Exploring Remote Jobs

Remote Work is #Trending

Now a days there are a lot of jobs available out there that don’t require you to be present at the office. Some words used to describe these are remote worker, telecommuter, or some other combination (“telecommuteworkblargh”?). It’s surprising that it’s not just programmers remote working but now it’s project managers, designers and even customer service reps. I ran into several remote working professionals last summer, most notably were an American project manager working/living in Amsterdam and similarly an American in Barcelona doing similar kinds of work. I was kind of blown away that they were able to manage via email & skype but apparently it’s doable. Software Hamilton’s own job board also has remote opportunities. Even if not explicitly stated you can find positions that eventually offer that flexibility to work from home although so far in Hamilton I have only seen remote software development jobs, I could be wrong. What’s cool is that there are job boards strictly dedicated to listing remote work! Of these the two I can recommend checking out are http://www.weworkremotely.com and https://www.wfh.io/. This trend of being able to work remotely is growing more and more each day but it doesn’t come without it’s pitfalls and problems.

Some Tips

At my place of work we’re still executing ROWE meaning there is no 9-5, it can be strictly remote if you wish it to be. We operate with the basis that good communication (even to the point of over communication) is a key skill that all team members are required to have. For those already engaged in remote working or looking to do some remote work I offer a few tips:

• Reply to emails/SMS/chat as soon as possible, even if it is just a quick “I will get an update to you on this by next week”. It makes you more responsive by communicating the fact that you are delegating the task to a future you. Your co-workers will appreciate the sense of presence. This also counts for any day to day email correspondence that you do, remote or not.
• Don’t count on Skype, VOIP, etc. to always work. For meetings, have an agenda and your major points already written down and ready to share. These notes come in handy when connectivity or other issues for the cancellation of the meeting. At the very least you can share information and try again in better conditions or carry the agenda forward strictly through email. This written ‘meeting overview’ habit forces you to come prepared.
• Try to get some face time for the frequency that works for you ( eg. once a week ). Getting face to face with colleagues helps remind everyone, including yourself, that you are a real person and helps strengthen team dynamics and understanding.

Join the #Trend @ Hacker Saturdays

Finally If you’re looking to group up with people upping their game in order to land remote jobs like these or even local jobs, come to Hacker Saturdays and code & design on your side project / venture in a relaxed group setting.

Next meetup is Saturday May 10th.
Location: Radius Cafe, 151 James Street South, Hamilton, Ontario
Register: Click to Register
Newsletter: Click to view our previous newsletter

– Alex Pineda (@alexpineda77)