The dream of working as a digital nomad has never been more appealing. But how do you land one of those jobs?
Imagine having more flexibility with your schedule. There’s no more sitting in traffic on the way to the office. You can skip out on those hour-long board meetings. You have more free time to work on those little side hustles you’re passionate about. Among the millennial crowd, working as a digital nomad is the first step to experiencing a life of freedom. So how do you get this dream job and travel the world? Doing the research can seem daunting. But don’t sweat it. We’re here to guide you along the way.
Digital Nomad: The Dream Job
Getting a remote job sounds like a dream, right? The idea of being able to work anywhere you bring your laptop has been catching steam these past few years. Travel influencers like Instagram’s Lauren Bullen (aka Gypsea Lust) certainly make the digital nomad life look amazing. Who doesn’t want to be sipping out of a coconut on a beach in Bali?
From personal experience, I can tell you that working remotely as a digital nomad has its pros and cons. I’m gonna walk you through them all. And I’m going to show you the good stuff. After all, figuring out how to get a remote job can be tricky. There’s a happy medium to be found between spending eight hours of your day in an office and ten to twelve hours a day trying to organize your time and make a remote lifestyle work for you. You don’t want to drain your energy.
How to Land a Remote Job and Become a Digital Nomad
As you probably already know, finding remote positions is really tricky. Big job sites are flooded with applications for in-house jobs and even more so for remote positions. If you want to work from home, you have to get creative. Unfortunately, it gets even trickier.
Most companies don’t advertise themselves or their positions as being remote or for a digital nomad. So what’s the biggest challenge in a nutshell? It is finding the right sites that list remote jobs and being able to identify the right companies to follow. Let’s get started.
Pros and Cons of Getting a Remote Job
Like anything in life, working as a digital nomad also has its pros and cons. Before we dive into exactly how to land a remote job, let’s do a quick run through of the pros and cons. That way, you know exactly what to expect if you’re going to work from home, Paris, your favorite coffee shop, or wherever.
Pros:
- There’s no commute: You won’t have to spend all that time in the morning and evening driving back and forth to work. P.S. You can start the morning off with a cup of coffee, typing on your laptop in your pajamas if you want.
- You make your own schedule: For the most part, you make your own schedule. Unless your company specifies your hours, you can decide what time to start and end your day.
- Take your work anywhere and everywhere: You can work anywhere in the world you want. All you need is your laptop and some high-speed WiFi. Coffee shop in London, anyone?
- checkCosts: Reduce your costs from commuting and buying food on the go.
- checkNo more office distractions: Nobody's stopping by your desk and interrupting your workflow anymore or if you decide to just work in a coworking space instead.
Cons:
- It can get a little lonely: Okay, if you’re a social person like I am, working as a digital nomad means you have to be intentional about getting outside and seeing people. Scheduling out time for yourself, fun activities, and meeting with friends is so important. As a full-time dog mom of a hyper pup, working from home presents its own challenges in that sense.
- Overworking: While it seems like underworking would be the problem, overworking actually is. It’s easy to get distracted by other things and lose track of time if you’re not careful. Keeping a penciled out schedule will help keep you on track and organized. Use a planner, Google calendar, and plenty of post-it notes.
1. Ask Yourself if Getting a Remote Job is Right for You
Before we dive into how to get a remote job, you need to make sure the digital nomad lifestyle is right for you. This part is going to require some research and self-reflection. I love working remotely. It’s a great fit for my personality and the way I work.
For example, although I’m leaning more extroverted, I make sure to get my in-person interaction and networking in with friends and business people outside of work. If you’re looking to make professional connections while working as a digital nomad, there are plenty of ways to do that in groups. Meetup.com offers some great opportunities for that.
2. Find Out What Motivates You When You Work
For me, the personal satisfaction of doing a good job and giving my best is enough to keep me motivated. When you’re a digital nomad, no one is over your shoulder telling you to get your work done. You need to be diligent and pencil out what you are going to do day by day. Communication is key when you have a remote team. Find out what motivates you best and use that to organize your workflow.
3. How to Find Your Remote Job
Okay, here’s the part you have been waiting for. How do you find your remote job? Well, luckily for you, we’ve got a wealth of information. Most sites do not have a filter that lets you search by “remote job” specifically. I for one have spent countless hours sifting through freelance positions and other gigs that just weren’t a good fit. In my experience, the best sites for finding remote jobs are as follows:
Flexjobs:
This site offers every kind of remote job you could think of. From full-time to part-time and temporary positions, Flexjobs has them all. If you’re looking to get your foot in the door of the freelancing world, I highly recommend this site. Companies post their listings for free. Users pay a $14.99 monthly fee. Frankly though, this is a small price to pay for all the listings you will find and be able to apply to.
Even outside of the paid service, they have tons of free resources to help out remote job seekers. Most of the sites are geared towards a digital nomad seeking a position in the tech field. But with this said, Flexjobs still offers postings from a wide variety of fields too.
Remote.com:
From start-ups to large publicly traded companies, Remote.com offers the full spectrum of listings. If your profile matches the description of a job, you can apply for free. The website also offers a $19 monthly subscription fee for more exposure (think of this like a LinkedIn Plus membership). On their companies page, you’ll find some pretty big names. And here’s another perk. If you sign up with remote.com, you can see the salary listing before you apply. I love that they post so many positions. On a daily basis, it’s common to find at least 4-5 new listings a day from a new company.
Remote.co:
While this website is affiliated with Flexjobs, they offer additional postings. They also post daily job listings and good ones at that. If you do end up applying for a job through this site, the response time is similar to that of a typical job application. They also have a great blog and FAQ section for newbies inquiring about the digital nomad lifestyle. This is a great place to learn about what it is like working remotely.
WeWorkRemotely:
This website is almost entirely a job board. I love it. There is no application fee to access the listings and the website is super easy to navigate. The one downside though is the application process can take a bit longer than a typical job would. I’m not sure why. Just a heads up though, most of the jobs are geared towards software, tech, and design.
You can find a few writing and marketing jobs sprinkled in the mix though. If you’re on the job hunt, this is a good site to check out daily. When I was looking for a remote job, I found this site very helpful. Make sure to check out WeWorkRemotely for sure.
Final Thoughts
If you’re applying to work as a digital nomad, make sure to check out all of the above sites. In addition, this should go without saying but make sure to tailor not only your cover letter but also your resume to fit the position you are applying for. Do extensive research on the company. Make sure you are able to articulate to the hiring manager why you would be a good fit for the company, role, and how you are prepared to work remotely and contribute to the team. Good luck and happy searching!
Common Questions
Are you looking for some more travel intel? For tips on productivity, journaling, and the digital nomad lifestyle, check out these articles:
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Questions and Comments
Do you have any questions or comments for us? If so, feel free to leave us a message below. We will be sure to get back with you soon.
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