How to, How to Move Abroad, Youtube

How to Find A Remote Job?

How to get you dream remote position

Hey O squad Hey. It’s your girl Jackie O, coming back at you. And I have a subscriber named Randy who asked for a video in response to My 15 Ways to Make Money Abroad, asking specifically to go into detail about how to find a remote job. So, Randy this video is for you the rest of the squad O Stay tuned and don’t forget to like and subscribe. What’s up Yo, how’s it going? If this is your first time to my channel, well welcome and if you’re returning, hey O squad. Hey, I see you. I appreciate you. I love you.

My name is Jackie O and I am an OG, original black digital nomad and globe-trotting Mama. I slow travel full time, YASS full time with my toddler daughter Ruth, who is about to turn two years old. And we are baking cupcakes celebrate in quarantine, tomorrow. 

We slow travel full time, which means we spend between six to eight to nine to 10 months in one particular location and we just explore. We learn the language, learn the people, we learn the culture, and we just have fun learning about new things. And I am passionate about teaching other black women how to do the same so that is what my whole channel is devoted to. And while Ruth and I bake cupcakes, I’m just going to put together a video real quick, fast and in a hurry, breaking it down for you how I have been able to get jobs both online and in person all over the world. But today it’s gonna be specifically about online. So, finding remote positions where you can work from anywhere in the world. So let’s get to it. 

Actually, where do you find the Remote Jobs? How do you get them? Now in my last video where I talked about 15 Ways to Make Money Abroad, the thing I told you guys to do, one of the primary tips was to have a conversation with your current employer if you are working remotely during the pandemic, during COVID 19. Because why search for a job if you got a job that you can do remotely? So make sure you are absolutely utterly kicking ass remotely, which I’m sure you are because O squad, we are all overachievers. So just make sure you’re getting it done and have that conversation. Schedule some time, a zoom call with your boss to have a conversation about making your position permanently work from home. And when I say WFA that is the work from anywhere lifestyle. So oftentimes you’ll hear me say that in my videos and that’s what it is; work from anywhere. And if your boss allows you to work remotely, ciao. You better come on and visit us wherever we are in the world. You better get on a plane and just live your life. Guys, if you want a remote job your first resource are two things. 

This first I mean first and second. Sometimes, you know, counting my force, but count my money. So your first thing guys is hop on Google. We live in the era of Google. Google is your best friend. So for Remote Jobs and you will see a lot of stuff comes up from Indeed to LinkedIn to Remote women, which is one of my favorite sites to Remote Jobs.co. There are a gazillion options out there to begin your search. And I would say use them all like purview, peruse, see what interests you, see what skill sets they are looking for. Because some of you guys may be thinking, “Jackie, I don’t have that skill set that I can work online”, trust me you do. You can do something that somebody online who is looking for somebody to work remotely, can use. It’s just a matter of tailoring your resume to that skill set, but we will get to that part in a little bit. Okay. First, we talked about just looking at the job; seeing what is out there, seeing what the possibilities are. So that’s one thing using your trusty friend, Google and just googling for Remote Jobs. So do that general search. 

And then do a second search which is Remote Jobs in and do whatever your industry is. So, remote jobs in writing, Remote Jobs and will you tell me what you all do and we can do some remote jobs in? Remote Jobs in bookkeeping, Remote Jobs in law, or Remote Jobs in management. I mean, there’s a gazillion options but just look and see what’s there, and what skill sets they are looking for. Now, the second thing that I want you to do on top of that, is you got a thing called a network. Those are your friends. Those are people who are in your circle your professional colleagues, people who are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, cheer, cheer, cheer. Now, some of y’all are already saying, “Jackie, I don’t want my work colleague knowing that I’m trying to work from anywhere, WFA”, and that’s okay. Because what we’re gonna do is or what you want to do and I’m gonna support you through it is that you are going to draft an email that you are going to send to the top 50 people in your network. Yes, 50; five zero. 

So I want you to make a list. You can use Google Sheets, Google spreadsheets, you can use Excel. You can use MailChimp or any of those more technical ones if you have access to that. But, you are going to get together 50, five zero minimum emails of folks who you respect, who know your work, who you worked for before, maybe who just know about you, know, what you do, who are very supportive, who are champion, and maybe your friend from third grade’s Mama. If she’s on there, add her to your list because you never, ever know where your next job opportunity lies. And what you’re going to do is you’re going to craft an email speaking to the universe, what exactly you want. Lay out what you’re interested in. One of the things I always tell my coaching clients is their why. Understand your why. So if you want a remote position, be clear you know why and what skill sets you have to offer to the world, and put those out there. Say you are good at organizing, you are fabulous at Excel, fabulous at social media, whatever your particular skill sets are, just list them out in bullet so people can scan them quickly and easily. And then ask your circle of friends if they know any open positions that are remote that could match your skill set and say that you are open and flexible to variety of jobs and or positions.

So you got two things right now that I want you to do immediately and then post in the comments box below how those two exercise went for you. Remote Jobs in X, Y and Z, and then also just Remote Jobs by themselves. And then, you are going to send that mass email. Please be sure you BCC people because landing is going to get people more pissed off if you CC 50 people. So that means when I say BCC that’s blind copy. Okay, so that means that everybody can’t see who else you are sending that email to. Okay, and be sure and send me those emails like hit me up and tell me what your email sounded like. My email is [email protected] I would love to see your emails and if I know somebody’s looking for your position, O squad you know I got you. So shoot me emails as well. I’m getting ready to actually put some blonde streaks in my hair. It was highlighted line and it wasn’t like it was like a semi-permanent so as you can see there’s parts of it is just this kind of dark, dingy brown, but we can try this. We will see and hopefully, when I make my video, I still have hair. But you know, it’s just hair. I’m also trying this new product called Edge Natural, which I have been putting on for the most part as consistent as I can two times a day because you know, your girl doesn’t have the strongest edges. And actually it’s working okay, I can’t really complain about it. I’m gonna do a whole product with you on that at a later date probably sometime in early September because I want to use it for a little while so I can tell you guys is this something you need to put in your bag of essential items, that you want to take what she wants you peace out, and leave the United States or is it not? So far, okay. It’s not so bad. 

So listen up, guys. So the next thing you’re gonna do, you’ve done your Google search, you know what jobs are out there, you know which ones speak to you. Now you’re gonna look at those jobs descriptions, and you’re going to take out some of the key words, some of the key skill sets and you’re literally gonna lift some of those words; good at executing X, Y, and Z. And you are going to put those in your resume. And I don’t want you guys to laugh. It is not about lying, but you figure out how you can incorporate those keywords into your resume, into the description of your previous jobs. Right. And one of the things because guys I have hired people before and I’ve hired people that need to work remotely, one of the things that every hiring manager is going to be looking for is two things. One, that you got skill sets, which is why I say cut and paste and tailor it to whatever job you have been doing in the past or that you are currently doing. And two, they want to make sure it is somebody hella responsible, who can work with very little supervision. Because guess what, if you ain’t working in an office, if you work from home, people want to make sure that or working from anywhere; WFA, people want to make sure that you are actually going to get things done. 

Yeah, you’re gonna be sitting on the beach getting stuff done and you don’t get to tell them that. But they want to make sure that they aren’t gonna have to be chasing you literally all over the globe to get your work done. And so you want to consistently weave throughout your resume, a narrative of being super responsible and super reliable, and a leader. Okay, so what do you want to do guys? I’m going to repeat that. There are a couple things you’re going to do. You are going to actually lift words from the job description and incorporate them into your resume. And you’re going to show how you possess that skill set using the exact same words because a lot of times guys, what HR software’s do is they just because they might get 10,000 applications for jobs, right? Ain’t no person going to read about 10,000 applications. But what they are going to do, is they are going to use computer software to search those applications, to pull out the resumes whose skill sets match what they are looking for. That’s why you want to use the exact same words that they use in the descriptions. 

And as you explain whatever it is you did while you were working at your job, or you’re doing while you’re working at your job, exactly matches or is similar enough to whatever skills that they are looking for. Okay? And then also, you want to throughout your resume, show how you are responsible, how you are a leader, and how you are consistent, right? So tell a story. A resume is a story. It is almost an elevator pitch, right? It’s a one page two pages max but one page most of the time, selling yourself to somebody who for the most part, may not even know you. Now if they do know you, that’s an amazing thing. And that’s actually my next tip, guys. So if you see company X, Y and Z, let’s say it’s company Z and see you see them listed on Indeed, I’m just giving an example here for a remote position that you were looking at. See guys, you’re part of the O squad so yeah, you may just submit your resume, you want to do what I told you to do, you’re going to revamp your resume for that specific job, making sure that you just borrow the words they used in their job description, to describe the work that you do, or are doing. 

What you’re also going to, is you’re going to go that extra step, and you’re going to go to handy dandy LinkedIn, and you’re going to Google or search through LinkedIn, anyone who works at that company, and you’re going to look for HR folks. And guess what, guys, you’re going to reach out to them. And you’re going to tell them why you’re interested to work with them in that position, not the resume. You may attach your resume, but the first thing you’re going to do is you’re going to request an informational interview. Guys, when you do this, because people have done this to me a lot, especially when I was working at larger companies, right? People will request informational interview. 

Before I will agree to do that. And of course in this day and era, most of that is gonna be done during zoom. Right? You ain’t actually meeting nobody for coffee in COVID 19. So request that 15 minute zoom call. But guys, make sure your questions, your knowledge of the position, your knowledge of that company is tight. Because what you don’t want to do is you don’t want to waste anybody’s time. Right? So when you do that in mail, which is what it’s called, when you reach out to someone who you aren’t connected to in LinkedIn, when you send that initial email, you make sure that you’re able to detail at least four bullet points of why you are interested in that company. And I mean, guys get specific, like spend some time on a web page really knowing about it, really knowing the work they do. Why you are passionate and will be committed and responsible. 

And then you request that 15 minute zoom call, just to find out more about the company and their experiences and hiring practices there. Just be very, very upfront about that, right? Say you were scrolling and this is a company that you’re very interested in for X, Y, and Z. So at least three to four reasons why you’re interested in the company, and that position. And, you can even attach your resume if you’d like. Or you can just say, because it’s just an informational interview that you just want to chat with them. But sometimes they want to make sure that you’re actually qualified for the position before they actually waste their time to have a chat for you. It just depends. Some HR managers are different from others, but guys get that set up. And I would say for each remote position that you are going for, try to reach out to at least three to four people in the company, including an HR manager. 

So if there’s somebody in that division again, you can find all this out in LinkedIn. So if you are interested in Ride Sharing Company Z, and you are interested in their driver outreach, look for people who have job descriptions where they do something with drivers, email them. That’s not an email sound guys but you know what I mean. Email them, same strategy. Tell them you’re interested in that company, tell them why, and tell them that you’d love to hear about their experiences. And can you set up a 15 minute zoom chat? I’m telling you guys, I’d say seven out of 10 times folks will say yes, and people look for names that they recognize when they are reviewing resumes. After they get through that first search, which is; do the keywords match up and align with the skill set so they’re looking for. So again, guys this does not take the place. You’re just taking it the next step. 

Because guys, even in the era of remote work, relationships matter. And I’m going to say that again and again; relationships matter so build them. Take the time. You are going to say; “Oh Jackie, it sounds like so much work. I’m a millennial, I’m a Gen whatever comes after millennial, or I’m old I don’t got the time”. Well guess what? You got time to broke? Do you want to move abroad? Do you want the work from anywhere lifestyle? Because if you do, you gotta take those steps. And I’m telling you if you follow this, if you follow my approach, guys, I’m telling you post down here because I am going to tell you point blank doors will open for you. And it may not be that position that you wanted. 

But you may see two, three months down the line. That same HR manager, that same supervisor and XYZ division. Remembers you for another position or a position at a different company. And it’s like, “Hey, I know it didn’t work out with whatever social media manager position you wanted. But guess what, we have a remote position doing X, Y and Z”.Well usually it’s and cover letter. Sometimes cover letters aren’t required. And a lot of technology companies ain’t nobody got time to read your cover letter no more. But some companies, some are more old school companies still do require a cover letter. 

So you want to make sure again. Tat it is short and to the point your cover letter. You want to make sure that it is actually shown that you have done some due diligence. So you’ve done some research on the company. And if you’ve actually had a chat with this hiring manager. Or you’ve had a chat with somebody in the company, please do put that in your cover letter. Say that you’ve talked to Dr. J. And you were very impressed by X, Y and Z with the company, right? Emphasize that, show that hiring manager if you haven’t actually had the opportunity to speak with them. That you are super serious about this job and position right? And send it out. Send it, make sure you follow the rules guys, so read what it says. If it says you must upload a cover letter, upload a cover letter and make sure. That your cover letter is tailored to that job position. And if you know the hiring manager do not do to whom it may concern actually put that person’s name. 

So if his name or her name is Bob Raina, Esther Ray, totally made the name up. Don’t know if that’s a hiring manager anywhere. Then, address that person. And if you have again, if you have chatted to them, go back to something that they said in the conversation and highlight that to show that you were actually listening and what you did with that information. So if it’s dear Miss Sabrina, in talking to you, I mean, you should introduce yourself first say what position you’re applying for. So, “Hi, this is Jackie Holiday. It was such a pleasure to chat with you on December 1. I really enjoyed our conversation and it just solidified my interest in applying for the position of public policy director. I especially was very intrigued by our conversation on the innovative work you’re doing in communications to people on the moon”. Guys, I’m just like making it up here. But you really just want to show that you listened to the conversation, you took that information, and it has only fueled your desire to work for that company. Okay, so you’ve sent your resume, you’ve sent your cover letter off, and now it’s a wait and see game. But guys, guys, this video won’t be complete if I didn’t give you some more tips, right. 

So the next thing you want to do is you want to follow up. So if you do not hear from someone within, let’s say, two weeks, you gotta give folks at least two weeks, especially during the summer, because due to COVID-19, folks’ got stuff to do. A lot of folks are working from home and this is their first experience doing that. So you know, they’re managing and they’re juggling a lot. So make sure you follow up in two weeks and just say like, “Hey, I submitted my resume. I just wanted to check in see if you had any additional questions or any feedback for me”. Because you always if you can, you’ll want to get feedback, even if you don’t make it to the interview round. You always want to get feedback to see what they were looking for, what they weren’t looking for, etc., etc., as much as you can get out of somebody, get it out of them. Because it only helps you when you apply for that next position, wherever it is, guys. So, I hope you follow some of these tips. And if you get to the interview phase, guys, remember, just rinse, recycle, and repeat. And when I say that, I mean guys, just do more research, have more conversations, right? Reach out to more people in the company, know your shit. 

And then when it’s time to do that interview, and usually it’ll happen via zoom in the era of COVID-19. Just make sure you rock it. Rest the night before, don’t be too nervous. Look up some of the basic interview questions. Go onto sites like Glassdoor to see what they do ask during interviews. Because a lot of people will post those online and just find them out and just be prepared to sell yourself because you’re amazing. I know you can get a remote job. Now, you just got to know you can get a remote job so go and do it and. When you have done it come back here and let me know because girlfriend I am cheering you on. I’m rooting for you all the way. Guys I’m telling you if you follow my tips and look guys, my hair didn’t fall out. I told you guys I was dying it didn’t fall out good job to me. Guys, if you follow these tips, I can guarantee you that the actual job interviews will start rolling in. And if you guys want me to do a another video. A companion videos for this on actually how to kill it. Like kill it. crush it. Stomp it in your remote job interview, I am happy to do so, just post in the comments box. But just follow these steps guys and I can guarantee you that job interviews will start rolling in. So O squad go out and get them. The world needs you, companies need you, like I need you to be amazing because you already are. 

Guys also O squad, make sure your wish Ruth a happy birthday in the comment section. If it’s your first time here Ruth is my baby girl and she just turned two on August 1. So give her a massive shout out say “Happy Birthday Ruth”. Why not share it with your friends? Hey black girl, hey. You good? cuz I’m fabulous. I’m a digital nomad and my lifestyle allows my daughter and I to experience new places, culture, foods and people. Living abroad and or traveling full time is amazing. It is freedom. I can work from anywhere. I want more black women to experience this same sort of freedom. Help black women manifest their dreams of a life abroad or a full time travel. Are you ready for a life beyond your wildest dreams?