In the wake of the pandemic, remote work has become more prevalent than ever before. According to Forbes, between April and September 2021, 24 million US workers quit their jobs due to the rise of remote working. In isolation, this shows you that the conventional route isn’t the only possibility for your professional life. You can make a choice.

In this latest Everytalent article, we will tell you all about how remote jobs can gain you relevant work experience as a career-seeking graduate, break into an industry, and gain confidence. We will also explore how it is a great starting point for graduates/people at the start of a new (or first) career.

What Is A Remote Job or Remote Work?

Remote employment is when you work for a company but without having to travel to office space or any other office environment. You can perform your duties from home, a cafe, library or other locations. And according to Owl Labs, 16% of companies are 100% remote – this form of employment is on the rise, especially since Covid. It is predicted by many to continue rising in the future.

Self-employment and freelancing are dominant options too. But there is a difference between the two of them. Self-employment is when you are running your own business, whereas freelancing generally tends to involve various short-term tasks for numerous clients. But legally speaking, they are the same. With remote work, you gain security, and a consistent cash-flow. So, remote employment is debatably the best option.

One of the big questions is: does a remote job mean working from home? Not necessarily. Remote jobs come in all shapes and sizes, and to varying degrees. Some organizations operate partially remote, while others do so fully. Moreover, remote work can mean working in a cafe as much as at home, if you land somewhere with a mobile work-station.

Why Work Remotely?

1: Work-Life Balance

There are many reasons why people choose this over conventional non-remote employment. Firstly, a better work-life balance. Many have reported that they are able to spend more time with their hobbies, families, and other pursuits when they have the autonomy to work from home. But that is just one factor.

2: Global Exposure

Remote employees can experience global exposure, as opposed to local exposure. This broadens the potential of your work search, and that of your networking circuit. 

3: Cultural Diversity

Then is of course the option to work with people of a wide range of cultural backgrounds, connecting you to different people all over the world. Also, regardless of your own personal background, or whether the circumstances that you grew up with weren’t ideal, you will be able to find something that works for you.

4: Broad Opportunities

Many of our readers will be ambitious types who have been told that in order to make it in their industry, they have to move to their capital city. The rise of remote employment has changed this on a wide level. Now, with the right skills and a reasonably stable internet connection, you can be from a small town in rural US and land an opportunity at a renowned company in, say, San Francisco.

5: Geographical Benefits

The same is true for any other country. You can get your foot in the door in any location if you are determined enough. And for those who wish to travel the world, and move to other places, this is not a bad way to get your foot in the door on a professional level. This takes commitment, but remote employment is a terrific starting point.

6: Flexibility

What is remote employment? It is nothing if not flexible. For this reason, it is a great option for students who are still in education or working part time. It is also a convenient and practical way of breaking into an industry without having to move countries, to a new location, or even the home office. In that regard, it works for both the home birds and the adventurous ones.

Contesting Popular Statistics

In contrast to many journalistic articles and statistical standpoints made by some organizations, remote working isn’t an irreversible societal shift. Some articles tend to dramatize the rise of remote working this way. But the fact is that it works for some and not others in regards to professional working life. Therefore, the people who like it will pursue it professionally, while those who don’t will seek office/in-person working environments. It’s simply a different form of work-life, potentially with different working hours and working from home. Different from a traditional office environment, but that still exists. It hasn’t gone away. In the context of job-searching, it is good to cover all bases.

Will You Make More Money?

Some reports conclude that remote employment means more money. This is untrue. You don’t necessarily earn more money, but you do save a lot of it on things like car insurance, clothing, and even tax breaks. Although with the latter factor, it is more applicable to freelancers and the self-employed than remote workers. Check out the report by Flexijobs to read a more comprehensive breakdown of this.

The key difference that defines remote job options is that you are more likely to find work that you like. This is down to the international connection opportunities and worldwide networking that it provides: you are not just stuck with local options. The other factor is that it is a stable step-ladder for young career-seekers to get going with a new career. And if you like it, the option to continue it indefinitely is there.

This is all intrinsic. About seeing the opportunities that await you. As a remote worker, or a self-employed worker, the amount of money you earn depends on your personal endeavors and individual goals.

What Are The Downsides of Working Remotely?

At this time, we’ll give you an open, honest discussion of the downsides of remote work. It’s important to understand both sides of it, and there are some potential drawbacks. One size never fits all. But there are solutions to find for these issues if remote working is for you. According to Buffer, the three biggest issues that people encounter with remote work are as follows:

1: Loneliness

Many remote workers, freelancers, and self-employed people experience solitude during their working life and don’t have the collaborative communication that you find in an office space. To counter this, try and build a better social life balance, so that time outside of work isn’t solitary. Make special efforts to meet people a couple of times a week.

2: Unplugging After Work

When you work from home and live at home, it can be hard to separate the two. Consequently, many find it hard to unplug once work is done. But one of the main benefits of remote work is that you can sometimes pick your own hours. Either way, you can take steps to avoid this. For instance, create as much separation by building a home office space. If you are self-employed, you might be able to work at a cafe or library.

3: Communication & Collaboration

Working alone most days often means working alone, which means not working in a team. Ergo, you don’t have much collaboration, and much of the communication in these positions is written, through platforms like Asana, rather than verbal. The knock-on effect is that you don’t gain much professional experience with communication and collaboration, and this is an important skill base for most jobs. Many people value this. For those people, the solution is to seek out jobs that have more collaboration opportunities. Try to pick positions where communication is part of it – also, set up meetings with employers and team members.

List Of Remote Working Platforms to Find Remote Jobs

What does remote mean for a job? Three-quarters of the battle is searching for a job. For this, you need a platform that works for you. There are many out there. Here are 5 that have worked for many that we would highly recommend.

1: People Per Hour

This is another brilliant freelancer platform. Sign up, submit your details, and get your account approved. Then you join a community of freelancers, all looking for work. On the other side of the coin, there are people looking for skilled freelancers for their projects. You get the picture.

2: Fiverr

The clue is in the name with this one. It’s kinda revealing in terms of how much money you will make per job. This is a good way to get some starter experience freelancing. Create a profile, get seen, and set your prices. It is effective in this way because it gives users the option to pick their rates and provides a very detailed breakdown of this to potential clients/employers.

3: Upwork

Want to experience the full meaning of remote work? Upwork is a great place to get a sense of it. It is particularly good for finding starter jobs for early career seekers, and even full-time remote jobs for international companies.

4: Indeed

Indeed is a more conventional job-searching website for people of all trades. But over the years (and especially recently) it has seen more and more full-time remote positions. This is due to companies advertising for such jobs, but it is great that Indeed accommodates this.

5: Everytalent

Everytalent matches its users with many opportunities, and remote jobs are one of them. It uses AI to do it, and its search parameters are based on the information you give the system. This includes an assessment, which determines your personality. That way, it can give you results that match your skills and goals.

A Note On Hybrid Work

Amidst all of this is the option for hybrid work. This is when you do a bit of both. For instance, you could spend a day or two per week in the office amongst your team members, but still retain a large degree of remote work. This is a good way to strike a balance, and goes a long way towards solving some of the issues brought about by full-time remote employment. Like with remote jobs, there are a lot of hybrid options popping up all over reputable job-search sites. It can’t hurt to keep the option open. Plus, if a job is the right one for you, it shouldn’t matter what form it takes – because everyday you (hopefully) will get to do something you like, and have trained for.

The Verdict

In conclusion, when we look at what a remote job position is, we look at the ways that it differs from a conventional coworking space. It often means working from home, or at least independently, and you are likely to have a different schedule to a typical 9-5 scenario. If you like the idea of it, why not give it a go? And if you like what you discover, it could be a viable way to make a living. Either way, opportunities to build a portfolio, make connections, and get some amazing work experience that is relevant to you, are on your doorstep. All you need is a computer and a stable internet connection.

Remote work will be incorporated more as the years go on, and as a young career seeker, you should embrace it at least once. For that purpose, make sure you check out Everytalent as one of your potential platforms for finding such jobs.