How the heck did I find my remote job?!

Interview with Amanda Marie, Blogger and Founder of Laminai.com

“Your career is your business. It’s time for you to manage it as a CEO.” – Dorit Sher

I have received a ton of questions over the last few months about my career change and the steps I took to find remote work. I am lucky to have received a ton of help.

When Remote Year offered me a position in their program, they also gave me a plethora of resources on how to find remote opportunities. They offered insight on how to negotiate with my current company (though not an option for me), a list of companies that are hiring for remote positions, and websites specifically designed for remote job hunters. I’ll talk more about that below.

Even with these resources, it still took me quite some time to find a good fit. I especially could not have done it without the help of my dear friend and career coach, Amanda Marie.

When I lost my first job offer, I became really desperate to find work and reached out to Amanda for help. Thank goodness I did! Amanda taught me a ton about how to look for the right jobs, how to write effective cover letters, and how to prepare for an interview. She taught me how to focus on my skill set and jobs that will actually interest me and accelerate my career.

Most importantly, she taught me how to value myself and understand what I am capable of. For that, I am incredibly grateful!

I am thrilled to introduce you to Amanda today!

Q: Amanda, I am so excited to feature you and your business on my blog because you have been such a saving grace in my search for a new job. I would love for you to tell my readers a little bit about you and your business.

A: Thank you so much Taryn, it’s been my pleasure working with you! I appreciate the opportunity to share a bit more about what I do and how I can help others who are ready to kick off their job search.

Q: What are the common mistakes you see when people are applying for jobs?

A: As a former recruiter myself, I have seen thousands of resumes. I think some of the most common mistakes I’ve come across are formatting, spelling, and a candidate failing to trim down information that may not be the best representation of their experience, or their own personal brand. Often times candidates want to either include too much and create 4-5 pages of a resume, or they fail to include their accomplishments and include too little.

Q: What basic advice do you tend to give people on resumes?

A: Well, it truly does depend on each person’s unique goals, but typically we will discuss their achievements, skill set, strengths, work history, and what their next step will be. A resume should only be 1-2 pages maximum, work history should be relevant to the position you want or only include the last 5-10 years, under each job you should only include 4-6 bullet points about what you did. You have less than a minute to impress the recruiter you’re sending your resume to, so make those seconds count!

Q: What about interviews?

A: It’s important to practice before going to an interview! A hiring manager or recruiter understand that typically the interview is a person presenting their very best self, it does not give enough time to see how someone truly works or the entirety of their personality, so each moment counts. Being punctual is important of course, asking yourself questions you might hear in an interview beforehand will help you feel less anxious when those questions are presented to you by a potential employer.

Q: Do you have any advice on how to find remote or telecommute positions?

A: Absolutely, there are many online communities and websites that can guide you towards the right remote position for your skill set. Some of these websites I passed along to you Taryn, during your search! The remote work community, digital nomads, coworking spaces, and start ups seeking help from those interested in working flexibly from their own homes is growing everyday. I encourage those interested in telecommuting to not be discouraged! Look for remote working Facebook groups, LinkedIn, Angel.co, WeWorkRemotely, and of course… use the power of google!

Q: Where can my readers find you and learn more about your business?

A: I am always available for support when it comes to helping people reach their full potential – they can find more details at www.laminai.com!

Psssttt… She’s also on Facebook!!! – Taryn

I hope y’all check Amanda’s stuff out! She is an incredible woman – an entrepreneur, a badass yogi chick, and has the kindest of hearts <3

To wrap up…

Amanda mentioned some of the awesome sites I used when looking into remote work, but I would also suggest a couple more: Indeed – Remote, Career Builder – Remote, and Flex Jobs. If you are looking into doing freelance work, but don’t know where to get started, I definitely recommend UpWork or AirTasker. I already have one side job on the site and receive offers a couple times a month for other work.

If you are interested in remote work specifically, I would suggest subscribing to Remotive, as I found their tips and email newsletters to be extremely helpful.

For general career and job hunting advice, check out the Muse. Their content is awesome! Plus, they post jobs on their site too.

I hope you find this to be helpful!