Boost Your Resume and Attract Remote Companies
Self-starter experience goes a long way in an interview. But to land an interview, your resume or CV needs to be tailored to remote companies. Here are a few things to put on your resume that’ll make it stand out to remote employers–and one epic resume builder to try out!
Talk About Tools
Remote companies use software to bridge the communication gap. List any software tools that you are familiar with using. Some might include:
Slack
Salesforce
Basecamp
Trello
Harvest
GoToMeeting
Google Meeting
Skype (and Skype for Business)
Zoom
Zapier
WordPress
Don't limit yourself to this list. Take some quality time to gather important (pertinent) tools you've used throughout your work (and personal) life.
Communication
Communication starts with your resume or CV. Remote companies fail because of bad communications, thus they look to hire amazing communicators. Your resume or CV should talk about your communication skills–and typos better be non-existent. Your email communication with hiring managers and recruiters should be great, too. Notably, it can’t hurt to mention that you’ll take your cybersecurity seriously as a remote employee as well.
Innovation or Portfolio
If you have done something to innovate at work, put that on your resume. If you have a portfolio, share that without hesitation. Most remote writing job ads require a portfolio.
Side Projects
Depending upon how you breach this subject, side projects can start some controversy. You might not want to put those projects front and center on your resume unless it adds to your case, but you’ll want to talk about them in an interview. Working on a project autonomously shows that you take initiative. Tread lightly because some employers–remote or not–might think that your side project is going to take time away from your day job.
Location
This may seem obvious, but if a remote writing job is location specific, make sure to mention your proximity to that location. For example, some sales jobs might have an L.A. territory. If you live in L.A., make sure that you mention it in your correspondence with the company.
Results
If you have any hard numbers associated with your job, put those on the resume. For example, if you have the marketing skills and you doubled traffic in X period of time, due to X reason, that’s GREAT resume or CV information.
Autonomy
Can’t hurt to talk about any time you were a “self-starter” or worked on deliverables without much supervision. Any time you worked with low or no supervision is extremely valuable. Your ability to work autonomously is a huge thing, but you don’t always need to have direct remote experience to work remotely. So, stay encouraged and don't stress over this particular lack of experience.
“Remote writing work is focused on execution, not counting the hours you're sitting at the desk.”
Working remotely is much more results-focused than "hours worked" focused. Some remote positions will require 9:00-5:00 work hours, but others won’t at all. Some remote companies won’t monitor your hours worked, but they’ll be monitoring your continued ability to deliver remote writing duties. In conclusion, remain honest on your resume or CV and don't lie about your skills or experience.
If you love your work, then you’re a genuine person and you must tailor your resume to remote companies so that it reflects your passion in their industry.
All the best to you in getting those remote job applications out there!
RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BOOST THAT RESUME or CV!
1) Check out RemoteWriterJobs recent (and previous) recommendations for remote writing jobs to gain an understanding about what companies and project directors are looking for! Visit our page "FIND WORK". You may also find The Archives very resourceful, too!
2) Next, check out this free resume builder!
Charlene "Charly" is an instructor, event planner, "forever student of life", freelancer, and Contributing Writer for Remote Writers Work.
