I’ll be honest—my first three months of remote job hunting were a disaster. I applied to 200+ positions using regular job boards and heard back from maybe five companies. Total waste of time.
Everything changed when I stopped treating remote jobs like regular jobs. They need a completely different approach, and once I figured that out, I landed three interviews in two weeks.
The Sites That Actually Got Me Responses
We Work Remotely became my daily starting point. No fluff, no scam postings trying to sell me courses. Just clean listings from real companies. I’d filter by “All” categories first thing each morning with my coffee, then narrow down to my field. The site shows exactly when jobs were posted, so I could jump on fresh listings within hours.
What I loved: Every job shows the salary range upfront. No more wasting time on interviews only to find out they’re paying peanuts.
FlexJobs cost me $15/month, but it paid for itself immediately. Yes, I was skeptical about paying for job listings too. But after getting burned by three “remote” jobs that turned out to be MLM schemes on free sites, the screening was worth it. I found my current role here—a legitimate marketing position with a US company that actually respects work-life balance.
The search filters are incredibly detailed. I could specify “100% remote” (not hybrid), exclude freelance gigs, and even filter by companies that provide equipment. That last filter saved me from a sketchy situation where they expected me to buy my own laptop.
Remote.co surprised me. Smaller than the others, but their “Q&A” section helped me more than any career coach. I learned how to spot red flags in remote job descriptions (anything mentioning “family atmosphere” usually means they’ll message you at midnight) and which companies actually have remote-first cultures.
My Actual Daily Routine That Worked
I stopped the spray-and-pray approach. Here’s what I did instead:
Morning (7-8 AM): Checked We Work Remotely and Remote.co for new listings. Applied to 2-3 jobs maximum—only ones I genuinely qualified for. I’d spend 20 minutes customizing each application.
Midday: Searched LinkedIn using “remote” + “posted in last 24 hours” filters. Most people ignore this, but I found smaller companies here that weren’t on the big boards yet. Less competition.
Evening: Spent 30 minutes on Jobgether or similar platforms searching specifically for roles in my timezone. This was crucial—I’m in Kigali, and working US East Coast hours nearly killed my previous attempt at remote work.
The Application Changes That Made Companies Actually Respond
I created a separate “remote work” section on my resume. Listed my home office setup (reliable internet, backup power, dedicated workspace), timezone, and overlap hours I could work. Sounds basic, but it showed I understood remote work requirements. One recruiter later told me this made me stand out because most applicants never mentioned these logistics.
Cover letters became stupidly specific. Instead of “I’m passionate about your company,” I’d write “I noticed your blog post about scaling customer support remotely—I implemented a similar ticket system at my last role that reduced response time by 40%.”
I’d spend 10 minutes researching each company’s actual challenges. Twitter, LinkedIn posts from their employees, recent news—anything to show I knew what they were dealing with.
Video intro became my secret weapon. For jobs I really wanted, I’d include a 90-second Loom video. Just me, talking to camera, explaining why I was interested and showing I could communicate clearly on camera. Remote companies care about this.
Three hiring managers mentioned my video was why they opened my application. Most candidates don’t bother, so you immediately stand out.
Red Flags I Learned to Spot Immediately
- Job descriptions with no salary range (they’re lowballing)
- “Must be available 24/7” (toxic culture guaranteed)
- Required unpaid “test projects” over 3 hours (they’re getting free work)
- Gmail addresses instead of company domains (often scams)
- Promises of “easy money” or emphasis on “lifestyle” (MLM schemes)
I wasted two weeks on a “test project” that turned out to be actual client work they never paid for. Never again.
What Actually Made the Difference
Consistent, focused applications beat volume every time. My 200 scattered applications got me nowhere. My 30 targeted applications (where I actually researched the company and customized everything) got me 8 interviews.
Networking mattered more than I expected. I joined three remote work communities on Slack and Discord. Just being helpful and visible led to two direct job referrals. People hire people they’ve interacted with, even if it’s just online.
Following up worked, but timing mattered. I’d send a polite follow-up email exactly one week after applying. Not before (too eager), not after (they’ve moved on). Simple message: “Still very interested, happy to provide any additional information.”
Got three interviews just from follow-ups where my application was buried.
The biggest shift was treating remote job hunting like a remote job itself. Set hours, systems, tracking, professional approach. Once I stopped desperately applying to everything and started being strategic, everything clicked.
It took me four months total, but the last month was completely different from the first three. Hope this helps you skip some of my painful learning curve.
