The push and search for online jobs reflects in general the push for more remote work worldwide.
More and more people are willing to work from home and more and more companies are falling in love with that idea. After all, the money saved on office space, utilities and more makes a lot of sense for businesses.
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The advantages to remote workers are even greater—but we’ll go in depth on that one later.
The most important thing to note at this point, however, is that remote work is on the rise, which means that the available online jobs will be increasing steadily.
Table of Contents
II. The Pros and Cons of Online Jobs
III. How to Avoid Online Jobs Scams
IV. Are You the Right Person to Work From Home?
V. How to Become a Great Remote Team Member
VI. Learn the Necessary Remote Work Tools
VII. Structure Your Day for Maximum Productivity
I. Online Jobs Overview
According to one estimate, remote work in the US grew by almost 80% in the 7 years between 2005 and 2012.
This can be connected to the fact that 94% of American homes have broadband internet access. However, you can also connect this to the fact that remote work as a possibility is gaining steam in many businesses.
However, the push isn’t in the same direction for all businesses. Most famously, Yahoo!’s Marissa Mayer famously put and end to remote work in 2013 in order to increase the “speed and quality” of the work.
Best Buy and Reddit soon followed suit and stopped remote working opportunities as well.
Perhaps coincidentally, two of those companies are not doing very well at the moment. Nonetheless, the trend for remote work and therefore online jobs is luckily moving upwards.
But working remotely is not the easiest thing to do. There are many things you need to prepare for, and many pitfalls you have to watch out for.
It’s obviously not the same as working in an office, and while the benefits are much greater, the pitfalls are much riskier as well.
Beyond that, the very nature of remote work and online jobs is that anyone can do it from anywhere, as long as they have the right qualifications and temperament.
What this means is that the competition for the best online jobs can be fierce in and of itself.
Add onto that the fact that there are a lot of scams that can cause you to lose a lot of time and money, you soon realize that finding online jobs is much more trickier than it looks.
That’s why we’ve written up a fantastic, comprehensive guide to find not only the best resources for online jobs, but also how to prepare yourself to be a fantastic, productive remote team member.
II. The Pros and Cons of Online Jobs
It is normal for many people getting started on finding their first online jobs to only consider all the upsides.
However, in order not to be surprised and disappointed later on, you should also be aware of the downsides that come with such types of jobs.
1. The advantages
Let’s review all the amazing things you’ll get by working remotely.
You have greater flexibility
One of the most important advantages to online jobs is that you’ll have a lot more flexibility to work how, when and where you want.
This is the primary benefit: you can work at your breakfast table, in your bedroom, outside on your porch or balcony.
If you’re more productive at night, you can sleep in. Alternatively, if you wake up with the sun, you can start early and finish early.
You’ll have better health
This is a relative advantage, although I believe it is true for most online jobs. This is because you’ll have more flexibility (as mentioned above) so you can fit in more physical activity.
You can go to the gym in the middle of the day, or finish early and play soccer in the park.
Also, you can more easily control your diet. You won’t have to choose the fatty foods around your office. You can decide what to make and have better success.
You’ll save time and money
When you work from home, you avoid getting stuck in traffic going to and coming from work. Those normally take 2 hours out of your day.
Working from home means you get those 2 hours back. Even better, you’re also saving on the gas you would’ve burned going to work.
Not to mention the fact that you’ll save lots of money on lunches, seeing as you’ll be preparing your own.
You’ll have more time for your family
Lastly, if you have family that you live with, you’ll have much more time to spend with them. You essentially have more flexibility and extra time to spend with your loved ones.
That helps create a stronger family bond, which will make you a happier person.
The disadvantages
OK, let’s not get too carried away. It’s important for us to be grounded in reality, so let’s look and see what the downsides of online jobs can be.
You’ll be quite lonely
Human beings are social creatures, and we need human contact throughout the day. Some of us more than others, but in general it is a basic quality.
Working from home means you’ll eliminate work socialization, which is actually quite a big part of most people’s lives.
There are lots of distractions
In one word: Netflix. Because you can work where you want, you’ll sometimes have your breakfast and decide you can start work in 30 minutes.
In the meantime (the devil whispers in your ear), why not turn on the TV and catch up on a Netflix show just for half an episode.
And 5 hours later, you’re sweating bullets because the assignment is due soon and you’ve done pretty much nothing.
This is a very real possibility, and it affects a lot of people.
You’ll need to be very disciplined
In order to avoid the Netflix situation from above, you’ll need to have a good amount of discipline.
You need to constantly work on yourself to get the most of your day. This is especially difficult in beautiful, warm weather, or when your social media is very active.
We’ll discuss the best ways to maintain and improve your productivity below.
You can start to feel trapped
Lastly, while your home is your home, it’s also the same place that you are in night and day. You live and work there, and that blurring between your professional and personal space can make it all feel inescapable.
Generally, it’s a good idea to get out from time to time. But for the most part, you will experience this feeling of living in a cage every now and then.
III. How to Avoid Online Jobs Scams
Unfortunately, the great rule of the internet is that as soon as something becomes popular, it becomes populated with scammers.
Scammers, as you can guess, don’t have too many scruples. They’re in it to make a quick buck and are generally difficult to catch after you’ve already lost your money.
Normally, the money they’re stealing from you isn’t a particularly great amount, but when you multiply that with thousands of victims, it presents a very lucrative activity for them.
But often, even worse than that, is the fact that they’re stealing your time and your hope and excitement for a fantastic job offer.
It turns people off to online jobs, where they no longer want to work remotely and revert back to the office positions.
However, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by accurately identifying and avoiding these online jobs scammers.
1. They ask you for money
This one is a particularly easy one to catch, but unfortunately one thing that many people nonetheless fall for.
No legitimate job search or job placement company is going to ask you to provide any cash beforehand. Generally, recruitment agencies take a percentage from your year’s salary after they’ve placed you at a job.
Therefore, you’ll never really have to pay anyone, especially not for online jobs search. If you have to pay in order to play, then you can be assured it’s a scam.
Stay away.
2. Bad or no company website
You should also check out the company’s website to make sure it’s not a scam. If the company does not have a website, or its website is low quality or doesn’t list contact details, then that should be a red flag.
Always research companies that offer you anything to ensure it’s not a scam.
3. They use free email accounts
Your recruiter should be using a professional email address. In fact, all businesses should be using their professional email addresses.
If the online jobs recruiting company is using a Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail or other free email account, that is a big red flag. Be careful.
4. Google their name plus the word ‘scam’
You can either just enter the recruiting company’s name and see what Google autofills or you can enter scam at the end of their name.
Either way, see what kind of results come up. If there are quite a few scam results, then that means you probably shouldn’t get involved.
5. No interviews necessary
If the recruiting agency is offering you a role without needing an interview first, it might be a sign of a scam.
All reputable companies want to check that you are a good fit according to their clients’ needs. If there’s no phone or face-to-face interview, be very careful.
6. Spelling and grammar mistakes
If you get an email with above normal grammar and spelling mistakes (for example, more than one of each), then your suspicions should be way up.
Many scammers are not native speakers and therefore they are too careless to try to have good English writing skills. I for one am always suspicious when a professional email I get is filled with errors. You should be too.
7. Abnormally high salary
Lastly, if you’re offered an abnormally high salary for the job (for example, $500 per post) straight off the bat, it is most likely a scam.
Most online jobs offer only what’s known as a “competitive salary,” which normal means at or slightly below market level.
By watching out for these seven signs, you can help avoid the worst (and sloppiest) online jobs scams.
IV. Are You the Right Person to Work From Home?
Although this might come as a disappointment or even shock for some, the truth is that not everyone is suited for online jobs.
While this is quite difficult for some people (for example, strong extroverts who require a lot of interaction every day), it doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about it.
1. Introverts vs. extroverts
Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert will determine how you should set your schedule for your working day.
Introverts can generally thrive by working at home—if there aren’t too many distractions. However, if there is not a lot of quiet time at home, they will have to set strict rules in order to get their work done.
Introverts may also find it is better to get up early or work late into the night while others are asleep and they can get real alone time.
For extroverts who need more socialization, it can be a good idea to do some of the work outside, like in a coffee shop.
Extroverts can go out and get coffee and interact (or just be with) people. This will help energize them and keep their motivation levels up.
2. Sensing vs. intuition
The way you get information may affect the way you work. People who prefer “sensing” are happier with detailed information for their tasks.
“Intuition” folks, on the other hand, need to understand the bigger picture to really understand the heart of the task.
Therefore, whether you prefer sensing or intuition will determine how your client or boss will deliver the information to you.
For sensing folks, you should set a time of day to get email, phone or face-to-face details and updates on the work.
For intuition workers, it will be best to put aside some time to brainstorm ideas and chat with others to form that bigger picture.
3. Thinking vs. feeling
Lastly, you have to determine if you’re more of a thinker or a feeler when it comes to making decisions.
Thinking individuals can sometimes find it hard to work from home because they aren’t able to ask questions or provide feedback for others.
Feeling workers, on the other hand, can struggle because they don’t get that important feedback to feel appreciate, or to give feedback to show appreciation.
For both of these types, it is important to set up a time on perhaps a weekly basis to touch base and provide the necessary thinking or feeling communication.
V. How to Become a Great Remote Team Member
When you decide to work from home and you are searching for online jobs, you have to realize that you still will need to be part of a team.
Just because you can’t see your colleagues doesn’t mean they aren’t there. And it doesn’t mean that they don’t need you. In fact, they do, which is why you’re working for them.
Therefore, you need to figure out how to stay a connected team member while you’re still in the search process for online jobs.
After all, by the time you actual get your job, you won’t have too much time to learn how to become a great team member. You’ll need to be one from day one.
One of the best ways—if not the best way in total—is to get some actual practice working from home. There are generally a few good ways to do that.
1. Get a quick freelance gig
OK, this one is pretty much like your search for online jobs, except minified.
Essentially, you want to practice with a quick, short-term freelance gig to practice all the things that you’ll need to excel both in teamwork and remote work.
This is the type of freelance job you probably wouldn’t want to do for too long, or the pay may be just impractically low.
Whatever the problem is that you normally wouldn’t consider this, you should revise your evaluation of that freelance gig and see that you’ll get valuable preparatory experience while even earning a little.
2. Ask your current boss if you can work remotely
This one is even better if you’re currently working.
Instead of seeing if you have the chops to make it as a remote worker at a new job, try to see if you can work remotely at your current job at least once a day.
Your boss will probably not like the idea of your working from home permanently, but doing so once a week or twice a month would be far more acceptable.
This will help you the best in getting into a set schedule for work from home. After all, you already have a set schedule at your current job.
You already know the tasks you need to complete regularly, how to complete them, and how (and when) to communicate with your team.
Try it out at home and see how quickly you can adjust. That will be your best preparation in preparing for your upcoming work-at-home job.
3. Get active online
This one is if you don’t have the other options available (or while you’re waiting for a freelance gig to come through).
As with most (or probably all) online jobs, effective online interactions will be crucial to your success as a remote worker.
In order to practice that, you should get involved and active in one or many online communities. There are so many of these communities available for all types of niches and super-specific niches, that you shouldn’t have any problem finding one you can relate to.
Even better, while you’re practicing effective, adequate online communication, you can also learn a thing or two.
By communicating effectively on such public platforms as most social media sites are, you’ll be able to improve your written communication. This is very important for many companies that have online jobs listings.
In fact, Buffer even goes as far as reading their online jobs candidates’ Twitter accounts to help them decide whether they are a good fit for the company.
VI. Learn the Necessary Remote Work Tools
All companies that have online jobs for offer have a certain set of tools and apps that their team members use to do their work effectively.
In order to prepare yourself for your remote work, you should start getting familiar with these all-important tools.
That way, not only will you be able to list it on your resume as a program you’re familiar with, but you can also impress your new team. They don’t have to spend time training you on software and therefore they can spend more time on their core business.
Slack
Perhaps the number one tool in all remote work, Slack is actually a team messaging app.
However, it also helps you to organize conversations and prioritize them on specific topics, tasks or projects.
Dropbox
Working remotely means having to share lots and lots of files on a daily basis. For that reason, Dropbox is one of the best storage and sharing options available.
Dropbox lets you easily invite collaborators and integrates particularly well with many common programs.
Asana
Asana is one of the best team management tools out there, as it helps you to delegate specific tasks and also organize them.
Team members can easily track the group progress as well as see the to-do lists of individual employees.
InvoiceBerry
It doesn’t have to be communication and project management software .Your work will need proper invoicing that can be done on the road, from home, or wherever you are.
InvoiceBerry offers online invoicing software and the ability to create invoice in under a minute.
Skype
Of course, where would we be when it comes to face-to-face online meetings if we didn’t mention Skype?
Of course, it’s not great sometimes (with low quality), but it is free and is one of the most ubiquitous programs out there.
VII. Structure Your Day for Maximum Productivity
In order to really get the most out of your remote situation and help your success in online jobs, you need to be disciplined in your day.
Try your best to follow these tips to keep your day structured and maximize your productivity.
Set your schedule
In order to get the most structure out of your day, you’ll have to treat your day like a traditional office work day.
Have a “clock-in” and “clock-out” time. Include lunch time for yourself, and don’t skip breakfast.
Make sure you follow your schedule to a T in order to achieve the best productivity.
Minimize the interruptions
One of the hardest thing of online jobs and working from home in general is that you open yourself up to so many interruptions and distractions.
This is especially true if you have a family or pets at home. You are there (possibly locked away in your room or office), but for some reason you’re not supposed to be interrupted. A very difficult concept for both kids and pets.
Let your family and friends know that you have work, and when you’re working, you should not be distracted.
Take the necessary breaks
An important thing, which is difficult to do when you have an urgent deadline, is to make sure you take regular breaks.
It is quite easy and common to be so caught up in work that you forget a thing called lunch.
But stopping regularly and stepping away from the computer screen to walk, stretch or eat something is crucial for your mental and physical health.
VIII. A List of 34 Online Jobs Resources
OK, let’s get to the most important part—the online jobs! The best way to find these jobs is to apply to the ones that truly match your skill set and experience.
We scoured the internet to find you the best resources for online jobs. We’ve listed them below according to the type of online jobs.
Online jobs board dedicated to remote work
- Flexjobs
- We Work Remotely
- Remote.Co
- Remotive
- Skip The Drive
- Virtual Vocations
- Remote Ok
- Working Nomads
- Jobspresso
- Jobscribe
- Wfh.Io
- Outsourcely
Online Jobs In The Tech Industry
Freelance And Contract Online Jobs
General Online Jobs
IX. Summary
When you’re searching for the best online jobs, it’s important to remember the good parts, including:
- increased flexibility
- greater health
- less time and money spent
- more time spent with family
You should not forget the disadvantages however:
- increased loneliness
- a lot of distractions at home
- requires a lot of discipline
- you can begin to feel trapped
You should also be aware of the many online jobs scams out there. They usually:
- ask you for money upfront
- have a low-quality or no website at all
- use free email accounts
- have a bad reputation for scamming
- don’t require interview
- have lots of spelling and grammar mistakes
- offer abnormally high salaries
Online work also requires you to be the right kind of person and you’ll have to become a great remote team member. You can do that by:
- getting a short freelance gig
- asking your current boss to let you work remotely once a month
- getting active online and regularly interacting there
You should also learn the most important remote tools, including Slack, Dropbox, Asana, InvoiceBerry and Skype.
In order to remain productive at home, you should set your schedule, minimize interruptions and take necessary breaks.
With these tips, and the 34 online jobs resources listed above, you’ll be working remotely in no time.
Good luck!