10 Most Important Skills for Remote Workers needed to work remotely

By John

If you’re looking to transition to full-time remote work, there are some important skills for remote jobs that you must acquire.

As more and more businesses have realized that remote team offers rare talents and good job retention, the demand for remote work is on the rise. Many professionals are already ditching their 9-to-5 office jobs for more flexible jobs they can work from anywhere.

There are essential skills and experience, however, that are needed to do remote jobs, and telecommuters also need to be effective in self-directed work processes to be successful working from home.

No doubts, remote work offers more perks to employees, including independence, flexibility, and of course, the elimination of commute.

But most importantly, you’ll have to possess the following skills if you want to succeed with remote work.

10 Most Important Skills for Remote Workers

While some of these skills are equally good in any job scenario, but they’re very crucial if you want to succeed working remotely!

1. Ability to Use Digital Tools

Most of the tasks for telecommuting employees require software or online tools to carry out, and also requires the use of several online and digital resources.

Therefore, it is recommended that you get yourself comfortable with project management software, video conferencing, and other company-specific platforms. As every organization has its own in-house tools and methods to effectively get their work done and equally keep workers engaged, so you’ll need to learn some of these new digital resources.

2. Good Communication Skills

It is essential to keep in touch with the rest of the team when you’re working remotely, therefore, you should be familiar with the most common communication methods, such as email, chat, video conferencing, and other mobile messaging platforms.

When it comes to contacting your potential employer, you have to show that you’re able to use these communication mediums. You also need top-notch communication skills, like ability to give very prompt reply to any message from employers.

Additionally, learn to always keep your messages concise, and clear, (make sure, you write, read, edit, and proofread before sending it).

3. Be A Team Player

The ability to collaborate effectively with other members of the team is an essential skill in remote work. While remote work doesn’t mean you’re no longer part of a larger team, you have to fulfill your duties and on time too, as well as accountable and keeping other team members informed.

The major advantage of telecommuting for employers is often considered as the ability to hire the best talents regardless of their location, as such, you should expect your coworkers from all over the world.

Therefore, it’s crucial for telecommuters to be aware of these location differences.

4. Knowledge of Online Security

As most of your jobs will be carried out online, there are increased risk of getting into some serious security challenges.

It is crucial that you not only have good knowledge of how online security works, but also have quality security system or tools in place, including strong password-protected Internet and anti-virus software. If perhaps, you decide to work outside like such places as a local joint, you should make sure you have a password-protected hotspot instead of relying on unsecured free Wi-Fi access.

With telecommuting, employers are looking for more talented individuals than someone who has the basic skills and experience to do just the job. You need to earn the trust of the employer, by your advanced knowledge, accountability, and ability to work well in any environment.

5. Time Management Skills

Time management takes strong mental preparation and when you are working from home, there are no co-workers and bosses to remind you to stay right on task and meet the deadlines.

The essence of a remote team, is that organizations are looking for independent workers who are responsible in managing their time effectively and scheduling projects without any interventions.

Therefore, it is essential to prepare yourself mentally for these events by practicing good time management which is crucial, not only for work, but every other area of life. It will definitely keep you ahead of the game, with less to worry about even when you work for only 25 minutes at a time and take routine breaks. You can use a calendar or day planner to list upcoming tasks.

6. Be Self-Motivated

The fact that there is no boss or manager to physically check on you, means that you need to be self-motivated to be able to get your job done on time.

You can start by creating your own routine which can help you keep focused and on task, also, you’ll need to eliminate distractions as much as possible. You should have a designated workspace with a door to provide a barrier to household distractions, such as kids, the television or pets.

7. Great Work-life balance

It can be a big challenge to find the best balance between work and life, which is essential for every remote employee, as it lets you to continue to lead a stable life despite working from home.

The flexibility to work at home means running job errands during the day, and perhaps, whatever time you feel like. However, you should be careful, as this could be detrimental to your emotional well-being and mental balance.

Working from home, if properly planned out, can actually improve your work-life balance, but you need to have the discipline or setup to follow, or you won’t get the benefits.

8. Cross-Cultural Literacy

Given the fact that remote work entails having people from different cultures and languages onboard, means you should be able to accommodate these people by having a cross-culture literacy.

Most employers want to hire the best hands regardless of where are or live. As such, your coworkers may be from different country as you, which makes for an interesting work culture, and also, it could be a problem because of language barriers, culture and traditions, which vary around the world.

Therefore, it is crucial for telecommuters to have cross-culture literacy and be sensitive to these important differences.

9. Resourceful and Problem-solving Skills

Employers are typically looking out for their remote workers to know the job in and out to meet expectations without any sort of hand-holding and assistance.

The virtual workspaces, however allow for easy communicating with others, and responses from manager or coworkers may often not be as quick as directly walking to the boss in the office or discussing with a coworker in the office cubicle. As such, remote workers need the ability of resourcefulness and have problem-solving skills to excel.

10. Open to Improvements

As a remote worker, you’ll be working on your own most of the time and there won’t be office mates to look up for some quick help. It therefore means that for any deficiency you’ll need to learn the skills, which can be translated as been open to improvements.

You have to be independent and self-sufficient by looking for opportunities to improve your job skills.

In conclusion, no matter your current level of skills, you can always make improvements by learning all the required skills for remote work!

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