How to Advance With Your Remote Career

Aleksandar Basara
3 min readFeb 14, 2021
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Transitioning your career from an on-premise employee to a remote worker may feel like just shifting from a desk to a cosy corner of your home, but it’s way more than what you think. Anyone would love to play their favourite music, get an incredible view of the garden outside, and drink a self-made cup of coffee while working. However, this flexible and stress-free routine can soon become frustrating if you don’t know how to advance your remote working career.

So, how can you grow working remotely? Here are some crucial tips to advance your remote career.

Get Expertise in a Niche Skill

Landing a job requires you to show your worth to a company but having a niche skill makes you even more valuable. For instance, if you are a programmer like any other, don’t expect someone to hire you remotely. But if you have an odd or distinct skillset, companies fail to find anyone with your expertise. So before you start looking for remote opportunities, get expertise in a niche skill to succeed.

Ask for Flexibility in Current Job

When you are already working somewhere, your employer has a level of trust in you. Suggest a few hours per week as a trial run for remote working to help your employer see a boost in productivity and then request for a full-time remote work opportunity. Some employers may receive it as an excuse to avoid work duties, but starting with a few hours will eventually help them understand your remote capabilities.

Start Freelancing

Shifting to a freelance lifestyle requires you to find long-term or short-term projects to do from home. There are many websites and platforms to find remote opportunities, but you may find it difficult to land high-paying jobs initially. That is why picking a platform wisely is imperative to advance your career in freelancing. Also, interact with people who have ditched their 9–5 jobs to excel as a freelancer.

Ask for Feedback Proactively

Rather than relying on a structured review process where managers provide performance feedback, ask for feedback proactively. It’s helpful in professional growth since you can work on things that still need improvement and capitalize on what works well. Apart from that, it also shows your manager or client that you’re proactively working on your position to deliver the best work possible. You can be specific about the type of feedback you want by asking for work timing, performance, or a particular task.

Detail-Oriented Work

The work quality should never be affected even when working in your PJs rather than pants and on your couch rather than a desk. It’s common to ignore certain things when no one is watching your shoulder. It’s okay not to follow the regular office routine like showering before going to work or getting appropriately dressed, but don’t carry a similar carefree attitude in your work. Occasionally, try to get somewhat early to shower, shave, and get ready to work. Eat a nutritious breakfast and then set a list of tasks to complete (do it every day). It prevents you from slowing down or working casually, and you end up delivering detail-oriented work.

Never Miss Networking Opportunities

When you are saving commute time, there are many things you can work on. Your priority as a remote worker should be to keep building a strong portfolio on the internet. If you know professionals from your industry, you are always up for a potential project. Join different LinkedIn groups, focus on profile creation on various profession-oriented sites, make profiles on job listing websites, hire a copywriter to create perfect profile copies.

Conclusion

Remote working has taken a hike this year due to the pandemic affecting people globally. While it may look like a challenge, working remotely can be a great way to maintain a work-life balance. Use these tips to advance your remote career, and follow us for more such informational blogs.

--

--

Aleksandar Basara

Reimagining the interaction between digital experiences and physical objects.