Ask HN: Tips for Moving into a Remote Position?

[svavs]

A bit of info about me: Developer for about 10 - 12 years professionally, C# and JS mostly, self-taught

Recently I have been looking to take back some of the time I spend on my commute. It's about two hours a day and my company doesn't support remote work unless you are an off-shore developer (for obvious reasons, the flights add up quickly from a daily commute).

I've been keeping an eye on WWR but I feel like I am getting analysis paralysis on what tech to learn or what to do to make myself stand out to employers.

For the people that have moved from on-site to a remote position recently, how did you stand out? Did you learning new languages / frameworks? What made you more appealing than others candidates from your view point?

[whamlastxmas]

I find that it helps to look for something that is close to you but still remote, and also a smaller company. Being a 2 hour flight away and living in the same general geographic area makes people feel like they're a lot more connected to you than someone who lives on the opposite side of the country or overseas.

Smaller companies are also generally going to receive fewer applications, have less of a formal hiring process, and are more likely to choose you just because they like you and you're closer than the guy in China.

Other than that, apply for stuff that very closely matches your experience. This makes you much less of a risk to hire.

The downside to this is that unless you're lucky or very much in demand, you're likely to not be compensated as well compared to working in a regular office.