Are you a freshman looking for a remote job? Here are the 7 best tips and tricks to find remote jobs, especially if you’re a freshman.
After settling in, one of the first things most new college students do is look for a job. Part-time and summer jobs are beneficial to most students since it helps cover their tuition and living expenses. Safe to say, most students need to work in college to make ends meet.
One of the most understated impacts of the pandemic has been its effect on working students. Most workplaces have been forced to close and start operating remotely, forcing working students to adapt quickly or risk being left behind.
In this article, we’ll go over some of the best tips and tricks for finding a remote job, especially if you’re a freshman. Without further ado, let’s cut to the chase.
1. Tap into the local market
Before looking outside for remote jobs, you should first check your local market. In this case, the local market is your fellow students.
Many students these days outsource a significant proportion of their writing assignments to write my essay for me services. So, if you have any writing talent, you should try sorting out essays and projects for students for a fee.
Always try to keep an eye out for local jobs on and off-campus. Who knows, you might find a legit job that is right up your alley. Besides, some of these local jobs give you some invaluable working experience.
2. Try freelancing
Like normal jobs, remote employers will require you to have experience before you’re hired. Even if you can do the job correctly, you’ll have difficulty convincing someone to trust you if you can’t show them you’re experienced in your prospective field.
Right now, the best way to get experience in any field is from freelancing sites. The most popular freelancing sites you could try are Fiverr and Upwork. The job sites have constant flows of projects from trusted companies to help you hone your professional skills.
The only disadvantage to freelancing is that you often get underpaid. However, if you choose ongoing or contract-based positions over one-time gigs, you will have a better chance of being well paid.
If you perform well, you might even land a full-time job through freelancing. At worst, you’ll be well compensated and gain valuable experience working remotely.
3. Get the best out of LinkedIn
When it comes to job searches, LinkedIn is simply a fantastic resource. While it is not the most popular social media tool, LinkedIn is still one of the best platforms for job seekers.
You can turn on job search alerts to search for remote positions listed within a specific period and location. LinkedIn also provides multiple ways to apply for jobs, including the “Easy Apply” feature.
Your status as a freshman is a valuable asset that can help you on LinkedIn. With a polished CV, you can apply for internships and mentorship programs in top companies.
Besides, you can connect with alumni from your institution or apply for jobs in the same city as your college.
4. Connect with people online
Physical networking is great, but the internet is still the quickest way to meet and connect with new people today. Make the most of it.
According to research, networking fills 85 percent of all positions. We all know the power of networking. It opens doors to new opportunities. Besides, having a personal connection in a company always comes in handy during interviews.
When searching for remote work, you can leverage your network by asking friends about opportunities. And if you are lucky, your network can vouch for you and help you land the job.
Reach out to people in your niche online when looking for a remote job. Join Facebook groups, follow industry influencers on Twitter, and engage in LinkedIn conversations. Connect with as many people as you can there, respond to posts, and socialize in general.
5. Craft an eye-catching resume
When applying for any job, make sure you’ve got a top-notch resume that’ll pass Applicants Tracking System (ATS) scans and land you that interview.
ATS is software that scans resumes before the organization gets it, and it usually rejects most resumes, so if your resume can’t beat the ATS, you’re not getting that job.
To beat the ATS of any organization, you’ll have to customize your resume to fit the job you’re applying for. You also need to optimize your resume for search keywords for the field and input them into the resume.
Those keywords are different for every role. So, make sure the skills and achievements in your resume are relevant to the job you’re applying for and keep everything on one page.
6. Take professional courses
There are numerous remote job opportunities available, ranging from programming to web design to writing.
Taking professional courses will improve your chances of landing a remote job. Professional courses keep you up to date on new developments in your industry while also brushing up your skills.
Coursera and Udemy are some of the few reputable websites where you can take professional courses. These platforms offer a wide variety of courses for free, while professional certificates are available for a fee.
If you want to become a programmer, look for highly regarded coding boot camps and take a course there to add to your portfolio.
7. Use job boards to find remote jobs
Job boards are like search engines localized to job searches. The AI takes the search keywords and offers you a list of best-matching results.
When looking for a job online, it’s essential to know what keywords to use so that the search engine returns results that are relevant to you. When looking for remote jobs, the best keywords to use are:
- virtual
- remote
- work at home
- freelance
- telecommute position
- home-based
- independent
If you use these keywords to search for jobs, you will receive 100% remote jobs from all over the world.
Conclusion
If there’s one good thing the pandemic has done, it has created more remote jobs. There’s more opportunity to work from anywhere in the world, and for first-year students, this is excellent news.
With a remote job and proper time management, students can balance work and academic life and still leave space for a healthy social life.