If you're looking for a remote job, we've got great news. The number of remote job opportunities has never been higher, and more and more companies are open to hiring remotely. In fact, we've found 100+ fully remote companies.
There's no doubt that remote work has its perks. No commute, more flexibility, fewer distractions, and increased productivity, but it's not without challenges. Overworking, loneliness, collaboration difficulties, and low motivation are common.
Remote jobs get a ton of applicants and many employers look for remote employees who have remote work skills. Your resume (and cover letter) have a massive impact on whether you land an interview. The more time you invest upfront, the shorter your job search will be. Employers want to know you're ready to work from home.
In this article, we explain the importance of a remote job resume, how to write one, and offer tips and templates to help you stand out.
Why is it important to tailor your resume for remote work?
Remote or work from home jobs require remote skills alongside the technical skills needed to do the job. As with any job, you need to tailor your resume to reflect your ability to do the job and that means showing that you can work from home.
Remote work skills are a set of tangible and intangible skills that are essential in a remote work environment. Some important skills required for remote work include being accountable, self-starting, discipline, organization, problem-solving, punctuality, adaptability, effective communication, and time management.
How to write a remote job resume
Follow these steps to write a compelling remote job resume:
- Create a master resume template
- Showcase your previous remote work experience and skills
- Create three versions of your resume
- Read the job posting carefully and use it to tailor your resume
- Remove irrelevant or unnecessary information
- Make it obvious you're looking for a remote job
- Seal the deal with a great cover letter
- Research the company before your interview
1. Create a master resume template
The goal of a resume is to land a job interview, and the best way to do that is to tailor each resume to show why you're a good fit for the position and company.
But creating a resume from scratch is time-consuming.
That's why we recommend creating a master resume. A master resume is a document that lists all of your skills and experience in one place so you can choose the relevant experience to tailor your resume for each position you apply for.
Don't worry about the length of your master resume. Add all your education, online courses, awards and recognition, and work experience.
The goal is to get everything on paper so it's easy to pull from when you start creating more targeted resumes. This makes it much faster to create resumes for each job.
Remember to update your master resume whenever you get promoted, land a new job, or do something great a work.
2. Showcase your previous remote work experience and skills
Now that you've built out your master resume, it's time to add remote skills that show why you're a good fit for a remote work environment. Remember, remote work requires a specific set of skills that you need to highlight.
An obvious place to do this is in the skills section of your resume. For example, working successfully in remote teams requires you to be comfortable with asynchronous communication and remote collaboration.
Updating the skills section is the obvious place, but don't forget to sprinkle it throughout your work experience section too. If you already have remote experience, make it clear.
For example, if you're an experienced remote software engineer, you might write: "Shipped more than 20 features and managed a team of seven remotely." If you're a remote product designer, you might showcase your skills by stating: "Introduced Figma to the company and build out a design system that scaled to 10 remote designers."
Even if you haven't been a remote worker in the past, lean on any relevant experience like if you had to collaborate across timezones or geographies. For example, if you worked at a global company and frequently had to collaborate with people in countries, make it clear. Or perhaps you worked with customers who were overseas, that's another opportunity to highlight your remote collaboration skills.
Finally, don't forget to show off quantitative achievements (numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts) if you really want to stand out.
3. Create three versions of your resume
Now that you've built out your master resume template, you'll want to create three different resume templates that target:
- Similar roles: This resume will be used as a base when applying for jobs that are similar to your current or previous roles.
- Bridge roles: Bridge roles are jobs that are different from your previous roles but allow you to learn new skills that'll help you land an ideal role in the future.
- Ideal roles: This resume will be used when you're applying for your ideal role which could be a jump in seniority, in a different field, or requires skills you don't have yet.
By targeting similar and bridge roles alongside your ideal roles, you'll widen your job search while keeping you on track to land in your ideal role later. While it might seem like a lot of effort, creating a dedicated resume for each role type will help you focus it on what the hiring manager is looking for.
Once you know what type of role you're applying for, you'll pick the resume that fits best and then tailor it to the specific role and company.
4. Read the job posting carefully and use it to tailor your resume
The job description has everything you need to create a tailored resume that is perfect for the role. Hiring managers invest a lot of time writing these descriptions to attract the right candidates. Leverage the work they've done to tailor your resume to show that you're exactly what they're looking for.
Look at the job title. Is it a similar, bridge, or ideal role? Choose one of your three resumes as the base.
Now you'll want to read the job ad and look at the skills and keywords they use. Remote jobs get a ton of applicants, so most remote companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to automatically filter out resumes that don't match the job description.
If your resume uses the same language, it'll be pushed to the top and reviewed by the hiring manager.
For example, if you're applying for a data scientist role at InDebted and the job description mentions SQL, Python, Tableau, Postgres, Snowflake, Go, AWS, Sagemaker, S3, Glue, Athena, and GitHub then it's a good idea to list those tools on your resume (if you have experience!) Even if you don't have experience with those specific tools, listing similar ones can help you stand out.
You'll also want to identify the tone they use. Some company cultures are more serious, while others are more playful. Your resume should match the tone of the company.
By tailoring your resume to include a mix of important soft skills and the technical skills outlined in the job description, you'll indicate to the hiring manager that you're a great candidate. You can use our remote company database to find companies that use the technology you're already familiar with.
Reading the job posting carefully will also help you catch instructions that other applicants miss. Companies often ask applicants to apply with a specific subject line or to call out a phrase to see how well the candidate read the application. If you fail to follow the instructions, you'll get weeded out before they even look at your resume!
5. Remove irrelevant or unnecessary information
You now have a tailored resume that matches the job description and company. Now it's time to remove irrelevant or unnecessary information.
While it can be tempting to list out every achievement and your entire working history, your resume needs to be short. A good rule of thumb is one or at most two pages.
Every word, bullet point, and statement should contribute.
Only include work experience, education, and other information that is relevant to the job you're applying for.
If you're applying for a remote product manager job, you probably don't need to talk about your customer service experience, unless you're using it to bolster your product experience.
Hiring managers tend to skim resumes. Use formatting to highlight key points and keep your most important information at the top. Rather than rehashing your responsibilities, focus on results.
A good way to do this is to use a condensed version of the STAR method. STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result. A good way to do this is to start each sentence or bullet point with an action verb like "grew", "managed", or "optimized" then describe the situation and result. Use numbers, percentages, or other quantifiable metrics to back up your claims.
For example, "grew organic traffic" is not as compelling as "grew organic traffic from 10k to 30k/month in 12 months."
Hiring managers want to know the results of your work, not what you were supposed to do. Numbers, percentages, data, and other metrics help you stand out and show that you know how to communicate progress.
These specifics can be hard to quantify retrospectively which is why it's important to collect these figures over time and add them to your master resume as you achieve them.
6. Make it obvious you're looking for a remote job
Yes, it's increasingly common for job listings to show that they're open to remote but some companies still list a location and note that remote work is supported. In other situations, companies may not mention remote work at all but are still open to it if you're an excellent candidate.
Make it clear you're looking for a remote role.
Resumes typically include the city and state you live in to give the potential employer context about whether they'll need to fly you in for an interview or offer you a relocation stipend. This is obviously not important to a prospective employer if you'll be working from home.
We recommend including the country or countries you have working rights in as well as your time zone in the space instead as many remote companies only hire people from specific time zones or countries.
If you want to save time, we recommend using dedicated remote job boards like Himalayas that only list legitimate remote jobs. It'll make your search simpler and ensure that you're applying to jobs that support remote work.
7. Seal the deal with a great cover letter
A resume is only one part of a good application. Finding a remote job and getting hired typically means beating out a large pool of candidates, particularly if a remote position is open to job seekers worldwide.
If you want to stand out, write a cover letter. Your cover letter is also a great place to re-emphasize your WFH-relevant experience.
Cover letters add color that can be missing from a resume and allow you to dive deeper into your background, skills, and expertise. It can also help the hiring manager understand why you're applying for the specific job at their company, and most importantly why they should interview you over other candidates.
Cover letters are also a great place to show your passion, personality, and interests. Mention why you want to work for the company specifically and then use the STAR method to STAR method to outline a specific situation, task, action, and result that is relevant to the job.
Read our full guide on how and why to write a remote work cover letter here.
8. Research the company before your interview
Now that you've got a tailored resume and cover letter, there's a high chance you'll land an interview. Invest time into researching the company.
It's essential that you research the company before applying for the job. The good news is this doesn't take a whole lot of effort. Start with the company's website and familiarize yourself with its products and mission. From there, you can listen to or watch interviews with the CEO or members of the leadership team. You can also use our remote company profiles to learn about thousands of companies, their tech stacks, and company cultures.
Remote work resume templates
The three most popular resume formats are chronological, function, and combination. Choose the template that works best for your career level and skills. Below are templates for all three formats.
Chronological resume template
A chronological resume or reverse chronological resume lists your relevant work experience starting with your most recent role. Click here for a Google Doc version of this template you can copy and use. To make a copy, click File > Make a copy.
[Full name]
[Timezone]| [Working rights]| [Phone number] | [Email]
Summary
[Write a few sentences summarizing your qualifications and relevant skills. You can mention remote experience here.]
Professional experience
[Job title] | [Company name]
[Location or remote] | [Date range]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
[Job title] | [Company name]
[Location or remote] | [Date range]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
Skills
- [List technical and soft skills here] (Include your remote work skills like asynchronous communication and remote collaboration.)
- [Include one skill per bullet point]
Education
[University name], [Degree and area of focus]
- [List any relevant honors, awards, or publications]
Functional resume template
A functional resume format focuses more on skills than job history. if you have a gap in your work experience or are switching careers, this is a good format to highlight your transferable skills or achievements. Click here for a Google Doc version of this template you can copy and use. To make a copy, click File > Make a copy.
[Full name]
[Timezone]| [Working rights]| [Phone number] | [Email]
Summary
[Write a few sentences summarizing your qualifications and relevant skills. You can mention remote experience here.]
Skills
[Skill group one]
- [Result of using the skill]
- [Result of using the skill]
- [Result of using the skill]
[Skill group two]
- [Result of using the skill]
- [Result of using the skill]
- [Result of using the skill]
[Skill group three]
- [Result of using the skill]
- [Result of using the skill]
- [Result of using the skill]
Experience
[Job title] | [Company name]
[Location or remote] | [Date range]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
[Job title] | [Company name]
[Location or remote] | [Date range]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
Education
[University name], [Degree and area of focus]
- [List any relevant honors, awards, or publications]
Combination resume template
A combination resume blends the chronological and functional forms to show your skills and relevant experience. Click here for a Google Doc version of this template you can copy and use. To make a copy, click File > Make a copy.
[Full name]
[Timezone]| [Working rights]| [Phone number] | [Email]
Summary
[Write a few sentences summarizing your qualifications and relevant skills. You can mention remote experience here.]
Skills
[Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill]
Professional experience
[Your job title] | [Company name]
[Location or remote] | [Date range]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
[Your job title] | [Company name]
[Location or remote] | [Date range]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
- [Achievement]
Education
[University name], [Degree and area of focus]
- [List any relevant honors, awards, or publications]
Remote work resume samples
Use these three samples to get an idea of how to create a chronological, functional, or combination resume for remote work.
Chronological resume sample
Here's an example chronological resume showing remote work experience:
Erlich Bachman
GMT-8 | US Citizen | 111-111-1111 | [email protected]
Summary
Self-motivated hype man with over a decade of experience investing in and growing tech startups. Developed and incubated TechCrunch Disrupt winner Pied Piper. Working remotely since 2018.
Professional experience
Chief Evangelism Officer | Pied Piper
Remote | June 2014–Present
- Supervise and manage a remote team to promote Pied Piper's cloud-based machine learning middle-out compression with an exceptional Weissmann score of 5.2
- Develop social marketing campaigns to generate over $1m in recurring revenue for Pied Piper
- Implement social media strategies to increase engagement on social posts by 90%
Founder | Aviato and Code/Rag
San Francisco, California | May 2014–May 2018
- Founded social media aggregation and management software for commercial airlines and the airline booking aggregator Aviato, acquired by Frontier Airlines for low seven figures
- Co-founded tech journalism blog with Nelson Bighetti, sold for $2 million
Skills
- Public speaking
- Asynchronous collaboration
- Fundraising
- Time management
- Organization
Education
School of Hard Knocks, Bachelor of Startups
- Did not attend college, instead, I built startups
Functional resume sample
Use as an example if you decide to use the functional format:
Bertram Gilfoyle
GMT-8 | US Citizen | 123-456-7890 | [email protected]
Summary
Software engineer with strong knowledge of every programming language ever invented. Seeking a role where I can work alone remotely.
Skills
iOS Development
- Updated and maintained Pied Piper app
- Clear bottlenecks and fix bugs
- Wrote new version of Pied Piper that reduced load times by 35%
Front-end development
- Experienced in JS frameworks like Vue.js, React, and Angular
- Familiar with flux application architecture and state management libraries like Redux, Vuex, or NgRx
Web development
- Rebuilt website that results in 35% faster load times and 10% increase in revenue
- Boosted sales by 20% by implementing an abandoned cart system
Experience
VP of Architecture | Pied Piper
Remote | 2014–Present
- Responsible for the system administration and server configuration of Pied Piper
- Scaled Pied Piper to millions of requests per day
- Built server farm that saved the company $1m per quarter
Education
Harvard University, Bachelor of Computer Science
- Graduated first in class, summa cum laude
Combination resume sample
Below is a sample resume using the combination format:
Monica Hall
GMT-8 | US Citizen | 111-222-3333 | [email protected]
Summary
Experienced CFO and investment manager looking to work remotely for a promising startup.
Skills
Investment Management | Fundraising | FP&A
Professional experience
CFO | Pied Piper
Remote | March 2019–Present
- Increased company revenue from $3 million to $22 million per year by reducing costs across the business
- Researched and secured a $2M line of credit, then used resulting free cash flows to generate an additional $10M per year in revenue
- Raised sales by 160% by analyzing existing programs and redesigning marketing and advertising spending plans
Managing Partner | Bream Hall
San Francisco, California | June 2018–March 2019
- Sourced, did due diligence and invested in five companies
- Reviewed and negotiated legal contracts and amendments alongside the legal team
- Sat on the board of four portfolio companies
Education
Stanford University, Symbolic Systems
- Graduated summa cum laude
Find a remote job on Himalayas
If you've read this far there's a good chance that you're looking to find a remote job.
We can help. Himalayas is the best remote job board because we're focused on providing the best experience for remote job seekers.
Check out our remote jobs or remote company database.
