Remote

Freedom
A Guide to Help You Find a Remote Job and
Thrive in the Future of Work

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Hanna Larsson [email protected]
 Remote Freedom

REMOTE FREEDOM

A Guide to Help you Find a Remote Job and Thrive in the Future of Work

Remote Freedom: A Guide to Help You Find a Remote Job and Thrive in the Future of Work

© Hanna Larsson Consulting AB

Cover photo by Edu Lauton on Unsplash

Publication number HLC001-1 - November 2022 - Sweden

Hanna Larsson

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Opening words
What we are seeing right now is a massive ongoing transformation in the job market. It is what we call

the future of work, and with it comes the future of living.

We have during the last three years drastically changed our priorities. The future of work is all about

options; about flexibility. It is about giving people the possibility to build their life just the way they want

to. It is about taking ownership for the navigation of your career and life.

We are now seeing people:

Starting side businesses

Searching for remote jobs

Leaving jobs they don’t enjoy

Taking ownership of their lives

Returning to their home countries

Taking more ownership of their time

Prioritizing a more sustainable lifestyle

Becoming entrepreneurs or solopreneurs

Searching for companies that offer flexibility

Choosing a lifestyle before they choose a job

Choosing a location before they choose a job

Leaving big cities and moving to the countryside

Redefining the meaning of work and choosing new career paths

It’s estimated that by 2030, 50 to 80 million of the world’s 255 million desk jobs, i.e. approximately

20-30 %, will be performed remotely a majority of the time.

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Remote work has the potential to improve the quality of life for so many people, and create

opportunities for people and families around the world that were not possible before. It enables people

to get access to jobs in locations that were not possible before. It enables you to pick a lifestyle before

you choose a job. Thanks to employers that are adapting to the change in the world of work and are

offering remote work opportunities, people can literally change the trajectory of their lives entirely.

It is with a profound passion for the future of work and the opportunities that are being created right

now in the job market that I have created this guide.

I have poured my tips, knowledge, and love for remote work into this guide and I hope it will inspire you

to take charge of your career and future, and put yourself in the driver seat of your life, find your remote

dream job and build the life you want for yourself.

Let’s continue building the future of work together.

Hanna Larsson

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Contents

Hanna Larsson

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Choosing flexibility 6
How to stand out from the crowd 8
Where to find a remote job 15
Remote interviews 19
Congratulations! You got the job! 26
Multiple income streams 29
Going solopreneur 32
Adapt to change and take ownership 34

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Choosing
flexibility

Hanna Larsson

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The future-of-work journey starts with taking ownership. You want to own the navigation of your career

and the income streams that it generates. Taking ownership is choosing flexibility in your life.

During the pandemic we proved to ourselves that we are capable of so much more than living our lives

around the office. We realized that we want the freedom to organize our work around our lives.

At the same time many companies understood that the best way to retain top talent was to adapt to the

new world of work and let their teams work from anywhere.

Right now there is a huge demand for jobs that enables flexibility. It’s a highly competitive job

market. And finding a remote job can sometimes be difficult. If you want to work from anywhere you

have to find ways to stand out from the crowd and be creative when you apply for your dream job.

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How to stand
out from the
crowd

Hanna Larsson

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Applying for a job these days, let alone a remote job, is like standing in a crowd with thousands of other

people hoping you will be the one they choose to hire.

And on the global market the competition is fierce.

There are way more people looking for remote jobs than there are remote jobs available. So you need to

do everything in your power to stand out from the crowd. The way to do that is by building a strong

personal brand with an equally strong network. This will open up doors for you in ways you can’t even

imagine.

So, before you decide to apply to your dream job, make sure you have done everything you can to stand

out from the crowd. Be creative and do things that other applicants won’t. Think about what strategy

would be appropriate for the role that you are applying to.

Regardless of your strategy make sure to get your public LinkedIn profile in order.

Improving your LinkedIn profile

Your profile is where you create a compelling story of who you are and what you bring to the table. It’s

where you instill credibility.

Make sure to improve on these following eight areas on your LinkedIn profile:

1. Get a great cover photo

This is your opportunity to make a great first impression. Your profile photo will follow you

wherever you navigate on the platform and it should be on you. A clear shot that represents you

well doesn’t only help your connections and others to recognize you, did you know that members

with profile photos can receive up to 21 times more profile views than those without profile

photos.

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2. Have a clear job title and a brief summary of what you achieved in your latest roles

Avoid explaining what the company does in the Experience section. This section should be focused

on you and your accomplishments from every employment you have had. What were your

responsibilities and what did you achieve in that role? Document it. Do you have data? Great, add

that too.

3. Choose a banner/background image that represents you well.

It should be simple and to the point and let the visitor see instantly what you want to be associated

with or communicate. You can find great photos on Unsplash.com. Want to make your own, then

try Canva.com.

4. Write an awesome summary

Focus on what you are doing today, what you have done in the past and where you are going in

the future and want to do more of. People will view your profile in seconds. Get to the point and

use spacing. Generally try to keep it short. Key-words are also good to add so that you can be

found when people search on LinkedIn.

5. Pin your best content

Showcase it and be proud of it. Remember that everything on your profile gives the visitor an

overall impression of who you are.

6. Create a great tagline that describes your professional self

The tagline should describe what you do. You can also add credentials and a couple of keywords.

This is your short elevator pitch to get people to visit your profile and interact with you.

7. Create a custom LinkedIn URL

It makes your profile look more clean and it’s a great resource when you want to invite people to

your profile page.

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8. Ask former managers, colleagues and customers for recommendations

This is a great feature to use to display what others say about you. It can also help to add credibility
in the beginning of your career. I’m a big fan of recommendations. I’ve collected 40 of them and I

try to remember to ask people that I work with for recommendations.

When you are done with updating your LinkedIn profile, ask for feedback from other people. Are you

getting your core message across? What do recruiters say about your LinkedIn profile? Ask them.

Your LinkedIn profile is a living thing. Evaluate it regularly and add things as you go along. Having an

updated profile will help in so many ways. And best of all, you will own the digital brand of You. And

with your profile you can steer it in the direction that you want.

Remember, even though many recruiters have started to use LinkedIn more actively to find and evaluate

potential candidates, some of them still ask for CV:s. If you don’t know it already, you can easily

download your LinkedIn profile as a PDF and send it to them. It is much better than creating your own

CV template.

Follow the companies you want to work for

Hit the follow button on all of the companies on LinkedIn that you are interested in working for one

day. Follow companies that inspire you. When these companies publish a post on LinkedIn, you can

engage with the content and their employees.

By being active on LinkedIn and engaging with companies and people that interest you, you will increase

your chances of being remembered when you decide to apply for a job later on. You have nothing to

lose!

Engaging with people on LinkedIn is always a win-win.

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Build a strong personal brand

Building a personal brand will always generate options for you. Posting your own content on LinkedIn is

a great way to start that journey. It is also the starting point for building a strong network. Make sure to

own the digital brand of You.

These are my 12 key takeaways from building a strong personal brand and a 30k network of connections

and followers here on LinkedIn:

1. The goal of content is to build trust. Building trust takes time.

2. When you post about things that you are passionate about - posting content consistently becomes

easier.

3. Provide value to your network on this topic everyday - consistency is key!

4. Engage with your audience.

5. Branding takes time. Finding your voice takes time. Be patient.

6. Most people quit posting after a while, or struggle with consistency. Keep going.

7. Be generous with your network. Be an enabler to others and doors will open for you.

8. Building a great network can become your superpower.

9. Building a personal brand will be a game changer for you.

10. Be you - be real.

11. Learn and take inspiration from people that are better than you, but focus on doing your own

thing.

12. Posting content on LinkedIn enables you to own the navigation of your career and life.

Start building your personal brand online today!

Hanna Larsson

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Build your professional network

To build a network takes time and effort.

The best way to get started is to engage in dialogues on the LinkedIn platform and provide value through

comments on other people’s posts. Building a personal brand on LinkedIn is as much about commenting

on other people's post as it is about posting your own content. The two go hand in hand.

Search for people that are creating content on the topics that interest you and start following them. You

will learn loads from them and you will probably be inspired to get started with posting content yourself.

It’s not rocket science. It’s about getting started and being consistent.

Helping people is a great way to build a network. This will come back to you with 10x. Know what you

are good at and share it with others, help others grow. I help people find remote jobs. I help leaders to

lead remotely. I help entrepreneurs to build revenue. I create content about the future of work.

Find ways to contribute to your network. People on LinkedIn want to be educated, entertained and

inspired. Be generous with your network and introduce people that you know to each other.

Networking will have a huge impact on your career.

Hanna Larsson

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Engage with the hiring managers

When you find a job ad that you are going to apply for, find out who the hiring manager is and

introduce yourself. You can also engage with their content if they post content on LinkedIn.

In my previous role at Remote when I hired and scaled a team from 2 to 90 people in 18 months, I met a

lot of people that had engaged with my content about Remote and then decided to apply. It can work as

a great ice-breaker too and help you stand out from the crowd.

You can also check if you know someone in your network that knows the hiring manager. It’s easier to

ask for an introduction.

It’s always worth reaching out to the hiring manager and see if there is interest for an introductory call. If

they say no (due to lack of time) they will still remember you in the hiring process.

Be creative with your application. Record a loom video, build a notion page - do what others don’t!

When you have found the remote job you want, show that you really want the job!

Hanna Larsson

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Where to find
a remote job

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There are several ways to find a remote job. You can either get one through the network that you are

building, being found by recruiters who are searching LinkedIn for great candidates (remember your

personal brand), by applying for remote jobs via LinkedIn’s own job board, or by looking into remote job

boards and job boards for freelancers.

Today, 15 % of all job ads on Linkedin are remote jobs and it is growing rapidly on the LinkedIn

platform.

Remote job boards

The following job boards are currently the top remote job boards out there.

AngelList

Dynamite Jobs EU

Remote Jobs

Flexa Careers

FleX Jobs

FreshRemote

Growmotely

Grow Remote

Jobgether

JobsFactor

Jobspresso

JustRemote

NoDesk

Open Talent

People First Jobs

Remote.co
Remote Europe

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Remote OK

Remote Tribe

Remotive

SkipTheDrive

Smooth Remote

Talenteum

We Work Remotely

Workew

Working Nomads

There are new ones popping up now and then. You can also check out The Lists of All Lists, a list of 300+

companies from my network that hire remote talent.

Job boards for freelancers

Some people want to be full-time employed, others don't. If you prefer to work with multiple employers

you can explore the freelancer option.

The freelancer market is growing rapidly and it can be easier to find a remote job through freelancing.

The number of freelancers in the USA is forecasted to reach 90.1 million by 2028. E.g. Google has more

freelancers (54 %) than permanent workers (46 %) today.

4.95 billion people have access to the internet across the world. This is causing major changes to the

freelancing space. The accessibility to work opportunities has never been greater.

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Check out some of the biggest freelance platforms, such as:

Fiverr

Flexjobs

Freelancer

Toptal

Upwork

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Remote
interviews

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I asked 4 recruitment experts to share their top tips for both candidates and employers that are doing

remote interviews. Let’s check them out!

Tips to candidates
Here are five great tips from the recruitment experts Dominic Joyce and Aleksandra Durand-Mac to

candidates that are applying for remote jobs:

Research the company you want to work for, social media channels, Glassdoor reviews. Come

prepared for your interview to show you really want this, otherwise, it's like bringing a penknife to

a gunfight!

Questions.... please please please make sure you use this time to get what you need from your

new potential employer. Interviews are a two-way street so make sure you fire questions at them

too. Questions that matter - progression, recognition, mental health/culture etc.

Do your research on remote roles, talk to people who actually work remote and find out their pros

and cons. Whilst it sounds desirable for a number of reasons, not everyone prefers a remote role.

Do look after the set-up, not just for the sake of the interviewing team, but for yourself. You want it

to be a distraction-free time where you can be at your absolute best – sharp, reflective, relevant in

how you respond to questions. You don’t want a sloppy impression to take anything away from the

impact you want to achieve in that meeting.

Give the interviewer a strong indication that you are resourceful, organized but also proactive when

needing support. The ability to self-manage from a boundaries perspective will be key. Give

concrete examples of this.

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Tips to hiring managers

Here are six great tips from the recruitment experts Pedro Homero and Scott Entwistle to hiring

managers when they interview applicants for remote jobs:

1. Focus on the task - Is there a valid correlation between the candidate's experience and what they

would do in your company? Will they be able to come up with simple and creative solutions to

seemingly insurmountable problems? Have they done so in the past?

2. Focus on the colleague - Will the candidate enjoy your company's culture? Will they bring

something valuable to the culture? Will they feel safe and happy in your team, and will the team

feel the same with them?

3. Focus on yourself - Assuming you'll be their manager, will you be able to let them do their work

and intervene only when needed? Will you be able to help them thrive and become the best

version of themselves?

4. A very important piece of interviewing remotely is having a baseline understanding of what tools

and skills are needed specifically for the role you're interviewing for. For example, if you're

interviewing an Account Executive, their presentation and usage of tools like Zoom are a direct

representation of how they will perform in their job while speaking to clients. On the other hand,

someone in the Finance department may not need to constantly be representing themselves

professionally on video chats, so expectations can be adjusted so long as they meet the company

wide communication standards.

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6. On the flipside of evaluating the candidate's communication skills, bringing good video

interviewing etiquette to the interview as the interviewer is also extremely important. It's very easy,

and unfortunately common, for interviewers to be distracted by Slack, email, or any other

notifications that pop up on their screen in the middle of an interview. Candidate's do notice this,

and it's similar to checking your phone in the middle of a conversation while interviewing in

person. Make sure to mute notifications and give the candidate your full attention.

7. Fully remote interviews give you the flexibility to introduce other pieces into the interview process

that you may not have been able to in person. It's very easy to include an exercise stage where you

give the candidate a few days to work on a project relevant to the job so you can evaluate other

skills than just in interview conversations. This promotes skill based hiring, and also lets the

candidate work on it whenever works best for them. Since it's all virtual, it's as easy as sending over

the task details in an email and following up in a few days to see how it's going.

Due diligence
You want to work for a company that will trust, enable and invest in you.

If you have never worked remotely before, it’s hard to know what questions to ask to evaluate a remote

employer. As a lot of people are struggling to find a remote job, it’s tempting to just go for the first

chance you get.

Please don’t do that.

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Just like any other job, doing due diligence on a company before signing a new job is really important.

Things to look for in a future employer:

A great leader that will support your growth.

A company with a great culture.

A company that trusts you.

A purpose-driven company.

A company that is transparent with their people.

A company that will encourage you to be yourself.

A company that will enable you to work from anywhere.

A company that cares more about your results than the hours you clock in.

To uncover the above, I recommend that you ask questions about:

The company values.

The company culture.

What's leadership like?

Do they invest in their people?

Do they care about their people?

Speak to employees that have left.

Speak to employees that work there.

On average, how long do people stay there?

Ask questions about all of these things to see how they live up to them.

Another question that is very relevant to ask is how you will be measured in your role. You want to make

sure you avoid companies that use remote tracking software.

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Remote work starts with trust. That’s the foundation of it. If an employer doesn’t trust their employees,

why bother hiring them in the first place? Employers should be focused on outcomes, not the hours

spent working.

So, in other words, this is a topic I would definitely bring up in an interview if I were you.

An interview is a two-way street.

And remember, be yourself, be curious about them, show that you’ve done your research and be ready

to share your unique story with them.

Work from home vs. work from anywhere

Working from home and being able to work from the location that is suitable to you are two different

things. Make sure you check this with your employer before you sign a new job offer.

You should be able to work from where you are the most productive. If that is working from home, from

a coffee shop, from the Alps, the beach, or a co-working space - it should not matter. This should be up

to you to decide.

If you travel a lot with your work, make sure you check how long you can stay in different locations

before this has tax/insurance implications. For most people this is not an issue as most people work in-

country where they reside permanently and go on occasional vacation trips.

If the employer don’t know how to hire you in the country you live in, you can suggest that they hire you

through an Employer of Record (EOR) Service like Remote, Deel, Oyster etc. An EOR will make sure that

you are hired compliantly in the country you live in and can work for the company you want to work for.

It’s as simple as that.

Hanna Larsson

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Benefits
If the company you are interviewing with wants to employ you but doesn’t know how to offer you

benefits in your location, suggesting that they hire you through an EOR is a great solution. An EOR will

be able to support your employer and make sure that you receive the statutory and complimentary

benefits that your employer wants to offer you in your location.

Follow up
A very important step of interviewing is following up after the interview. Send a quick email to the

recruiter and hiring manager after the interview and thank them for a great chat, and that you look

forward to continuing the process with them (if you do). A simple thing that makes a huge difference!

Most people don’t do this.

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Congratulations!
You got the job!

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A lot of us have been taught since we were kids that if we want to be knowledge workers we better get

prepared to spend a third of our day in the office and also a lot of time commuting back and forth to it.

When we decide to break free from these structures we also need to be aware that a lot of the cultural

aspects ingrained in the office space needs to be created in new innovative ways. The chit-chat in the

corridors and around the water coolers with all its implications on bonding and “office politics”, relaxing

coffee breaks or lunches with colleagues, all those micro breaks when someone walks past your room or

desk or when you just get up from your desk to take a stroll to the vending machine. Even the time

during the commute when you get to “leave your work at the office” as you are on your way home.

All of these moments we now have to create ourselves, and it takes a lot of self leadership.

If you want to truly prosper in a remote setting you need to be intentional with these aspects of work as

well. And if you’ve done your due diligence you will be working for an employer that understands the

importance of building a culture where people feel included and belong; an employer that is intentional

with bringing people together for bonding and social gatherings as well as investing in psychological

safety and promoting its employees to take personal time off.

When we find that employer, there is still a lot of responsibility on us to plan our days and build the life

we want for ourselves.

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Here are some tips to help you on your way:

Manage your calendar

Block your calendar appropriately for when you are available for calls. Block it for when you do

your deep work. When you work-out. When the work day is over. When you go for lunch etc. This

is very important. Especially if you work in a global company with colleagues in different time

zones.

Bonding calls

If your employer does bonding calls. Join them. If they don't do them, you can initiate them. This is

a great opportunity to meet people in cross-functional teams and build relationships. Talk about

other things than work and have fun.

YORO

You only ramp once so make sure to take your time through onboarding. Book coffee chats and

meet with people and teams you are going to work with. Cross-functional teams as well. This is a

great way to understand the company structure and learn about the culture more closely.

Coworking space

It’s nice to work from home but sometimes there is nothing better than to be around other people.

Check if your employer will support you with a coworking-space budget. It’s not only a great way

to meet new people, it’s also a great way to meet with your colleagues that live in the same city as

you. Again, working remotely does not mean isolation. It’s quite the opposite.

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Multiple
income
streams

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It’s never been easier to start a side hustle or an online business from your bedroom.

Or from Bali.

Wherever really.

We can work whenever and wherever we want.

We can be full time employed and still have multiple income streams.

4.95B people around the world have an internet connection.

The access to people has never been greater and the attention economy is booming.

With the current market conditions, stability is at an all-time low.

And building multiple income streams is a smart move these days.

Hope this inspires you to start building your own side hustle.

Even though you find yourself a remote full-time employment, make sure to not put all of your eggs in

one basket. Find a way to start a side hustle. Something that you can do in your spare time and make

money on.

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A few different side hustles:

e-Books

Freelance writing

Rent out your car

Doing logo design

Sell a product online

Become an online coach

Start a YouTube channel

Monetize your property on Airbnb

Start a volume photography business

Tutor college and high school students

Launch a paid newsletter or subscription

Promote other brands and take a commission

These are just a few examples of side hustles. Read more about tips and how to get started in The Future

of Work newsletter on LinkedIn; “Side hustles and why you should get one”.

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Going
solopreneur

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A big trend right now is the one-person-business model. It basically means that you find ways to

productize yourself and build a one-person company; you become a solopreneur.

The one-person business model is going to grow massively in the coming years.

There are loads of great tips from solopreneurs such as Justin Welsh, Dan Koe and Tim Denning on this

topic.

They all post content regularly on LinkedIn and have newsletters that you can subscribe to. I recommend

you to check them out.

What I find fascinating about solopreneurship is the reverse-engineered way of approaching a career. Not

relying on an employer to determine your growth and income. To cut the noise of the traditional career

journey and design your career the way you want to.

There is no right or wrong path. What we learnt during the pandemic though, is that most people want

a meaningful job. If that is to be a solopreneur, a freelancer, working at a startup or a big corp - that is

entirely up to you.

Only you know what path is the right one for you.

Avoid putting all of your eggs in one basket. You have a long career ahead of you. The job market will

keep on changing so what you ultimately want is to create options for yourself. By taking ownership of

your career and investing in yourself by identifying skills and knowledge that you want to learn, you are

taking ownership of your career. Everything becomes easier when you take ownership and it often

creates more options as well.

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Adapt to
change and
take ownership

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Over the years, the job market will change. So will your career. Make sure to take ownership of your

career. Product manage it in a way that will help you stay relevant in an ever-changing market. Make

sure you invest in yourself and continuously look for growth opportunities, i.e. identify areas where you

can develop and learn new things. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Price winner and microfinance pioneer,

puts it this way:

All human beings are entrepreneurs. When we were in the caves, we were all self-employed
finding our food, feeding ourselves. That’s where human history began. As civilization came, we
suppressed it. We became “labor” because they stamped us, “You are labor”. We forgot that we
are entrepreneurs.

This does not mean that we all should start companies. It means that we are 100 % capable of taking

full ownership to build an intentional life, build our careers in the direction we want and adapt to

change. If you want to read more about this you should look into The Startup of You by Reid

Hoffmann, founder of LinkedIn.

I want to send you away with this

We have ONE life.

Take full ownership of your career.

Find what sets your soul on fire. Never stop looking. Never settle.

Write the book.

Own your brand.

Start a side hustle.

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Find what will challenge you.

Build multiple income streams (don’t put all your eggs in one basket)

Ignore what other people think.

Own the navigation of your career and life.

Look for growth opportunities everywhere.

Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do.

Rewrite the story and make it a good one.

Don’t settle.

Build You and just go for it.

Taking ownership of your career will always generate options.

This is what the future of work is all about.

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Unsplash Photo Credits

Annie Spratt

Andrej Nihil

Brooke Cagle

Clay Banks

邓 子彦 (Deng Ziyan)
Edu Lauton

Good Faces

Ibrahim Shabil

Jeremy Bishop

René Molenkamp

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 Hanna Larsson
SALES LEADER, FUTURE OF WORK EXPERT & STARTUP ADVISOR

Startup and scaleup enthusiast with a passion for disruptive tech,

Go-to-Market and the future of work.

I build and lead high-performing global sales orgs, sustainably scaling

Go-to-Market engines from the ground up, and attract and hire top
talent - with a relentless focus on speed, execution and the mission.