So you’d like to join Tulsa Remote, but you don’t have a remote job yet. In this series, Your Guide to Getting a Remote Job, I'm breaking down three ways you can work remotely and have the flexibility to embark on a new adventure in Tulsa.
I’ve been working remotely off and on since 2008. Yep, remote jobs have been around for that long! My name is Libryia Jones, I’m a Tulsa Remote alum, and I’ve been teaching people how to find and land remote work since 2015. In the last three years alone, I’ve helped over 300 people find and land remote jobs and gain more freedom in their lives through my company, Quit Commuting.
If you're trying to transition to remote work, getting hired as a remote employee is the most common way to do so. I’ve spent much of my remote career as a traditional employee of a company. I have worked remotely for Toys R Us, American Express, Xactly (a software company) and now, Amplifi (a software consulting company).
I love this option because there are SO MANY opportunities out there. You wouldn’t believe how many companies are hiring remote employees across so many industries and professions. My course, the Remote Ready Bundle, includes a list of 250 Remote-First Companies, and that only scratches the surface!
Unfortunately, many people don’t realize these companies exist or assume that they either don’t pay well or are only for “tech people.” I assure you, these are REAL jobs. They typically have pay and benefits comparable to jobs at “cubicle companies,” and they are for YOU even if you aren’t “tech people!”
Where to Find Remote Jobs
Indeed and LinkedIn are the places most people go to find any job, including remote jobs. However, these two sites only recently started focusing on remote jobs, while there are job boards solely dedicated to remote job postings that have been around for years.
I also did a short tour of these job boards on YouTube; check it out here!
Tips for Applying to Remote Jobs
One might think that the way to get a remote job is to just apply for one! Simple, right? Actually, it’s not that simple. Sure, you can hit that apply button and keep it moving, but you wouldn’t be maximizing your chances of getting an interview or even showing up on the “desk” of a hiring manager.
Whenever you fill out a job application online, it goes into what is called an Applicant Tracking System, or ATS. The ATS is pretty much a database that stores your information and provides the most relevant information to hiring managers. On average, a job posting can get anywhere from 300–7,000 applicants. That’s a lot of information in an ATS for a recruiter to sift through, so you’ll need to do a bit more to stand out.
In the Remote Ready Bundle, we share detailed steps to take before applying for jobs to increase your chances of getting in front of a hiring manager. I’ll break down a few of them here:
Make sure your resume is remote-ready
There’s a framework featured in the course called S.A.S.S.Y. to help job seekers create the best resume template. Here’s a short summary of that framework:
- Short – Keep it to 1-2 pages max. No one needs to know that you worked at McDonald’s in the 90s. Make sure your resume shows relevant experience to the position.
- Accomplishments – Most people make the mistake of only listing their tasks. Here’s the thing, if your title was Project Manager, the assumption is that you did Project Manager stuff. You don’t really need a tick list of PM tasks. Instead, use powerful action verbs to detail your accomplishments in each position you’ve held.
- Skills – Be sure you highlight your hard AND soft skills on your resume. Hiring managers are looking for technical skills, but they often care more about your soft skills. Technical skills are the skills you acquire from education or from experience. Soft skills are more like personality traits – excellent communicator, problem solver, collaborative, etc.
- Story – your resume should tell the story of how you’ve progressed in your career. It should lay out how you’ve grown, developed, or even changed careers.
- Your Brand – Identify your brand and be sure it’s stamped across your resume. For me, my brand is that I improve everything I touch. It’s woven throughout my resume. In almost every position on my resume, I’ve shown examples of executing a project or improving a process.
Update the keywords on your resume
Now that you have a resume template, please don’t just use the same template to apply for every job. This is what I call “slinging stale resumes.” Remember I mentioned that the ATS is a database? Well, recruiters are not combing through that database looking at every application. They’re doing searches in the database, much like your Google searches. They are searching for the keywords in the job posting to get the most relevant resumes/applications to review. If your resume doesn’t have the keywords, it simply won't show up.
It’s a good idea to scan through the job posting to identify any important keywords and include them in your resume. If, for instance, a job posting mentions “collaboration” multiple times, you should have the word collaboration in your resume at least once.
GET YOUR LINKEDIN POPPING
The first place recruiters go to check up on you is LinkedIn, so make sure it’s up to date and you’re maximizing the features LinkedIn offers:
- Photo - A profile photo is a minimum requirement. If you don’t have a photo, your account will look scammy. Your profile picture should depict you as a professional, even if it’s a selfie. Please don't use any Instagram-type photos with “duck lips” or “smizing” or drinks.
- Headline - Most people just use this section to input their job title. That’s a waste of 220 characters. Use it to describe yourself in an interesting way.
- About Me - Maximize this space to tell your story. With over 2,000 characters, you have a lot of opportunities to include keywords that will get you noticed by recruiters.
- Experience - You can expand on more of your experience here, given this doesn’t need to be limited to one page and offers more opportunities for you to be discovered by recruiters.
USE YOUR NETWORK
Find out if you know anyone who works at the company where you're applying. Social media is a great tool for sharing photos, funny memes, and getting into debates about the most random things, but it can also be a powerful networking tool.
Start with LinkedIn. If you have any 1st and 2nd connections at the company, reach out to them!
Also, post to Facebook and ask if anyone you know works at the company. You don’t have to “put all your business on FB,” but one of your contacts may work there or know someone who does, and you can message them for the inside scoop AND a referral.
If you don’t have 1st and 2nd connections on LinkedIn, that’s ok. Look for people who are in the same position you’re applying for and send them a connection request. In that request, simply let them know that you’re interested in their company and are wondering if they enjoy working there. That’s how you get the conversation started. Then, you can ask them if their company has a referral program, and if they think you’re a good fit, would they mind submitting you as a referral? This is a mutually beneficial situation. If they have a referral program and you get hired, they get money! Win-Win!
Remote Ready Bundle
If becoming a remote employee is the route you prefer to take, check out the Remote Ready Bundle. This course guides you through the phases of finding and landing remote jobs including:
- Giving you detailed tips on how to comb through all the noise and get to the jobs you’re looking for
- The steps you should take before you apply for remote jobs
- How to NAIL your remote job interview
- How to negotiate your compensation
- What to do when you feel stuck in your job search
- How to identify scams
Next Steps
Looking for other ways to work remotely? Check out our blog, Your Guide to Getting a Remote Job, for other tips, resources, and ways to work remotely.
Once you have a remote job and meet the eligibility requirements, applying for the Tulsa Remote program becomes straightforward. However, please keep in mind that each application is reviewed individually.
If accepted, this opens the door to a new chapter in Tulsa, where you can enjoy financial incentives, community support, and a vibrant work environment. Embrace the opportunity to work remotely and experience all that Tulsa has to offer.
