Professionalism: How to Impress for Remote Job Opportunities

Man working from home on a conference call

The COVID-19 pandemic changed so many things about our day-to-day lives. Social distancing has changed the way we engage in person if we do so at all. It’s also changed the way we work. Fully remote jobs and hybrid workplaces are becoming more of the norm, while traditional in-office work is less frequent. 

Remote work is noticeably different from a traditional in-office job. So, the question becomes, how exactly do you succeed in a remote job? Naturally, maintaining a high level of professionalism is an excellent start to impressing in a remote job opportunity. 

That said, it can be difficult getting your professionalism to translate to a remote environment, but it’s indispensable if you want to excel in remote work. Luckily, this article can help. Here are five ways to succeed in a remote job opportunity. 

It Starts with the Hiring Process

Succeeding in a remote job opportunity starts during the hiring process. In other words, you can use the application process and interview to ensure you set yourself up for success in your new role. 

When applying for remote job opportunities, use a solid resume that adequately showcases your skills and ability to excel in a remote opportunity. Your resume should show a potential employer how you can help them solve relevant business problems through the skills you’ve acquired in your career. Highlight skills that mean the most to successful remote work for the best chance at landing an interview with suitable companies.

Then, use the interview to further flesh out your potential role. Treat the interview like a conversation and ask questions about how the company is prepared to support you remotely. Also, use this time to learn about the company culture, job responsibilities, and current employees to see if this remote job opportunity is the right fit. 

When you finally accept a remote role, ready your mind and body for this type of work.

Ready Your Mind and Body for Remote Work

Remote work is going to be demanding on your mind and body. You’ll likely be sitting more and staring at a computer screen a lot longer. You’ll also be more vulnerable to burning out and not knowing when to log off, which can be highly taxing on your mental state.

Ready your mind and body for remote work before you get started in your role. Ensure that you’ve blocked out time in your work schedule for breaks and lunch. Additionally, you should be exercising regularly to keep your body nourished and your mind fresh. Furthermore, take advantage of mental and emotional health resources. Don’t be afraid to enlist the help of a counselor or therapist to ready your mind for what comes with remote work. 

After you settle into your remote job, be diligent about connecting with your team.

Be Diligent About Connecting with Your Team

Remote work doesn’t have the same opportunities to grow your relationships as in-office work. Instead, it requires an intentional effort to forge a connection with each person on your team. You can do this by using communication and collaboration tools to connect with your coworkers, even if it isn’t work-related. Take your time getting to know each person.  

Also, as you connect with your team personally, ensure you’re making a significant effort in all group projects, meetings, and professional activities. It’s easy to fall back into these sort of group settings when you’re new to a role. But you want to make an extra effort to step out of your comfort zone and establish yourself as a valuable team member with consistent contributions. 

Another way to impress in a remote job opportunity is to thoroughly learn all the tools and technology you’re asked to use. 

Master the Tools and Tech Your Company Uses

Remote work will require you to become tech-savvy to some degree. Mastering all of the technology and tools you’ll be using in your role will not only impress your coworkers and managers but will help make remote work easier overall.

Dive into any materials provided by your company that help you learn the technology you’ll be using. Keep your IT department’s phone number and email handy in case you have questions. Also, take it a step further and practice using all of the tools and technology outside of work hours to further your efforts to master them.

Lastly, create a support system to lean on when remote work gets tough.

Develop a Personalized Support System

Working remotely can be overwhelming at times. So much so that many people end up leaving their remote jobs to rejoin the traditional in-office work setting because remote work consumes them. Don’t let it consume you. Choosing to work through the difficulties of remote work is especially impressive.

You can get through challenges a lot easier with a support system. Develop a personalized support system to ensure your remote job doesn’t get the best of you or your work. This means finding a few people in your company who you connect with and can consistently reach out to with questions. You should also create a list of tangible resources that can help you thrive in your role, like mental health services that can help you manage your well-being or a direct line to the IT department for tech and tool assistance.

Starting a new remote job also means creating a new professional network of other people working outside of your company who you can lean on for emotional support and tips for success in your new role. Be intentional about reaching out to people and having additional conversations about maintaining professionalism in a remote environment.

Ultimately, a solid support system is crucial to staying productive even when things get hard to manage in your remote job.

Impressing in a remote job setting is a bit different than a regular in-office job. Still, with a high level of professionalism and intentionality, you can do it. Utilize the tips above to have the best chance at success in a remote job opportunity.

This article was written by Dan Matthews.
Dan Matthews is a writer, content consultant, and conservationist. While Dan writes on a variety of topics, he loves to focus on the topics that look inward to help develop one’s self, in turn developing mankind to make the surrounding world a better place to reside. When Dan isn’t working on new content, you can find him with a coffee cup in one hand and searching for new music in the other.

One comment

  1. It is an indisputable fact that COVID-19 has affected our world in a global way, totally changing a lot of spheres of life and our way of living. It seems to me that now a majority of people work remotely or switch to this type of job which, for me, is reasonable and relevant now. But I absolutely agree with you that it is not such an easy process to achieve success in a remote job and you need to use the right strategy to do it. I really like your ways because they are truly effective and laconic at the same time. From my point of view, one of the most important steps is to prepare the mind and body for a remote job because our internal mood can determine our productivity in a direct way. It is not so easy to switch to this kind of job and we will be able to get into a state of stress, if we do not approach it seriously.

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