Here are key strategies to update your resume so that it appeals to hiring managers for remote roles. We’ll look at how to showcase the must-have skills for remote work, emphasize your experience working remotely or independently, and ensure your resume makes it through applicant tracking systems. Follow these tips and you’ll be ready to land your next remote job.
Target the Right Keywords
When optimizing your resume for remote work, one of the most important things you can do is target the right keywords. Take some time to research the keywords that are commonly used in remote job postings in your desired field. Look for terms like “remote”, “virtual”, “telecommute”, “work from home”, etc.
Once you’ve identified the relevant keywords, work them naturally into your resume. For example, under the experience section for a previous role, you could say something like “Led remote team of 10 developers” or “Managed telecommuting staff”. Avoid simply stuffing keywords, as this looks spammy. The keywords should flow naturally within the context of your resume details.
Properly optimizing with keywords will allow your resume to be picked up in applicant tracking systems and searches by recruiters. As the remote work trend continues to grow, targeting keywords will give your resume an advantage and visibility when applying to open positions.
Highlight Relevant Skills
The skills section of your resume is crucial for showing how you are qualified for remote work. Make sure to tailor this section to highlight abilities that translate well to working remotely.
Specifically, emphasize skills like:
- Communication – Remote workers need to communicate clearly via chat, email, video calls, etc. without the benefit of in-person interactions. Show that you can convey ideas effectively.
- Time management – Working remotely requires being disciplined and productive without direct oversight. Demonstrate that you can manage your own time, prioritize tasks, and get work done in a timely manner.
- Collaboration – Explain how you collaborate effectively through online tools. Show that you can work well with team members distributed across locations.
- Technical skills – Proficiency with videoconferencing, productivity software, project management tools, and other relevant technologies is a must. Include the specific tools and platforms you are skilled with.
- Self-motivation – The remote environment requires drive and initiative. Give examples of how you are able to motivate yourself and be productive without being micro-managed.
- Problem-solving – Since you won’t necessarily have coworkers nearby to consult, detail how you independently solve issues that arise. Give examples of challenges you navigated on your own.
Carefully selecting which skills to highlight will show employers that you have what it takes to thrive as a remote employee. Tailor this section based on each job’s requirements to convince them you are the right fit.
Showcase Remote Experience
If you have any previous experience working remotely, even if it was just a side gig or freelance work, be sure to highlight it prominently on your resume. Specifically list any remote jobs, contracts, freelance projects or other work you’ve done outside of a traditional office setting.
Discuss your working environment for those roles and talk about the tools and technology you utilized to communicate and collaborate without being onsite. Describe how you were productive and successful despite the physical separation from coworkers or clients. Some examples you can provide:
- The productivity metrics and results you achieved while working remotely
- How you communicated effectively with distant team members or managers
- Systems you used to manage your own time and tasks without in-person supervision
- Any challenges unique to remote work that you overcame
Showcasing quantifiable examples of thriving in a remote role will assure employers that you can be self-directed and productive regardless of location. Highlighting your past remote experience gives you an edge over candidates who have only worked onsite.
Focus on Results
Your resume needs to clearly demonstrate the impact you made in previous roles. Use metrics and data to highlight your accomplishments. For example, if you implemented a new system that reduced support ticket resolution time by 15%, be sure to call that out. Rather than just listing your responsibilities, emphasize results oriented achievements.
For remote positions, it’s particularly important to showcase abilities like project management, goal setting, and achievement. Remote work requires being self-directed. Prove you can take initiative, follow through on deliverables, and consistently meet or exceed targets. Focus your experience summaries on challenges faced, actions taken, and quantitative outcomes achieved. Demonstrate how you drove success in past remote and/or independent roles.
Back up any claims about improved efficiency, reduced costs, increased revenue, or other bottom line impacts with hard numbers. The more you can quantify your accomplishments, the better. It shows you understand success factors for business roles and can clearly articulate the value you brought to your employers.
Align Your Brand
Your resume should align with your overall personal brand and highlight your unique value proposition as a candidate. Make sure your resume has a consistent voice, design, and showcases relevant achievements that support your brand. For example, if you aim to be seen as an innovative leader, showcase projects where you spearheaded a new technology implementation or process improvement at work.
The formatting, color scheme, fonts, and visual elements on your resume should also be cohesive with your brand identity. This helps reinforce who you are and what you stand for to employers. For instance, if you have a creative brand, you may opt for an infographic-style resume with visual elements like charts or icons to represent your skills. Or if you have a more traditional, corporate brand, stick to standard resume formatting with clear section headings and a classic font like Arial or Times New Roman.
In summary, your resume is an extension of your brand. Make sure it communicates your unique value, achievements, and abilities in a way that’s consistent with the image you want to project as a candidate. This branding alignment can help you stand out and show employers why you’re the right fit for the role.
Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems
Most companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter resumes before a human ever reviews them. An ATS scans your resume for relevant keywords, skills, years of experience, and other data points to determine if you’re a potential match for the role. If your resume isn’t optimized for these systems, it may never even reach the hiring manager.
To optimize your resume:
- Identify the job requirements and qualifications listed in the job description. Take note of the exact keywords and terminology used.
- Incorporate those same keywords naturally into your resume. Don’t just stuff keywords—use them in the context of demonstrating your related experience and abilities.
- Use standard formatting without unusual fonts, text boxes, columns, or tables. Complex formatting can make your resume difficult for an ATS to scan and parse.
- Send your resume through ATS testing platforms to catch any issues before submitting your application. Jobscan.co and rezi.io are two free options.
- If applying directly via a company’s website, pay attention to the fields provided and any requirements around file types or size limits.
Taking the time to optimize your resume for ATS technology can make a huge difference in whether you get selected for job interviews. Test your resume before applying and ensure the relevant keywords are woven throughout.
Highlight Communication Abilities
Remote work requires strong communication skills and abilities to collaborate effectively despite physical distance. Your resume should showcase how you communicate clearly and efficiently in remote settings.
List specific tools and technologies you have experience with for remote communication and collaboration. These may include:
- Video conferencing tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc. Highlight experience running or participating in virtual meetings.
- Chat apps such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Chat. Mention any chat groups or channels you actively participated in.
- Email platforms like Gmail or Outlook. Provide examples of how you communicated effectively over email in past remote roles.
- Project management software like Asana, Trello, Jira, etc. Show experience collaborating cross-functionally via these tools.
- Cloud-based document sharing platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Sharepoint, etc. Give examples of real-time document collaboration.
- Voice and audio tools like phone, podcasts, Clubhouse, etc. Share how you built relationships and communicated remotely via voice.
Highlighting your technical abilities and outlining specific examples of how you applied various tools to communicate and collaborate remotely will showcase your readiness for remote work roles.
Convey Time Management
The ability to manage your time and stay focused is critical when working remotely. Employers want to know that you can be productive and disciplined without direct oversight.
Your resume should demonstrate that you have excellent time management skills. Provide specific examples of how you set daily/weekly goals, prioritize tasks, and minimize distractions when working independently. If you use productivity tools and systems, mention those as well.
For example:
- Created daily task lists to focus efforts and ensure deadlines were met when working remotely as a Freelance Writer. Used Trello to organize projects into actionable steps and monitor progress.
- Maintained 97% on-time delivery of completed content over 2 years by diligently tracking time spent per task. Limited distractions by scheduling email in batches rather than leaving inbox open all day.
- Developed regimented weekly schedule with dedicated time slots for writing, research, correspondence when working as a remote Staff Writer. Used focus sessions and app blockers to eliminate distractions during deep work.
Conveying discipline and independence on your resume can assure employers that you have the time management abilities needed to thrive in a remote position. Use specific examples to demonstrate how you stay focused and productive when working on your own.
In today’s remote work landscape, having an optimized resume is crucial for landing a great remote job. Let’s recap the main points:
- Target relevant keywords that hiring managers look for when sorting remote work applicants
- Highlight hard and soft skills like communication, collaboration, and time management that are vital in remote settings
- Showcase any experience working or managing remote teams in past roles
- Focus on quantitative results and impact to demonstrate you can succeed remotely
- Align your personal brand and resume format to match the remote position
- Optimize resume for applicant tracking systems to get past initial screening
- Emphasize abilities to communicate virtually and manage time effectively
To summarize, it’s important to really tailor and customize your resume to highlight your fit for the unique needs of remote positions. Evaluate the specific remote job description, and be sure to exhibit the skills and experience hiring managers prioritize. Continue refining your resume as you apply so you can put your best foot forward. With a focused, achievement-oriented resume optimized for remote work, you’ll be ready to land your next great remote job. Go get ’em!
