What’s the secret to landing remote jobs with no experience? We’ll show you 5 steps to position yourself as a top contender even if you’re new to remote work.

Can you actually land remote jobs with no experience?

While many people dipped their toes in the virtual work pool during 2020, others have been working remotely for years. 

So if you’re looking for a remote job, you may be feeling discouraged by your lack of experience compared to their strong telecommuting backgrounds.

You may get super excited after reading a job ad for your dream position, only to sink in frustration when you learn you may not be qualified enough to even apply.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost, as you’ll learn in this quick guide.

We’ll show you how to position yourself as a top contender, along with what it takes to land a remote job with little to no experience.

Follow these five steps, and you’ll be able to fill in the remote work gaps you’re missing with persuasive work history, skills, and accomplishments that impress hiring managers all the same:

It can be a little intimidating reading remote job ads with a wall of must-have skills, qualifications, and experience.

But before those feelings of inadequacy kick in, it’s important to remember that hiring managers list all those traits as an ideal but not the be-all-end-all.

Most employers know it’s highly unlikely that qualified candidates will possess all of those skills. They’re hoping to snag candidates who tick off as many boxes or get as close to their ideal as possible. 

So don’t get discouraged if you’re missing a few of these “must-haves.”

Instead, make it your goal to see how many skills you do have and highlight those for hiring teams. Wow them enough, and what you’re missing may not seem like such a dealbreaker.

So before you apply to any remote positions, print out the job ad and highlight all the skills you do have. Then ask yourself:

If you’re new to the remote world, but you have the career experience, education, and qualifications otherwise, your lack of virtual work can be overcome (more on this later!).

For now, jot down any experience you have relevant to the position and move onto the next step.

The goal in this step is to bridge the gap between your experience and what the company is looking for in a job candidate. 

The best way to do this is to show how you’ve provided value to your current and former employers rather than merely telling hiring teams that you possess the desired skills.

This means instead of saying something generic like “managed a team,” you should spotlight concrete achievements like “spearheaded a team of 10 to increase B2B sales by 40% in 2020.”

This gives hiring managers a taste of what you’re capable of and what you may be able to bring to the table when they hire you. 

Impressive, impactful stats like these may be enough to compensate for your lack of doing so in the remote world, especially since skills like this can easily transfer over there.

So after you come up with statements like these for the skills and qualifications you highlighted in step one, move on to the skills they’re looking for that you don’t possess.

See if you can start acquiring these while you send in your application.

This way, you can discuss how you’re working on these skills when you get called for an interview instead of being completely mum about them.

Does the job ad specifically call for experience working with remote tools? 

While there are several virtual tools 100% remote companies use, most fall under two main categories: communication apps and project management tools. 

Because teams at fully remote companies don’t work in-house, they need a way to stay in touch. Communication tools like Slack, Skype, Zoom, and other messaging apps make this a piece of cake.

Get yourself familiar with how these top communication tools work. You’ll gain experience using them, or at least have an understanding of what they do when it comes time for your interview.

You should also get yourself familiar with project management tools like Trello, Asana, Basecamp, Monday, etc. You don’t have to master each one, but you should understand how they work, at a minimum.

Your work tasks will be managed remotely in cloud-based software like this, streamlining workflows, connecting teams, and tracking deadlines in one central location. 

You’ll be responsible for going into these tools and completing the tasks on the list, which is why having experience here is a big win.

If you lack experience in the specific tools the company uses, gaining a general understanding of how they work gives you a better chance of competing with other job candidates. It also shows you’re willing to learn new software without hesitation.

Now, if you already know how to use these remote tools, but you’re lacking other skills from the job ad, this next step is for you.

If you notice a recurring skill asked for in job ads that you don’t have, you may want to start working on gaining it ASAP.

Even though you may not be able to completely acquire this skill before your interview, working towards this must-have shows companies that you’re willing to put in the effort to up your skillset.

Learning just a fraction of this required skill will also make it easier when you’re hired to hit the ground running. You won’t need to be trained from scratch, which is a little difficult when you’re remote, although not impossible.

Even if you don’t get this job, your work will eventually pay off when you can add these skills to your resume for the next one. Then you’ll be one step closer to becoming a competitive job candidate that hiring teams want to snatch up.

Tip: Did you know that Customer Support is a good career path to break into the remote workforce? Odalis from Knack talks about it here.

Your last step is to make sure you put your best features forward and do everything you can to make your application stand out.

First, perform a bit of keyword research. Grab all the industry-related keywords used in the job ad, and make sure to sprinkle them throughout your job search documents. These will help applicant tracking software pick up your resume and move it to the next round.

Next, spend some time polishing up your resume and cover letter. Focus on the details that match your experience (what you uncovered in step two) with what the company is looking for (what’s mentioned in the job ad). This gives your application the best chance of standing out and ticking as many boxes as possible.

You may also want to consider creating a personal website or digital portfolio to show off your experience and qualifications. You can highlight your best features here so remote companies are more willing to work with you despite what you may be lacking.

Having an up-to-date portfolio or website also tells remote companies that you’re tech-savvy and can probably work well remotely because of that, which is an excellent feature to help prove your worth.

Tackle these five steps, and you’ll have a much higher chance of landing that coveted remote job despite not having all the experience they’re looking for.

Don’t ever pretend or lie about experience/skills you’re lacking. Rather, your goal should be to highlight how you can help the company based on your career experience. Then, commit to working on the skills you’re missing as soon as possible.

It also pays to get yourself familiar with how the most popular remote tools work. You’ll have a smaller learning curve later, and potential employers will see that it won’t take long to get you up and running once hired.

Do all of this, and it won’t take long to make your next career move to a remote job that you love.