How to Find Your First Remote Tech Job

Why Remote Work?

Remote work expands your market beyond geography, enabling access to global teams, competitive compensation, and flexible routines. Success, however, demands strong written communication, self-management, and a portfolio that proves value without in-person cues.

3-Week Launch Plan

Week 1 — Prep & Positioning

• Define your target role and stack (e.g., “Backend, Go/Python, event-driven”).
• Craft a remote-first resume (asynchronous collaboration, GitHub links, distributed teams).
• Polish your LinkedIn and GitHub: add a one-line value proposition and 2–3 pinned repos with READMEs and tests.

Week 2 — Portfolio & Proof

• Ship one anchor project with real constraints (rate limits, auth, observability).
• Write a short case study: problem → decision → result (metrics).
• Publish a technical note or tutorial related to your target stack.

Week 3 — Pipeline & Outreach

• Apply to 5–10 high-fit roles with tailored materials.
• Send 5 networking messages to second-degree connections or maintainers.
• Join two niche communities (Slack/Discord) and contribute meaningfully to one thread.

Standing Out As a First-Timer

• Proof of async skill: PRs, RFCs, ADRs, Loom walk-throughs.
• Reliability: consistent commit history; issues triaged with labels and templates.
• Business awareness: metrics in your case studies (latency, cost, conversion, MTTR).

Remote-Friendly Resume Highlights

• “Collaborated across UTC−8 → UTC+2 using written specs and decision logs.”
• “Replaced recurring status meetings with weekly async updates; cut cycle time 22%.”
• “Shipped feature with feature flags and canary; rollback rate 1%.”

Outreach Messages (Copy/Paste)

Hi {{Name}}, I enjoyed your post about {{topic}}—especially {{insight}}.
I built a small {{project}} that tackles something similar ({{link}}). 
If you’re open to it, I’d love 10 minutes to ask two practical questions about working on {{team/domain}}.
                    

Interview Prep (Remote-Specific)

• Practice whiteboard via doc: propose structure in a Google Doc with headings and bullet trade-offs.
• Record a 5-minute Loom pitching your anchor project; share during interviews.
• Prepare async artifacts: sample status update, one-pager, and ADR snippet.

FAQ

Do I need prior remote experience? Not mandatory—show async artifacts and consistent independent delivery.

What if I lack “brand name” companies? Demonstrate results and systems thinking with case studies and OSS.

CTA

Download the Remote-First Resume Template and the Outreach Script Pack (replace with your site links).