7 skills you need to land a remote role in tech

Since the global pandemic, the number of remote roles and those hoping to work from home has sky-rocketed. And it’s easy to see why.

Remote work offers more flexibility and is the ideal way to perfect your work-life balance. Not to mention it promotes productivity and allows professionals to work wherever they want. So you could literally pack your bags and ship them halfway around the world to start a new life whilst still doing the job you love.

However, there are certain skills you must possess if you want to work remotely, and you need to be able to showcase these effectively on your resume if you want to get hired.

So, if you’re hoping to secure an exciting tech role this year, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll take you through the top skills you need to succeed as a remote tech worker and why you need to demonstrate your key skills to employers. 

1. Technical know-how

Let’s get this one out the way early as it might seem a little obvious, but it is still important. In order to land any role in the tech industry, you need to have the right skills and technical know-how. Otherwise, how will you do your job?

Use your personal profile, skills section and employment history to demonstrate your technical skills on your resume.

Be sure to highlight keywords from the job description and pepper these throughout. For example, if the employer has asked for coding languages, be sure to include these on your resume, including the names of the specific languages you understand, such as Python or Javascript.

Technical know-how is also more important when working remotely because you won’t have others there to coach or train you in person. At least, you won’t have this all the time, even if you do have virtual training or support on occasion. 

2. Communication skills

As we’ve said, working remotely means you can’t just walk to a colleague’s desk and ask them a question or offer IT support. Instead, you need to ensure you have a strong set of communication skills and that you include these on your resume.

You might find that you’re communicating with people from around the world and operating in different time zones. You might also be working with people on different levels. Therefore, you need to be able to tailor your language or writing accordingly.

Communicating effectively over the phone, email and video conferencing calls is going to be essential to successfully work remotely. For example, you might need to outline new projects or teach a colleague how to fix a technical issue from afar. 

3. Video conferencing 

Following on from this, one important way of communicating when you work remotely is using video conferencing tools. Lots of professionals have become accustomed to working this way in the last couple of years, and showcasing these skills on your resume is beneficial.

This means including the names of any specific platforms you use to call, such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. It also means proving that you are comfortable expressing your thoughts and ideas on camera, as well as offering support to others virtually.

In tech, understanding how to do things like screen sharing is going to be hugely beneficial when working remotely, so give some examples of how you’ve done this in the past and what you achieved as a result. 

4. Collaboration 

Since remote workers lack a centralised office space, or they aren’t there very often, collaboration must be achieved differently. There are several ways this can be done, often through communication and project management tools. So, if you are proficient in using tools like Slack, Trello or Basecamp, make sure you name drop these on your resume.

You also need to highlight the transferable skills that make you good at collaboration. Again, a lot of this will rely on your communication and interpersonal skills, but certainly, including ‘collaboration’ as a keyword is important.

The best way to do this is to give examples of how you’ve collaborated effectively with other teams or colleagues in the past, particularly if this was done remotely.

5. Adaptability 

Adaptability is an important skill for anyone in the tech industry because technology is always changing and evolving. Being able to stay on top of the latest trends and new technologies is vital for the future of your career.

88.6% of tech professionals worldwide work full or hybrid remote, so being adaptable is crucial. It’s essential that you are able to adapt quickly to change, delays or issues when you don’t have people around you to offer immediate support or advice.

This often requires some creative problem-solving and strategic thinking – two other very important and beneficial skills remote tech workers should have.

6. Creativity 

From web development and software engineering to data science and cybersecurity, every tech professional must have a creative side. This can be for creating new platforms or applications or simply finding the most effective and creative way to solve an issue.

When working remotely, you might also find you apply your creativity to other areas of your job too. For example, finding helpful variations of existing techniques in order to communicate your ideas quickly and more efficiently from your remote location. 

7. Project management 

Finally, one of the greatest things about working remotely is that you don’t have your boss looking over your shoulder (if this is something they did, anyway). However, it also means that you don’t have someone there to quickly remind you of tasks or give you a quick nudge. Therefore, you need to be able to manage all your projects effectively.

As well as being able to use some of the aforementioned project management tools (Slack, Trello, etc.), there are lots of other skills involved in project management. These include time-keeping, meeting deadlines, work-life balance, planning and organisation.

All of these tools will stand you in good stead when working in the tech industry anyway, but they will also help you to excel in your remote position. So be sure to show these off on your resume!