Originally posted November 9th, 2017
Want to work from home but you’re not sure what you can do? You can leverage any of the skills listed below to find a remote job that you love. Many job seekers spend their time searching by job title — but job titles can vary greatly from company to company and can be hard to understand. Instead, focus on the responsibilities listed in the job description. Look for job descriptions that list skills that you already have.
Each skill listed includes example jobs and companies, plus keywords to use when using job search sites, and alignment with skills listed in our Remote Work Competency Model.
Why Work From Home Skills Are Important
Having the right skillset when working from home is crucial to your success as a remote worker. Remote work requires a unique set of skills that may differ from those needed in a traditional office setting.
Employers are looking for candidates who possess these specific skills, and being able to demonstrate them can greatly increase your chances of landing a remote job. In addition, having strong work from home skills can also help you stand out in a competitive job market.
7 Remote Work Skills for Remote Workers
As we delve deeper into the world of remote work, it’s crucial to understand the specific skills that employers are seeking. This understanding not only improves your employability, but also enhances your productivity and efficiency while working from the comfort of your home.
Here, we highlight seven essential remote work skills that you can leverage to secure a rewarding remote job.
LANGUAGES
Do you speak more than one language? Remote employees that are multilingual can get a remote job as a translator, interpreter, transcriber, or customer service representative. Additionally, you can set yourself apart from other candidates for other types of jobs if you highlight your language skills.
If a job description does not directly say that they need someone with language skills, research the position to see if any of the responsibilities include customer-facing support. If so, chances are you will have to speak with someone for whom English is not their first language. Your language skills might be just the thing to make your resume stand out from the crowd.
Example Company: Lionbridge
Keywords to use in your job searches: language, bilingual, [the languages you speak], translate, interpret, intercultural communication
Remote Work Competencies: Intercultural Communication
WRITING & EDITING
Do you blog? Have you ever been published? Do you read a lot? Have you ever edited or revised someone else’s work? If you love the written word in any capacity, look into jobs that require writing and editing skills.
Jobs that might suit you include: blog content writing, editing, proofreading, copy editing, and writing reviews. Writing skills are also important for all remote work environments, since you’ll be required to write in order to communicate with your team members: emails, messages, memos, and other internal communications. If your position is customer-facing, you’ll also have to write to communicate with them.
Example Company: Thomson Reuters
Keywords to use in your job searches: writing, editing, proofreading, content, copy editing, revising, reading, reviews
Remote Work Competencies: Communication
TEACHING
If you have any experience in the classroom, you have valuable skills that are in high demand by remote work environments. You can get jobs as a tutor, instructor, corporate trainer, or in customer service in a help-desk capacity. Additional job opportunities include instructional design or assessment writing.
Example Company: K12
Keywords to use in your job searches: education, curriculum, teacher, tutor, instructor, instruction, assessment, training, learning, instructional design
Remote Work Competencies: Learning outcomes, facilitation
SOCIAL MEDIA
Do you have a large social media following? Turns out all that time you spend on Facebook or Pinterest can be used to land a job. Social media posting and management are skills that are incredibly in-demand.
You can get jobs using these skills as a social media content writer, manager, or strategist. Many administrative or virtual assistant jobs also require some social media responsibilities. If you don’t yet have a portfolio, create one — and be sure to add examples of your successful posts or campaigns to show off your skills – bonus points if you can show off your proficiency with various digital tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, or Sendible.
Example Company: Zirtual
Keywords to use in your job searches: social media, content marketing, marketing, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram
Remote Work Competencies: Communication
PLANNING
Have a knack for coordinating schedules? Have a great attention to detail? Take a look at event coordination and scheduling jobs, where you can use that eye for detail and your ability to juggle information to get an event planned and carried out. Many virtual assistant jobs also require planning skills, as do customer service positions and management positions.
Example Company: Belay
Keywords to use in your job searches: scheduling, calendar, appointments, coordination, events
Remote Work Competencies: Scheduling and logistics
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
In general, effective communication is a vital skill in remote work. You will need to communicate with team members and managers through various channels, such as email, video conferencing, and instant messaging, meaning the ability to communicate asynchronously is crucial.
Additionally, clear verbal and written communication is essential for customer-facing roles. Jobs like customer support specialists, virtual assistants, and project managers require strong communication skills to effectively handle inquiries and communicate with clients.
Example Company: LiveOps
Keywords to use in your job searches: communication, customer support, virtual assistant, project coordinator, project managers
Remote Work Competencies: Communication, professionalism
TECHNICAL SKILLS
In the era of digital transformation, technical skills are the cornerstone of many remote jobs. From using software and hardware effectively to navigating social media platforms to understanding the basics of web development and coding, having hard skills is crucial in the current job market.
Whether you are looking for a role in IT, marketing, design, or even teaching, having some level of technical proficiency can be a tremendous asset.
Example Company: GitHub
Keywords to use in your job searches: technical skills, software, software developer, hardware, information technology, coding, programming, web development, digital marketing
Remote Work Competencies: Digital tool fluency, problem-solving
This post lists just seven examples of in-demand skills—there are many, many more! These are just a sample of the kinds of skills that will help you find and win work-from-home jobs.
Remember that many jobs you’ll find won’t require previous experience in that exact field, but it will certainly help you if you do have relevant skills.
Want more information on how to jump-start your remote job search?
Workplaceless’s Remote Work Certification and Growplaceless offer invaluable resources for individuals seeking to thrive in remote work settings.
Take a look at Workplaceless, the first Remote Work Certification program and Growplaceless, our remote career development program.
The Workplaceless Remote Work Certification guides remote professionals through the key digital tools and skills needed to be effective individual contributors and members of a remote or hybrid team: self-management, effective workday structure and workflow, infrastructure, clear communication, time management and productivity, and collaboration
Growplaceless, on the other hand, guides learners through the key elements needed for an individual to grow as a remote professional. This course’s content is tailored to a remote environment and includes practical advice and case studies from experienced remote professionals.
