Find That Remote Job You Love
We’ve talked lots about how to find remote work and why it can help you earn extra income, but today we want to dive a bit deeper into this … Our last blog post, Getting Started with a Side-Gig – Flexible, Work From Home Jobs, covered different types of remote jobs — but we feel it’s just as important to talk about skills, habits, and a few pros and cons to working in the virtual world.
So, with that being said, and while there are various types of remote jobs that will require you to have various types of skills, there’s definitely a what we’re going to call a “baseline” that you should have in place for yourself before applying for these jobs. One of the most important being (and having) knowledgeable and experienced with the suite of Microsoft (and/or the Google equivalents!). This is a must, as a lot of work is completed within these systems.
Another one of the most important skills (in our opinion!) is typing accuracy and knowing how to spell/grammar check! You would not believe how common it is to still see an overwhelming amount of spelling errors — and this is not okay. Yes, we all make mistakes, but simply installing something like Grammarly can put you ahead of the pack — by a lot! And … the free version will not only point out your spelling mistakes, but your grammar, too! Do us all a favour and go install this … like right NOW!
If it’s been a while since you’ve practiced your typing skills, which for most, it probably has, there are some great options out there that will not only improve your typing speed, but accuracy as well. This will save you time in the long run as you will produce your work quicker, but you will also be spending less time reviewing your writings in the end. We love this for typing practice as it even has games to make it more fun and seem less like “homework”.
Okay next topic … design!
We know that not everyone is a trained graphic designer but having at least some understanding and practice with basic design for social media posts, newsletters, printed marketing materials, etc. and it can truly do wonders for your portfolio. We personally use nothing other than Canva, which has a free version and a paid Pro version, and there are ooh so many tutorials on how to use it. And to make this grand platform even better, it offers an array of pre-designed templates you can create from and manipulate as you see fit. So, there’s really no excuse to not be able to produce basic eye-pleasing (and branded!) graphics.
Okay, so you feel you have the basics down and you’re ready to begin putting yourself out there, so let’s talk next steps …
Before applying for a remote job of any kind, you really need to evaluate if this style (and lifestyle!) is for you. Working from home might seem ideallac, there are some challenges and cons that come with the territory. Some cons, as listed in this article highlight the loneliness that comes with remote work, as you are never (or VERY rarely) in the office. And this can be very problematic for some, but it is quite honestly the most overlooked aspect of the remote work world.
To combat this, we suggest scheduling some in-person working meetings or coffee dates on occasion / as often as fitting to your schedule.
Successfully working from home is a skill, just like programming, designing, or writing. It takes time and commitment to develop that skill.
Another important lifestyle element we want to mention is that there’s also the overworking and underworking challenges. Which might sound silly, but it’s way too easy to lose track of time and work because it’s right there. On the flip side however, it’s also quite easy to get distracted by house chores, running errands, or anything else that doesn’t involve your actual work. This will lead to problems quite quickly and result in you working like a madwoman trying to make a deadline.
Once you’ve decided that working remotely is for you, it’s time to get started on your resumé.
Now, there will be a different spin on it, and you need to highlight more of what the remote workforce is looking for. That will include things such as which systems you’ve worked with and/or are familiar with, a highlight of your communication skills (especially your written ones!), results from other projects, ad well as how well you work with little to no supervision. Typically, when applying for an in-person job you want to highlight how well you work with a team, remote work is different in that you’re going to be on your own for most of the time. The potential employer will want reassurance that you are able to effectively work at home without them checking in on you every hour.
Lastly, and one of the most important things we recommend you utilize regardless of the type of remote work you’re doing, is developing strong habits. There is nothing more important than keeping consistent with your workdays, and that includes having certain routines in place, learning to time-block, and possibly even bringing in some productivity tools (like Asana or Trello) to help keep you on track. We love creating a solid morning routine that kickstarts our day on the right foot, and another one for the end of the workday. This ensures that things aren’t being dropped or just continuously being pushed to the next day.
In addition to routines, creating certain habits by learning to time block will skyrocket your productivity more than you ever thought possible. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube and posts written about it, and there are several different ways of doing it. If you want to implement time blocking, we encourage you to look at the different styles and find what works best for you and your work.
There are so many advantages to working remotely and potential for it to be one of the best things you venture into. As the workforce now recognizes how remote workers are a benefit to their business, there’s no better time to make that leap if it’s been something you’ve been dreaming about. Just make sure that before you make that jump, that you’ve got a plan in place, though. Putting the thought into not just what you will be doing, but also how you’ll be doing it, will show potential employers that you’ve got some skin in the game and that you’re ready.
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We get it, you’re a mom first! But your dream of becoming an entrepreneur is not going away … It wasn’t until recently when people began coming to you with questions or asking you for help that you started to seriously think about starting your own business. You want to start a business, but you worry if you have enough time to balance being an entrepreneur with being a mom. You have a burning desire to build your own empire, but you also have responsibilities.
Well … we completely understand and been there done that. It’s time to take the leap of faith and bet on yourself, beyond life as a mom. Because we don’t want you to do, is one day look back … and wished you’d done things differently. #Balance!
Our site will be a resource-filled space for all moms who have ever wanted to start their own small business working from home OR for any mom who already HAS a business but is struggling to grow. So, begin pursuing your passion(s) and become your own boss today by popping on over to https://thesmallbusinessmom.com/ to get started!
