. co Industry-specific organizations and union sites
For freelancers, the following tried-and-true sites have a lot to offer:
Fiverr Upwork Dribbble Toptal Even sites like Craigslist may be one surprising source of clients if you live in a big city.
The pros and cons of working as a freelancer vs. working full-time will ultimately come down to two things: your financial needs, and your preference and ability to maintain either. It’s possible to make a great living in either case—if you commit and do the work, you’ll find a lot of success through home employment.
Preparing Your Set-Up to Work From Home
So: you got the job. You have a couple of days to get your bearings before breaking ground on Monday. What can you do to set yourself up for success?
One idea would be to set up your home office, creating a working environment conducive to focus, productivity, and efficiency:
Decide where you would like to work in your home. Clear out the space, leaving only your desk, chair, computer, any work-from-home gadgets that you may find useful, and perhaps some lighting. Ensure that everything that you’ll need is set and ready to roll, including your internet, your webcam, and microphone, and any other tools of the trade required. Add a few subtle personal touches—some pictures of your family, a cute house plant, or anything else that’ll keep you motivated without distracting you.
Since the pandemic hit, so many work-from-home tools and software implementations have risen to prominence. Apps like Zoom and Slack existed well before working from home became the norm, but many, including these, have received serious makeovers.
You usually won’t be required to invest in these tools yourself in many cases—plenty of companies have their own corporate accounts with productivity apps like Trello, Asana, Basecamp, and the like, which means that all that you’ll need to do is download them and sign in with your provided credentials.
However, with all that said, there are tons of tools and services that you may be interested in using on your own. Time management apps, productivity trackers, and centralized hubs for everything you need at a glance can all aid you greatly and keep you moving:
Toggle Timecamp Time Doctor Tick
Your success as a remote employee will ultimately come down to your ability to deliver results and to stay on task. Overcoming the sides of ourselves that tend to be less than productive is part of the job description. Become somebody they can trust, and you’ll never be without work again.
From Home to Work: Transform Your Life and Connect With Your Industry
Once you land the job, you’re well on your way. Getting there, however, may sometimes prove to be tricky.
If you love what you do, getting the ball rolling won’t be hard—challenge yourself constantly and always think about ways to improve your skillset, and even just yourself as a person. Start sending those applications out and see where you end up going.
