How to land a remote job with a US based tech company in 2024
If you’re hoping to land a remote job in 2024, consider brushing up both your resume and your non-technical skills.
As a software engineer, you may have dedicated years to refining your technical expertise—mastering coding languages, data structures, and algorithms. While these skills are indispensable for your role, they alone are not sufficient for achieving success.
Although the demand for hard skills is still valuable in our increasingly digital world, soft skills, such as communication and problem-solving, are major deal-breakers for remote hiring managers.
Tailoring your resume
Finding a remote job is difficult if you have no strategy in place and it all begins with your resume. After all, you can’t sit for an interview without first wowing the hiring manager with your resume.
You’ve probably heard about tailoring your resume to a specific job description. When you are applying for remote work, a remote specific resume is key because it’s not just about showcasing your skills and experience like in a regular application; it’s also about demonstrating your remote work capabilities.
Because remote businesses fail due to poor communication, they want to hire good communicators. Your resume should highlight your communication abilities, and typos should be avoided at all costs. Make a list of any software tools you've used before to bridge the communication distance. Slack, Asana, and Jira, are just a few examples.
Include any hard numbers linked with your remote jobs on your resume as well. For instance, did your specific project help to quadruple traffic in X amount of time owing to X factors, that is valuable information.
Given the nature of your role being remote, it's never a bad idea to bring up a moment when you were a "self-starter" or worked on deliverables with little oversight. Your ability to work independently is important, but you don't require prior remote experience to do so. If you have a portfolio of projects ensure these are prominently featured in your resume.
Leverage the power of your network, referrals are the fastest way to get a job. Reconnect with your former colleagues and friends and inquire about any recent remote job openings. Also, if you notice that you’re a 2nd connection to someone who works at a job you want to apply for, see who that person is and reach out to them for a direct introduction.
Be consistent across everything your potential employers can see about you. This means updating your LinkedIn and other social platforms with these remote attributes.
Keep in mind that not only are you competing against the local talent, but also against the high-quality talent applying for the same position from across the world. So how are you going to make your resume stand out from the crowd?
On Thursday February 29th at 6pm CST we will be hosting a live resume writing workshop for our members. Don’t miss out, register today at Arriva.