6 Ways to Gain Remote Experience for the Search in 2020
- Written by our Virtual Assistant, JD — based on this IG caption by Andrea
Just like in the real world, landing a job with zero experience can be hard— but there clearly are things you can do to get ahead. Make sure you’re confident (yet humble), motivated and ready to gain some experience, which will set you apart on this hustle to land a remote job and fulfill your dream of working from home. Let’s go!
1. Find a remote internship— there are more popping up every day!
These will give you access to a variety of potential hires and connections, with the added benefit of them not being necessarily a 9-5 day kind of thing. You would most likely be working with people from all over the globe and this diversity will give you different ideas that could definitely come in handy.
Not to mention an internship can help you find new skills that maybe you did not know you had by having a leader delegate tasks according to different skillsets. Don’t forget to write down all the skills you start acquiring!
Need ideas? Here are 21 skills you could add to your resume.
2. Find 1 or 2 clients as a freelancer
Even if it’s just for part-time, small gigs or one-time projects. Doing freelance gigs or small, simple, one-time jobs whether for one or multiple clients is also very relevant remote work experience. So yes, it is appropriate to add freelance gigs to your resume along with your other work experience!
3. Do some pro-bono (no payment) work to get experience
In a lot of cases, you’ll get client testimonials, they’ll put you in touch with people in their network who could hire you or they could hire you if you did great work. You can also think of it as a “training” where you get to enhance your skills and enter the realms of professional networking (meeting the right people is key) and this gives you an opportunity for direct client contact or close interaction with high-rank individuals within the company.
Moreover, pro bono positions more often than not, help develop several people skills such as negotiation, pitching & online communication, etc. Without a doubt, unpaid work like is an effective way for inexperienced remote workers to accelerate their development.
4. Straight up reach out to someone who you know could use your help in a specific area!
Maybe you’ve seen someone who needs help with their photos, or you’ve noticed their blogs would look better going a different direction and you feel you can make it happen. Go ahead! By all means.
This could be an opportunity to showcase your skills and your desire to help! Also, they might keep you in mind for further projects or any help they might need. Like when @piatellodev offered me help with my remote job directory!
5. Don’t ask & just show someone what you could do for them.
Surprise! Sometimes people might think they don’t need help, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t welcome new resources, ideas, solutions, content or marketing assets. A video, a cartoon, a social media graphic, research that would be beneficial to them… you name it!
Endless possibilities when it comes to working online. People love confident, hardworking, hustlers. Showing people what you could do for them proves what you’re made of. Like when @yendersonjss told me he had edited a highlight video of my latest workshop, so I could use for marketing. Did I use it? You bet I did!
6. Working from home because of COVID-19?
Bam! You have experience now & have probably learned new remote skills & tools. Most companies and offices around the world are rolling out mandatory online work from home because of the known pandemic. This was bound to happen someday as one study shows that people who work from home work 1.4 more days per month than the peeps stuck in a 9-5 office environment; resulting in more than three additional weeks of work per year.
If this is your case, you’ve most likely created a work-from-home routine and getting the hang of it. Not only this, but you’ve probably learned how to use some handy tools such as for video conferencing, Online Calendars, Bookings & Scheduling, Troubleshooting & Tech Support, Data Entry, CRMs... Add your newly-honed skills to your resume!
Back in the day, working from home was just a pipe dream. Now, it’s real life. Whether it’s one-time gigs or full-time remote jobs, there’s no shortage of opportunities.
I have found 50+ companies hiring remote workers in admin, customer service, sales, marketing, writing, tech, design & more. You can go to my remote job directory HERE to see full job descriptions, salaries & how to apply to each position.