The steps to finding remote employment, though few, are by no means simple. The good news is that if you’re really determined, that very determination will get you where you want to go.

To start off: if you have the luxury of addressing the biggest-picture concerns, take the time to FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO so you can build a career around what you really want. But even if you don’t have that luxury, at the very minimum figure out exactly why you want to work remotely. That realization will inform both your job search and the application process. Employers need to know that you know, first, who you are; second, how well you’ll perform; and, third, that you know what you’re getting into.

LEARN WHAT EMPLOYERS SEEK IN A REMOTE EMPLOYEE—AND DEVELOP YOURSELF INTO THAT EMPLOYEE. Fortunately, this tall order comes with a full instruction guide: both the Hiring Strategy  ( p. 137 ) and Interviewing ( p. 144) sections of Chapter 6: Hiring Remote Workers and Teams. There you’ll find that the number-one trait sought is experience working remotely, for two reasons: employers need people who, one, can work remotely effectively and, two, actually like working remotely. The trick is getting that experience; for more, see the following sidebar.

WORK UP YOUR BRAND. Next, capture what you offer in words. That means crafting several versions of the pitch you’ll use to advertise your value: one that’s three paragraphs long, one that’s one paragraph, and one that’s just one sentence—or even just a few words.

BUILD YOUR ONLINE BRAND. Your online presence is important, so get active on your social media channels, especially LinkedIn, to demonstrate the value you offer. Build a personal website if such feels appropriate, especially if you’d have sufficient content to maintain a blog. Or, at minimum you could post articles on your LinkedIn page.

Typically, when you leave a company, the first thing that HR does is delete your mailbox—with the gigs and gigs of data, connections, and knowledge that you’ve accumulated over the years. But if you use a social network, your legacy will remain regardless: all your contacts and conversations remain available to others.

—LUIS SUAREZ, digital transformation and data analytics adviser, panagenda³

REACH OUT. Get in touch with your network to let them know you’re looking for work. As product manager Fernando Garrido Vaz shares: “Word of mouth is the best way to find work. You don’t need a large audience; you just need the right audience.”⁴

MINE VARIOUS JOB-SEEKING RESOURCES—DAILY. Apply to every- thing that appeals to you that you can demonstrate you are qualified for. Start at the “How to Find a Remote Job” page on my Collaboration Super- powers website (https://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/114-how-to-find-a-remote-job).

WATCH OUT FOR WORK-FROM-HOME SCAMS. The old adage applies: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. You should never have to pay anything in order to apply for a job. Don’t give out passwords. And listen to your intuition.