Crunch The Numbers – What You Can Do To Land A High Paying Remote Job
Table Of Content
- You can increase your chances of getting hired by a 100X if you're willing to put in the work.
- 📌 Finding what role to target
- 📌 Applying to hundreds of roles
- 📌 Learning from feedback
- 📌 Learning from interviews
- 📌 Optimising for the highest possible offer
- 📌 Choosing the "best" offer
- Conclusion
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Before we explore the numbers, I want you to know that landing a high paying remote job requires determination and perseverance. There's no way around it. Not everyone who wants a high paying remote job will land one. But what I also know is that
You can increase your chances of getting hired by a 100X if you're willing to put in the work.
One of the biggest hurdles I see in job-seekers (particularly with those who fall into the “I want a job where I can work from home” camp) is knowing what you can do to be more attractive to prospective employers. When it comes to evaluating your value, there are two things that come to mind: How much do you know about how to do your job, and what do you bring to the table in terms of intangible benefits?
This is what I know about landing high paying remote jobs 👇
📌 Finding what role to target
First things first: you need to figure out what role you want to target. Remote jobs can be anything from customer service to graphic design, so take some time to look at the options available and decide what kind of job is right for you. Once you know what role you want, start searching! The best way to find high-paying remote jobs is through job boards like Indeed and Glassdoor.
Questions I asked myself:
- What skills do I have?
- What do I have experience doing?
- What story can I tell about my past work?
- What companies will that story resonate with?
- What technical tests can I actually succeed at?
📌 Applying to hundreds of roles
It's not easy to land a high-paying remote job. But it's also not impossible! Here's what I know:
To find the right role, you need to apply for as many jobs as possible. If you're looking for a specific role, like customer service or data entry, do some research and make sure the company is hiring in that area. You can also try posting your resume on job boards like Indeed or LinkedIn.
Once you've found a few companies that are hiring, reach out via phone or email—and don't forget to mention how much you love working remotely! You might be able to get an insider tip or two about the company culture, which will help you decide whether it's worth applying for the position.
I applied to a very broad range of roles:
- Different titles
- Different seniorities
- Different company sizes
- Different locations (few job boards had "remote" as an option back then)
📌 Learning from feedback
Learning from feedback is a crucial skill for anyone, but it's especially important in the remote world.
Remote working isn't a one-size-fits-all situation. There are so many different factors to consider when you're working remotely: the type of work that you do, who you work with, how much time you spend collaborating with others, and how much autonomy you have over your workflow.
But there are also some general guidelines to follow if you want to land a high-paying remote job. We've been talking about these tips for years now, and we're excited to share them with all of our readers!
Goes without saying. But this is the usual breakdown:
80%+ of companies don't ever reply.
10% or so reject in written format.
From these, I learned that either I shouldn't apply to such companies/roles or that I should position differently!
📌 Learning from interviews
The best way to learn how to land a remote job is by talking to people who've done it. That's why we've collected interviews with some of our favorite remote workers and included them in this post.
In these interviews, you'll learn about:
What types of jobs are available in remote work?
What are the most common challenges faced by remote workers?
What kind of companies hire remote workers?
How can you prepare for your first interview?
📌 Optimising for the highest possible offer
This is the most important thing you can do to land a high-paying remote job. Remote employers are looking for people who are willing to go above and beyond. The most obvious way you can do this is by doing your research. Know what type of companies you want to work for, what they’re looking for in their employees, and which skills they will expect you to have. This will help you stand out from other applicants and show that you’re serious about getting the job.
As soon as it became clear to me that I could get offers, I wanted to have several on the table at the same time.
Only that way I could:
- Chose the one I liked the most
- Make sure it was fully remote
- Negotiate the salary up
📌 Choosing the "best" offer
The first thing you need to know is that there's no such thing as a "best" offer.
I know, I know—it sounds like you should just pick the highest paying remote job and be done with it. But what if it sounds like a great opportunity but your gut is telling you not to go? Or what if it feels like the money and benefits are too good to be true?
The truth is, you can't base your decision on how much money they're offering you because there are other factors that will make or break your experience. For example:
What kind of support will they give you? Will they provide training, or will they expect you to learn everything on your own? What kind of culture do they have? Are their employees happy? Do they treat each other well? How many employees work in the company? Is there room for growth within the company itself (which means more opportunities for raises and promotions)?
I got a total of 7 offers on the table.
4 offers I dismissed immediately because either salary was below $100k or weren't fully remote
3 offers were "on target": Fully remote and paid above $100k/year. All well funded US-based startups.
Conclusion
In the end, it's about finding a remote job that is right for you. So take these tips and use them to your advantage. There are plenty of remote jobs out there so go out and get one that you love!