Looking for remote work? Here are some tips to think about when working on your resume.

Remote work is on the rise, especially these days. In 2020 (before the arrival of COVID-19) there were already 7 million people working remotely in the U.S. Here’s what you need to design your resume for working remotely:

Emphasize Remote Work in Your Career Objective

In the section of your resume where you’d normally put your objective, highlight your accomplishments and briefly discuss why remote work helped you achieve them. If you want a remote role but don’t have that work experience, you should be explicit about your desire to work remotely. It’s important to make it clear in your application, cover letter, and resume that you’re seeking a remote opportunity.

Describe Your Home Office and Why It Works

Many employers may feel remote working has a downturn in productivity and effectiveness. To alleviate their potential concerns, it can be helpful to describe your home/remote office and explain why it boosts your productivity. Be clear about the details of how your process works.

Show It in the Skills Section

Tell your potential employer how you can communicate with your teammates while away from the office. List the tools you’ve used like Slack, Zoom, Asana, etc. If the company you’re interviewing with uses the same tools, it’ll likely put you in favor of them. Show how good you are at time management. Quantify how responsible you are and the size and scope of projects you’ve been in charge of. You’ll need to be comfortable with video conferencing, messaging, and using team and project management tools. Focus on your skills, stats, and achievements instead of duties. Ultimately your potential employer wants to see what you’re capable of and what impact you’ve had. Show these off with quantitative examples (numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts) within your work experience if you want to stand out.

Let Them Get to Know You Online

Include your social profiles (when appropriate) and personal website. Since you are not location-bound, remove your address, it becomes irrelevant. If you feel the need to put something in its place, you can simply state “remote” or “location independent.” If you want to work online it’s critical that you have an online presence.

Use Relevant Keywords for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

A lot of remote companies will use something called an applicant tracking system. The ATS will automatically filter applications on a set of criteria before it even gets in front of a human. Use keywords in your industry to get noticed.

What Employers Want to Know

Many employers and remote employees might consider remote work a skill in itself. It takes a lot of focus, discipline, and strong communication to be an efficient and effective remote worker. Employers want to know you’re equipped to work from home.

Digital Nomad vs. Remote Worker

By Leslie Radford