How To Find Remote Jobs in 2021

As the jobs market edges closer to pre-pandemic normality, many workers are looking to maintain the flexibility and freedom they gained during the lockdown. As such, our consultants are seeing rising interest in remote jobs. Read this guide to learn more about how to find remote jobs in 2021.

The Rise of Remote Jobs

Data from Eurofound revealed that Ireland had one of the highest home-working rates in Europe at the height of the pandemic with 40% of paid hours worked by employees were performed from home. The National Remote Working Survey found that 94% of Irish workers are in favour of working remotely on an ongoing basis after the pandemic. The top benefits associated with remote working were:

• No traffic and no commute
• Reduced costs of going to work and commuting
• Greater flexibility as to how to manage the working day
• Reduced carbon footprint
• Greater productivity
• Less stressful than working onsite

The Opportunity of Remote Work

In April 2021, there were 55,000 remote jobs open in Ireland. Remote work lifts geographical barriers, meaning that job seekers can hugely expand their career prospects to roles all over Ireland and beyond. As such, ambitious professionals seeking career growth no longer have to stay in metropolitan areas with a high cost of living. What’s more, those with dreams of seeing the world can fulfil their wanderlust while also earning a living.

How To Find Remote Jobs: A Beginner’s Guide

If you are seeking a new role in 2021 then you should broaden your search to include remote jobs. This will add an entirely new dimension to your job hunt as there are many new tactics you will need to add to your traditional job-hunting strategy. Fear not, however, Berkley is here to help!

What Skills & Qualities Do Employers Look For in Remote Employees?

If you are applying for a remote role then your application will need to show that you have the right skills and qualities to work productively from home. You will need to reconfigure your CV to highlight how you have demonstrated relevant skills in the past. So what are the skills and qualities that make for a productive and reliable remote worker?

Previous Remote Experience

It’s a good idea to mention any remote work that you’ve already done. Perhaps you completed an online course from home or you worked from home part-time in a previous role? Employers will be seeking someone who can easily slot into the role, so this experience will give you a competitive advantage over other candidates.

Self-Efficacy

As a remote worker, you will be trusted to complete projects on time with minimal managerial oversight. As such, the independent nature of remote work is highly suited to self-starters. When writing your CV, try to highlight times when you showed autonomy, proactivity and self-motivation.

Organisation

Strong organisation skills go hand-in-hand with self-efficacy. In your application, show how you have used your organisation skills to complete projects on time. Showcase your time management skills and your task prioritisation abilities. You should highlight how your organisational skills have enabled you to multitask or quickly pivot when needed.

Technical Know-How

As a remote employee, you will be highly dependent on technology. Popular tools for remote work include email, instant messaging apps, and document sharing tools and video conferencing software. As such, it’s helpful if you are a tech-savvy individual who can quickly get to grips with new tools.

Communication

What tends to happen when people work remotely is that communication becomes a function of a particular need in time, rather than more social interaction, as would happen in the workplace. It’s these random social interactions that knit together the fabric of company and workplace culture and keeps employees engaged with their company and their colleagues.

Pete Rawlinson — Silicon Republic

As a remote worker, you will mostly communicate with your colleagues through the written word (i.e. emails, instant messages, productivity tools etc.). As such, it’s vital to be able to relay information and ideas in a clear and concise manner. Be sure to highlight your communication skills in your application. Throughout your application, demonstrate the strength of your communication skills in all your engagements with your potential employer. Be timely in your responses and pay attention to spelling and grammar in your CV, cover letter and all written communications.

How to Find Remote Jobs: Our Top Tips

Partner with A Recruiter

Remote job hunting is a new challenge for everyone. Engaging with a Recruiter who knows their market well can be worth its weight in gold as they can guide you through processes and give you some strong insight into how a company functions — the finer detail can help you to secure the right role for you.

Louise O’Neill, Manager of Berkley’s Business & Technology Team

If you are looking for remote work, we recommend reaching out to a recruitment consultant. They can talk to you about career opportunities in your area and support you with job applications. Your recruiter may also be able to tell you about companies that aren’t openly advertising remote roles but would be open to remote hires.

Choose Your Search Terms Wisely

If you are searching for work through online jobs boards, then pay attention to your search terms. Keywords to look out for include:

• Remote
• Work at home
• Work from home
• Home-based
• Telecommute
• Cyber commute

Use the Remote Job Search Feature on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is another great tool for finding remote jobs. To find suitable remote work opportunities, follow these instructions:

1. Click the Jobs icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click the Search jobs field and enter keywords or a company name.
3. Click the Search location field and select Remote from the dropdown.
4. Use the filters options at the top of the search results page to filter the results.
5. Once you’ve applied all the filters, you can switch on the Job Alert toggle and set job alerts. Learn more about setting job alerts on LinkedIn.
6. Click the job posting to view the job description and apply for the job if the job suits your requirement.

Security Tips for Remote Job-Hunting

When looking for remote jobs online, safety is paramount. Research from Zapier has revealed that there are approximately 60 “work from home” job scams online for each genuine opportunity. To avoid being taking advantage of, we recommend working with a trusted recruitment partner. If you are searching online, avoid general classified websites such as GumTree. Always research the company before applying and double-check that the provided email address is legitimate. For more advice on how to safely search for a job online, we advise reading this comprehensive guide from Indeed.

Start your remote job search today by scheduling a free call with one of our expert recruitment consultants!