How to determine, whether you should work remotely

Here is a fun fact, every second person I had met in my life hated their jobs. Sometimes it was simply because they could not figure out what they really wanted to do with their lives but in most cases, the oppressing working routine was to blame.

Get up at 6, brush your teeth, spend 1,5 hours commuting to work by train and then by subway, sit in your cubicle trying not to yawn all day (8 hours, mate!) and then there goes subway again. Who could survive this vicious circle? My father actually has been struggling with such a regime for more than 30 years constantly repeating he’d love to work from home. Unfortunately for him, my father is an engine driver so the closest he was to work from home was while playing with my brother and his toy train set.

I managed to learn from the mistakes of my parents and made sure I had chosen work that could be done remotely. It is comfortable, it is efficient, it is healthy. The latest is especially true nowadays. With the world going into a frenzy because of the coronavirus the idea to work from home where you are safe and sound seems more tempting than ever before. I reckon it is likely that many companies adopt quarantine experience in the future and remote work will be just as common as sitting in the office.

No matter what your specialization is when writing a CV for the remote jobs you basically have to kill two birds with one stone – to convince your potential employee you are good at your field and at the same time to convince them you can manage remote work. Although telecommuting isn’t taught at colleges it definitely should be your second major. The good news is that you can master it by yourself if only you are totally sure you will benefit from remote work.

Here are four simple questions you should ask yourself before switching to remote work. Be honest when deciding…

Are you responsible enough?

By working from home you can save a lot of time and have the luxury of sleeping for an hour or two longer. However, when there is the possibility to snooze your alarm as many times as you please… it is a temptation only the strong ones are able to withstand. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility, that is why you’ll need to adhere to a strict schedule for remote work. Naturally, it is not only about getting up in time.

Note that it is difficult to focus when you’re at home. Sometimes it is hard to find motivation, there are so many distractions. Kids, cats, unwatered plants, uncleaned floors, unread books, unwatched Netflix. At home, there will be no manager to ask what the hell are you doing instead of working, so that’s all on you.

Are you organized enough?

Newbies who have just started working remotely try to show off and get into suits before starting work, old-timers tend to work in their pajamas. The thing is it doesn’t really matter as long as you manage to meet the deadlines. Being organized is first of all about being able to cope with multiple tasks without having a manager guide you. You also have to be more or less independent and try to tackle problems by yourself. Bothering your manager is tolerable at the office but telecommuters are on their own. Speaking about being on your own…

Are you good with computers?

You do not need to be a Bill Gates. However, a certain level of tech-savviness is a must for remote workers. There will be no IT guy around to help you set up your laptop or un-jam your printer so you’ll need to learn how to restart your computer on your own.

Obviously, young people are more likely to get hired for remote work since they are considered to be more tech-savvy. Well, those pampered millennials are not the only ones who know fancy words like Trello, Skype, and Google Hangouts, right?

Are you Robinson Crusoe enough?

Of course, it all depends on the personality, but you have to think really good whether you are ready to be permanently stranded at home. With all its drawbacks office life is eventful and sometimes quite interesting, so are you ready to be alone for the whole day and share your lunch with cats? Personally I was surprised to find out that after a month of remote work I started missing people and needed their chattering as background noise for productive work. On the bright side, no more gossips near the water cooler or unfunny jokes you have to laugh at to win some social points.

Nevertheless, you are still required to communicate with your employers, namely to write emails, to make phone calls, and to communicate via Skype. In short, you have to be a well-spoken Robinson who can correspond with savages from the mainland.

Do not rush yourself answering these four questions but once you’ve made the decision in favor of remote working and deemed yourself worthy make sure to read the article with tips on how to tailor your CV before applying for remote jobs.