Remote vacancies increased by 57% in 2022. With the advent of technology and sectors like healthcare and real estate going remote, the opportunities are truly boundless. This signifies well for you to launch your remote career this year.  

Enough has been said about how everyone can work remotely. While it is true, it is only to a certain extent. Some jobs must be done physically, particularly those involving physical labor. However, any profession that doesn’t require your physical presence can go remote. 

Until recently and after the COVID pandemic, management, accountancy, law, management roles, HR roles, designing (interior design and graphic design) architecture, engineering, programming, teaching, and medical positions were mostly assumed to be in-person jobs. However, the jobs in these fields have also caught on with the remote work drift, resulting in more remote roles. Telemedicine, for example, allows doctors to perform some of their duties remotely, such as:  
 

• Provide medical consultancy. 
• Decipher and interpret laboratory test results. 
• Prescribe treatment and medication. 

• Monitor the condition of patients. 

A future where a surgeon in New York uses cyborg engineering to perform surgery on patients in Gurgaon, Geneva, and aboard the International Space Station (ISS) simultaneously isn’t that far off.  

Yes, that’s how far remote work can go. 

While for some, remote work is a career path, for others it is a career option or career planning. It doesn’t matter in which phase you’re in, remote work has a lot to offer. 

Steps you can take this year to go remote… 

1. Prep yourself with the checklist of the bare necessities of remote work. 

It’s true that remote work allows you to work from wherever you are, but experts strongly suggest the compartmentalization of work and living space, especially if you plan to work from home.  

You may need to invest in a good laptop and headset or headphones. Switch your internet package to a faster and more stable connection. Choose a space in your home that has the most natural light and the least distractions. 

It’s a good idea to start prepping even at the remote video interview stage. Show off your home office to your interviewer and create an impression about the homework you’ve done and how seriously you take this new career path.  

2. Talk to remote workers – your friends, former colleagues, and family members who work remotely. 

If you didn’t know it already, remote workers are highly likely to recommend remote work to their near and dear ones.  

So, if you have remote workers within your social circle and they’re enthusiastic about their mode of work, enquire more deeply about the same. Express your interest in teleworking, and ask questions about remote work such as: 

• Do they know about any remote-first/remote-friendly companies that are hiring? 

• Does the company they work remotely for have any remote vacancies? If yes, what are the positions available? 
• What do remote employers look for when hiring remote candidates? 
• What is the potential of remote career growth? 
• Are all the benefits of remote work truly realistic? 

You can also ask them about the good remote work habits they have cultivated such as: 

• Being extra efficient in managing and organizing their time and tasks 
• Overcommunicating with their colleagues 
• Bending their schedules a bit to accommodate meeting timings and deadlines 

• Updating their manager/team leaders about their tasks’ progression 
• Motivating themselves to deliver peak performance 
• Keeping a record of their routine, specifically the ongoing, incoming, and ad hoc tasks 

Develop these traits so that you can heighten your appeal as an upcoming remote worker. 

3. Learn new skills through online courses and update your curriculum vitae. 

This endeavor is especially useful if your current profession doesn’t offer prospects of going remote. 

Although this may seem like an awful start from the bottom, it is not as arduous as it seems. MOOCs, COOCs, and SPOCs offer many professional development programs from esteemed educational institutions that are self-paced. You can learn online and with more remote job opportunities than ever, your chance to pursue a remote career will increase. 

4. Convince your employer to provide remote work options. 

If your organization is tentative about going remote, or even partially remote, you can highlight why your employer should implement remote work.  

This is especially feasible if you’re already doing company work when you’re at home, during the weekends, and even on your days off.  

Going further, you can enlighten your superiors about the various benefits of such a format of workplace cooperation. Talk about what’s in for the organization in terms of becoming more cost-effective as the necessity for overhead is eliminated by not relocating high-quality candidates and letting them work from where they are for the company’s exponential growth. 

5. If your company has a remote work division, consider joining it. 

Switching to a remote position within your company doesn’t require many changes. At the maximum level, you will need the necessary tools to take with you wherever and whenever you’re working. 

Your company may even provide compensation for a stable and fast internet connection and paraphernalia like a  desk of your choice, be it sitting or standing, and ergonomic chairs. If your company says, “You’re on your own,” it’s strongly advised that you set up a workspace that is productivity-conducive, more often than not, at your home. You can also work in coffee shops, cyber cafes, and co-working spaces. 

6. You can switch from one remote role to another. 

This year, remote work experience shifts from freelancing experience and computer skills to experience in remote employment. 

Do not get too comfortable with your current remote position. Since there are more remote jobs than ever, you ought to expand your horizon and seek other remote positions. 

The “job shift” factors aren’t only a meatier salary package but also the company’s remote culture, implemented remote work policies, and the company’s plans in prolonging and diversifying remote work options. 

Genashtim Pte Ltd is a 100% remote company with a distinct and dynamic remote work culture. The company has had employees who resigned and then return as the company’s culture is like none other. With the Total Flexible Initiative policy phased in from February 2022, Genashtim’s vibrant and receptive remote work policies are not only attracting highly skilled remote candidates, but it’s also cutting back on attrition, and retaining employees. 

A word of caution – only seek remote jobs from legitimate sources. 

JEDI Jobs, an online remote job portal offers remote employment from global employers with full benefits. It has a focus on members from disadvantaged demographics and aims to provide sustainable and gainful employment for them. Register here to join the remote community in 2023. 

Remote data-entry job postings on social media and WhatsApp messages are most likely job scams. These job scams are easily identifiable with their high-salary packages for a few hours of work in a day.  

To conclude… 

With the right approach and organization, remote work provides more freedom, cuts back on stress, money and resources, and saves time.  

It’s never too late to become a remote worker. Remote work’s flexibility helps lengthen working years – there are even retirees working remotely.  

Get into the remote dream team this year and experience a dynamic career growth that keeps evolving with technological and needs-based developments. 

Welcome to a promising future !