With the COVID-19 crisis taking over, we are embracing a new way of life, and work that seems to have a positive impact on some individuals. You've personally realized that working from home might be just for you as you notice a peak in your productivity and the ability to spend time with your family, or you prefer working from home till the economy returns to normal.
Whatever the reason might be to turn to remote work, the good news is that the remote work industry already existed long before the pandemic, which means that remote jobs existed too! You need to know what kind of remote company you want to work for, the type of skills required to get the job done, and how to showcase your expertise on your resume.
As a professional looking for a remote opportunity, its essential to self-reflect if you have the key soft skills that can help you thrive in a remote environment. Here is a general list
- Self-motivation
- Discipline
- Time management
- Conflict management
- Project management
- Digital communication
- Result-oriented
It's crucial to highlight your skills in your resume by weaving them into your work experience - either formal remote experience or in a casual setup
So where and how can you showcase both your hard and soft skills in your resume
Every detail counts when it comes to understanding how ATS works. With technology advancing, your application needs to be passed on by a system before it reaches a human. You need to make sure that easy for a machine to parse it.
So here are some formatting tips :
- Avoid photos, tables, graphs and personal information in the header and footer
- Use font sizes between 10- 12 points
- Use fonts like Helvetica, Cambria, Calibri, Arial, Garamond, Georgia
- Use standard titles like “Work Experience” instead of “Job’s I’ve held.”
- Maintain margin spaces of 1 inch each side
- Avoid using abbreviations - Masters of Business Administration instead of MBA
- Sprinkle the keywords and skills mentioned in the job description throughout your resume in the right context
- Play safe, upload your resume in word .doc format
Lastly, make sure your resume is mobile-friendly, hiring managers and recruiters should be able to view it on the go.
Its the first thing a recruiter and hiring manager will see when they find your resume, so make sure to craft an engaging career narrative. Always state relevant accomplishments while applying to different job roles. If the accomplishment was achieved in a remote environment, make sure to highlight it.
e.g. - Result-oriented HR Professional with 10+ years of experience in analysis, process implementation. Managed an HR budget of $37500 for all HR related activities with HR leaders while leading a team of 6 HR professionals at ABC Company in the past 3 years while working independently in remote environments.
If you have worked remotely for a company 100%, state the location as “remote” in your resume. If you worked in a hybrid environment where you were expected to work remotely 50% of time time, state the location as “remote” & “city name”. You can highlight in the first statement before you jump into your work experience on the hybrid setup.
Director of Talent,
acework, Remote March 2019- Present
Sr Manager Human Resources, March 2019- Present
Paypal, Remote & Florida
( I worked in a hybrid remote work setup with the ability to work 50% from home and 50% from the Florida office)
If your remote work experience is only during the COVID-19 crisis, I would suggest adding another section in your resume after highlighting your regular skills
The need to be technically-savvy is crucial in a remote environment considering you will be working with team members across time zones. To make sure projects are always moving along the need to collaborate on tools holds more significant value. One of the best ways to do so is by creating an additional section showcasing your experience with various tools both communication and project management
Remote communication tools: Zoom, Slack Hangouts, GoToMeeting, SharePoint, GoToWebinar, Dropbox
Collaboration tools: Mural, Miro, Jira, Basecamp, Asana, Trello
Document Software: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.), Notion, Confluence
Its show and tell time! Move away from only presenting your resume like a job description by highlighting your daily duties; instead, highlight your accomplishments and quantifiable, if possible. Weave in all the soft-skills you possess, the tools you’ve used to stand out from your competition.
- Designed 300 posters in Adobe Illustrator for Bluehost showcasing their 10-Year Anniversary Hosting Program for 3 months
- Increased team efficiency by 75% during the crisis by introducing collaboration tools like Zoom, Mural, Asana, and consistent remote coaching
- Managed 6 HR professionals that led onboarding, exit processes and attendance management for 550+ employees across 2 locations
Lastly, while crafting a remote resume, make sure to be mindful of your style of writing, it’s safe always to mirror the company’s communication style. Always tailor your resume to the role you are applying for, do not send out a standard resume that’s not relevant to the job role - remember recruiters spend less than 8 seconds to decide if you’re the right fit for a role.
