How to find a [remote] design job?
Back in 2017, I got an idea to find a remote job. At that moment I was working in the office for almost a decade. I still wanted to be a full-time employee with such benefits as stable income, sick leaves, and vacations (which could be difficult to get when you’re a freelancer), but gain more freedom to travel and work from wherever I want.
Spoiler: I managed, and it took me 58 days to get a job offer.
Recently I was cleaning up my storage and found a 100 days planner. I ordered it 3 years ago among some other nice art and office supplies that many designers like to stock in their drawers. The planner was meant to be used for a side project, that never happened. But when I decided to start looking for a new job, I realized this planner was a perfect fit to help me hit my target.
Why use a planner?
First of all, planning helps you to focus on your target. It’s much easier to have to complete smaller steps daily than trying to do everything at once. Yes, there must be something happening every single day until you reach your goal. Second, looking for a job could take a long time. At some point, you might feel quite demotivated. Then go through your notes and see how many things you’ve already done! You don’t stop on a halfway, do you? So notes will help you not to give up.
Do you need a paper planner or a digital one?
I prefer to use a paper one. Writing things down has some therapeutical effect and feels like a bigger commitment. However, if you hate paper notes or find your writing skills to be hard to read, feel free to use a digital calendar, sheets or service. The important thing is making notes daily, not the medium you choose.
So, in my case, I opened the planner on the last page (Day 100) and put down a description of my dream job: the kind of tasks I’d like to do, work-life balance, professional growth, salary, and other important things. Just think of what would be a perfect fit for you. And please, keep it aspirational but achievable. An unrealistic goal will drain your willpower. You could also write or print out this description on a separate piece of paper and stick it on a wall next to you to see it more often. Or leave it at the end of your planner and check it out later to refresh your expectations or revise the points.
So how to start the ball rolling?
After the goal had been well written, I went back to the first page and made a list of the required things that were needed to start applying for the jobs. While a dream job is a big goal, a list of things helps you walk one step at a time and achieve it. I consider this the first day on my way to the target.
Since I’m a designer, I needed to refresh my portfolio and Dribbble/Behance pages, rewrite my old CV and update the LinkedIn page. Moreover, I wanted to learn new skills and software that weren’t in use in my current job but would be beneficial in my dream job. While CV and portfolio are a must to start applying for the jobs, some courses could be learned between writing the applications.
Another nice detail: my planner had a time wheel on every page, so it was also good for time management. I was filling in the number of hours in the office on the current job, the time spent on CV or portfolio, learning, sports, etc. Here the goal was to spend at least 30 minutes daily on the stuff that let me step closer to my goal. The details were written down on a page with the current day number, and the general amount was added to the timetable (or calendar). You could also consider this as a habit tracker where you have to mark every day in the current month or year. You might want to set a notification on your phone to remind you to fill in today’s progress. I was doing it every evening before going to bed.
How and where to apply for the jobs?
Now, when the CV (one-page, btw) and portfolio are ready, you might need a cover letter. While for some jobs you have to apply through special forms, others might require application through an email. In my case, I compiled a template with several general paragraphs describing who I am, what I’m looking for and links to my CV and portfolio. A good idea might be to have one formal template for big corporations and one friendly informal for startups.
Finally, the next step is to start applying. When looking through the job lists, keep in mind Time Zones. When you’re living in Europe, it’s difficult to work for the West Coast in the US and vice versa.
Here are some websites where you could look for a job:
- AngelList
- RemoteOk
- Remotive
- WeWorkRemotely
- Remote.io
- RemotelyAwesomeJobs
- WorkingRemote
- WorkingNomads
- Indeed
Try to personalize every application you make. Take a look at the company website, location, and values. Think if it’s a good fit for you. And try addressing the right person by the name without mixing the names of the companies.
Don’t aim at the number of applications. Several high-quality applications are much better than 100 bad ones without a response. I suggest applying to 1–5 jobs daily and keep tracking them in your planner. Write down the names of the companies you reached every day. This will help you against applying twice to the same company and track how quickly they respond to you.
Why don’t they answer?
That’s true, be ready that most of the companies won’t answer you at all. This could be quite frustrating but companies get hundreds of applicants (and many low-quality ones) in the first days, so your letter could be lost among the others or wasn’t considered to be good enough. But don’t give up, continue working on your skills, adding stuff to your portfolio and applying for the other jobs.
For me, it took 50+ job applications, 1 refusal, 2 positive responses with the test tasks, 1 interview and finally 1 job offer. As I mentioned above, the whole journey took almost 2 months or 58 days.
Success!
Thanks for reading this, and I wish you good luck with getting your dream job! Feel free to share how long the job-seeking took for you, and if you’re happy with being a remote employee.
