You know that you want to work from home. And you are sure that you have the skills needed to work from home. But did you know that clients look for certain traits when they hire somebody remotely?
It really is! You should have some items in your work-from-home arsenal because working from home is considerably different from working in an office. These tools can help you stand out as a candidate for remote work.
A contemporary computer and fast Internet are the best things for a home office, but what about your professional life? What skills do you need to have to distinguish out from other remote candidates?
Of course, the answer will depend a lot on the type of job you want. Customer service reps need to be able to stay professional even when things become tough, and designers need to know how to utilize Photoshop like a master.
Almost all remote workers have some hard and soft skills that are the same. These skills help them manage a career that doesn’t need them to go to an office every day.
Before you apply to work from home, make sure you know how to deal with the ups and downs of remote work.
To correctly plan your day, collaborate with coworkers, and finish any assignment handed to you without ever realizing it, you’ll need a variety of skills and resources. This is because you’ll be working on things outside of the office.
Many of these skills and knowledge are what hiring managers and remote recruiters want, and they see them as the key to successful remote work.
Writing
Remote teams look for someone with good writing skills because most of the time you’ll be communicating in writing. This is very important!
Don’t worry. You don’t have to be a published novelist to do this. Instead, you need to be able to write sentences that make sense and use proper grammar, spelling, and vocabulary.
If you can’t send clear emails, it will be hard for you to work with other people who are far away.
Personal Motivation
You have to be able to motivate yourself, even if you’re the only one in the room. Do you fit the definition of a “doer” that recruiters use?
If that’s the case, you won’t need a manager to make a list of things to do to get things done. You can also do your own work with little help and direction and yet get great results.
When you work from home, you might not always get a lot of project direction. And that’s fine. If you’re a doer, you can start something and finish it no matter what.
Reliability
Only remote workers who the hiring manager or recruiter trusts will get the job. That’s it. Remote teams need to know that every person is doing their best because they aren’t always being watched. If you don’t seem trustworthy, you may be sure that you won’t acquire a telecommuting job.
One easy way to seem entirely trustworthy is to have a strong personal brand and online presence. This lets recruiters who work from home get to know you better before they ever ask you for an interview!
Tools That Remote Teams Use a Lot
Remote teams use a number of apps and online technologies to make working together easier, even if everyone is spread out over the world.
If you want to work from home, you should learn about some of the tools that remote offices utilize the most. You can get ahead of the competition and learn what it’s like to work from home by doing this.
Talking to coworkers and having meetings online
A distant worker can definitely feel lonely. You won’t talk to individuals in person every day; instead, you’ll mostly talk to them in writing or over the phone. But you don’t have to feel distanced from your coworkers because of this.
There are several apps and websites that can help you feel connected to your coworkers without having to share a cubicle with them.
Meetings
Google Hangouts is a text and video chat app that makes it easy for people who work from home to attend a short conference call. You can even start a video call on Google Hangouts right from Slack!
Slack
Slack is the best way for distant teams to talk to each other since it feels more like a real discussion than an icebreaker. People often share GIFs, memes, and other “fun” things here. Join the Remote-hosted Slack community to discover more about this lively way to talk.
GoTo Meeting
GoTo Meeting is another option for larger groups than Hangouts. GoTo Meeting lets more people join and work together on greater remote teams, while Hangouts only lets 10 people join at a time.
Overseeing projects and workflows
Working with other people at an office is easy. You just get together, speak about a project, and give each other tasks.
It might be a little harder to do in a virtual setting. Working with coworkers from a distance has gotten a lot easier, thank goodness. You don’t have to be in the same room.
Asana
People who work from home online really like this program. Asana makes it easy for remote teams to manage and keep track of projects. In a much wider project, workers might be given specific tasks and know what’s coming up next.
There is also a community calendar that shows everyone when things are due. Asana also lets teams talk to each other to keep track of progress and keep everyone interested.
To sum up, Asana shows every remote worker what they need to do and why as they all work together to finish a project.
Trello
Many remote teams also utilize Trello, which is another well-known project management program. This visual organization tool is used by millions of people who work for both new companies and well-known Fortune 500 companies.
People like this platform because it lets employees quickly and readily see who is working on what project and where it is in the process. If you love Pinterest, you’ll probably love Trello, which organizes projects using boards. You can put as many attachments, labels, and checklists as you want on one board.
Trello also has a mobile app that is easy to use. This lets you keep track of your projects even while you’re on the go or away from your desk for the day. Like some of the other apps mentioned, Trello can also be connected to Slack.
Management and Operations
When you’re only working in a virtual setting, distributing documents can get a little boring, just like working on projects.
How can you get someone to say yes to something? Do you send faxes?
Relax! There are even helpful online tools that let you exchange, sign, and fax documents without any hassles.
DropBox: Remote teams often use DropBox to share big files. You can read and share files with others using a simple link, without having to send them as attachments. People who get the message can leave comments with ideas or suggestions.
Hello Sign: A great choice for documents that need to be signed. In the past, you had to send a PDF, print it out, sign it by hand, scan it, and then email it back to the person who sent it. Hello Sign lets you sign documents electronically, which cuts down on all those long steps. You might not use this often, but you’ll be pleased you have it when you do.
Get better at working from home
This is only a short list of some of the skills, traits, and tools you need to be a successful remote worker. If you already know how to use these platforms, it will be lot easier for you to move from a cubicle to a home office. Hiring managers will also think highly of you if you know how to have the best day every day as a remote worker.
