How to Get Full or Part Time Remote Jobs With No Experience

Consider this article a pre-application process refresher if you find yourself always applying for full or part-time remote jobs and never getting hired. If you’re starting from scratch trying to switch over from on-site “ass in chair” jobs to remote freelance jobs, this guide is written with you in mind.

Our ability to work remotely and travel full-time wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t master the art of getting full or part time remote digital marketing jobs, right from the beginning.

We’d like to help pull your job situation out of a rut and into something a little more rewarding, for less work. If you’re looking at a gap year, this article provides great insight into online jobs for students.

The tips in this article will help you spend more time on quality part-time online job opportunities, and less time on unresponsive time-wasters.

Article updated September 26, 2022.

Applying for Part Time Remote Jobs Can Be Brutal

For whatever reason, you’ve been applying for a lot of part time telecommuting jobs and were hired very few times. When you do get a surplus of high paying remote freelance jobs, it’s fleeting –feast or famine.

In this guide we’ll look at how to affect outcomes and ensure that you always put your best foot forward when applying for part-time remote jobs.

We’ll help you ask yourself the right questions and decisively align yourself with the best part-time remote jobs, client(s), and working schedule.

Getting Paid

To get paid from any full or part time work from home jobs you’re likely going to need a bank account or method of accepting currencies from businesses around the globe.

For this, we use Payoneer; many bank accounts based in countries all around the world to easily accept payments from businesses online under one login.

Open up a free Payoneer account with our link, get $25 for free (see site for details).

In situations where Payoneer isn’t the right fit, Wise (formerly Transferwise) is your absolute best bet. We’ve been using it more and more as time goes on; when holding money on Wise you can use a virtual card to make online purchases or a physical card for in-person purchases or cash withdrawals. And now Canadians can get a physical card, too —and Wise works with Interac.

Hiring Challenges

Reputable businesses like TTEC, Amazon, Hilton, Dell, Robert Half International, BroadPath Healthcare Solutions, GitHub, VIPKid, and Convergys are all offering freelance remote jobs on a regular basis, just to name a few.

And although there are plenty of businesses eager to hire people for high paying remote jobs, competition is going to be evident no matter where you look.

Remote freelance jobs are very competitive;

• Often competing on price with candidates living in developing countries
• Employers are not always what they seem –many pay late, or not at all
• No guarantees; you’re in charge of finding your next project before an existing one is finished
• Applying for part time remote jobs can be time consuming
• Education isn’t always a plus –you don’t want to appear overqualified
• Your success isn’t part of the business model; you’re often only a commission –many high paying remote job sites side with employers during disputes, withhold funds, or worse

Part Time Remote Jobs, Simplified

I avoided adding any filler and the urge to puff up this article for a greater number of tips. I wanted to keep it real and focus on the heavy lifting, 80/20 stuff.

These are currently the most substantial tips I can offer on full or part time remote jobs and other freelance work in a quick and easy format.

1. Where are You Looking?

Looking for a remote job is a lot like dating, and the environment where you look for online jobs will drastically affect outcomes and job satisfaction.

Before you apply for online part time jobs, you need to consider the quality and business model of the freelance remote job site itself –just as much, or more, than the employer you end up working with.

There are typically 3 kinds of hiring remote jobs sites, and each will affect the outcome of your remote job search in its own way;

“Gig Economy” Websites: Sites that bring home everything I ever hated about the office.

• • Gig economy sites like Upwork and Fiverr charge you 1/5 of your income before taxes; for a single project on Upwork they charge you 20% on your first $500 earned, 10% up to $10k, 5% thereafter –and this fee scale resets with every new client
  • Screen recording options for employers to monitor freelancers –always hated this one, it’s my computer man! Working in a cafe sucks when someone’s taking screenshots of your screen all day
  • Job seeker profiles have ratings; if you have no rating it’s hard to get work at a fair price, when you have enough ratings its almost impossible to leave
  • You may have zero contact with employers outside of the platform in many cases, these websites thereby “own” your client relationships
  • If you don’t work frequently enough your profile can be “ghosted” from prospective employers (and other algorithmic nonsense)
  • Site support is typically limited to a support ticketing system, with lengthy delays between responses

Job Posting Aggregator Websites: Everyone is drinking from the same stale fire hose of job leads.

• • Typically free to use, site owner is paid via ads, paid job postings, or commissions
  • Job listings are often stale and aggregated from other sources; positions are likely filled quickly and competition is high among applicants –these are the sites that gobble up the most time with little or no reward
  • You could always be applying for jobs without hearing back from employers
  • These sites are willing to take flexible part time jobs postings from anyone to appear valuable –you often wind up with reject employers that curated job sites avoid (ie. unpaid bills, poor communication, and worse)
  • Skeleton crew for these sites typically offer little to no support, via a ticketing system or contact form
  • Free, as in beer –lots of free job leads, but the ‘hangover’ is how long it takes to get hired (crickets…. so many crickets…..)

Managed Job Websites: More human touch than algorithm, opportunities are curated and supported for a low annual fee.

• • Employers and job postings are typically reviewed by human beings before publishing; interview employers before they can post a job, manually review each and every online job listing
  • Provide support to all users and allow phone ins –support ticketing system not mandatory for all support
  • Do not take a percentage of your income –a small flat annual fee is more than enough (and a lot less than Upwork)
  • Less attractive to frugal “I shouldn’t have to pay for that!” job seekers, which eliminates a large chunk of the competition (these same people feel smart getting charged $100 off their first $500 with Upwork)

You get a lot more with a job portal like Flexjobs, where it only costs a flat rate of ten bucks per month or $45 for a whole year with Flexjobs promo code HOBOLAPTOP –and you can get a refund if you’re not happy, no questions asked.

Once a Flexjobs member, you can actually pick up a phone and talk to a human if you need a hand.

In contrast, the lowest ‘premium’ pricing tier for Linked In is $29.99 per month –and its key features are being able to send emails to other users who aren’t in your network, as well as being able to see who looked at your profile if they have either of those settings turned on.

IMO, either of the above websites are still better than paying 20% of your income to get exploited by Upwork, but the best bang for your buck is Flexjobs.

2. Mitigate Competition and Risk

To mitigate competition for part time remote jobs, don’t go where all the nickel-barrel, bottom dollar people go –there’s too many of them. Avoid “gig economy” sites like Upwork or Fiverr; don’t opt for remote job sites that grind you down to the lowest common denominator, parade you around on a shelf next to cheaper labor, and then take a fifth of what’s left over.

To mitigate risk, we suggest that you use a remote job site that screens employers for you. Our friends with kids who are stay at home mom jobs champions suggested we try Flexjobs.

FlexJobs vets, approves, and filters all of the job opportunities they supply. Employers only get so many strikes before they’re booted from the platform.

FlexJobs stands out for us because;

• It’s less than $50/year, flat rate —no percentage points like Upwork, 7x less cost than Linked In Premium (lowest tier)
• Largest remote job site for pre-screened remote jobs
• Trained staff research, hand-screen jobs available so no scams, junk, ads
• Satisfaction guarantee; get a refund if you’re not happy
• Get a discount with our Flexjobs promo code below

Everyone uses online tools and resources to find an edge, make more money,  or simplify their lives –Flexjobs is just another tool, like Keysearch, Ninja Outreach, Evernote, or AWeber. Yet cheaper than either of them.

3. Think Like a Search Engine

Learning how to build your “search engine use awareness” is another wolf to tame. If you can think like people search, you can include key search terms within profiles to ensure you’re always visible when it matters.

If you’re going to use Linked In, Upwork, Fiverr, AngelList, Minds.com, YouTube, or some other search engine-driven platform where you dangle your profile out there for prospective employers to seek out –you’re going to have to work on those keyword research and density analysis skills.

Keywords are important for;

• Website profiles
• Cover letter/page
• Resume
• Job application

Copy Their Keywords

The best place to start looking for keywords that reflect the precise kind of job you’re looking for is within the job descriptions themselves.

Mirroring the businesses’ unique keywords into every profile, email, cover letter, resume, and application will help ensure relevance –and improve your chances of getting around an algorithm to actually reach a human interview.

The part time remote job market has long been dominated by search filters, algorithms, and more recently, artificial intelligence. With these systems, keywords are everything.

And you’re in luck –you can learn all about keyword research and keyword density and placement here.

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4. Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter is another valuable opportunity to benefit from on point keyword usage.

Create a cover letter template that you can easily modify for each application, as to include unique keywords in each individual cover letter, resume, or application you send out.

When applying for a high paying remote job be sure to emphasize your remote worker jobs experience, communication skills, tools you’ve used and your ability to solve problems on your own (or with the help of Google).

5. Get a Website & Build an Email List

It may seem sort of annoying and counterproductive to build a website early on –all that work to build a website or learn blogging when you feel like getting a part time remote job is in the other direction. Especially if you’re on a gap year looking for online jobs for students.

In either situation, a website is a must for anyone planning to do freelance work long-term.

Referrals come and go, job searches are exhaustive and quality networking takes time to nurture; if you build a pipeline and line up projects by making it easy for new clients to find you, you’ll have a more reliable income –no more ‘feast or famine’.

Actively searching for your next remote freelance jobs is more exhausting than building a single website. It’s my best advice to have your own little place on the web that you can control and own, and can adjust keywords or other internet marketing factors as you learn them.

This way you’re not putting all your eggs into platforms that may deplatform users, toy too much with algorithms, or fail as a business.

6. Demonstrate Your Skills

People will either see that you’ve got a good base to build on, or you already posses the skills required to succeed. If you let them.

When you’re applying for part time remote jobs demonstrate your skills with each interaction you have with every prospective client. Your CV should be short, clear and delivered in a way its intended audience will find meaningful.

If it’s a sales or remote digital marketing job, they’ll likely want to see past metrics and proof that you understand how to sell effectively –applying for a part time remote job opening is a great place to demonstrate your skill.

Having a few Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) checklists in hand to explain exactly how you complete a specific task would be beneficial, especially if you’re a virtual assistant in some capacity for example.

If you live part of your life online, you likely already have proof that you know how to handle an remote entry level job or otherwise. Have relevant examples for any job you pursue, where possible.

Your blog, Linked In profile, Facebook page, or Instagram account can all be proof enough to land an awesome home based job.

7. Get to the Point

When communicating with prospective employers, take it from Hemingway; don’t use flowery words and stick to the point.

Online jobs for students are particularly hard to get because of the temptation to over-compensate with words when rap sheets look a little thin. Who cares –show you can fill in gaps on your own, focus on referrals and school accolades.

Delay sending your first few replies for an hour before hitting send. Sending two back-to-back emails in a row because you forgot something looks terrible.

Use point-form as much as possible and ensure that you’re not putting any work on the person you’re communicating with –keep any related assets (images, documents, website links) at their finger tips.

8. Stay Accountable

A lot of managers will be concerned with whether or not they’ll be able to keep an eye on you while you’re working remotely. Set goals and expectations with your manager early on to ensure that all concerns are addressed and communicate often via apps like Trello or Slack to provide transparency while you work remotely and travel.

Remote jobs are results-based engagements, it’s important to highlight this in early discussions and work out a way to measure results and set goals in a way that makes sense for all concerned.

9. Network Often

Networking with fellow digital nomads and entrepreneurs is a great way to fill gaps in your pipeline or fill out your team.

Sharing resources like team members, sales staff, or software and working alongside your peers is a great way to get remote freelance jobs on a reliable basis.

Try to do as much networking as you can in person, with the help of Facebook Groups to get the ball rolling. Just search for “location” + “digital nomad” and you’ll likely find a group full of expats there, right now.

10. Prepare a Cheat Sheet

If you’re like me, you tend to mentally tense up in certain situations; for me it was job interviews in my early 20’s it and still is doctors appointments. Something about being closely observed, I donno. And I still really hate clipboards, almost to phobia instantly-sick levels.

Deoxyclipophobia is a thing. Who knew?

This is why I always prepare a cheat sheet before I see the doc, or before I’d go into a job interview.

In terms of part time remote job openings; write down a list of best achievements, have a few process notes, and Google “most commonly asked XYZ job interview questions” for a few more. Study it well before the interview and keep it within view.

Questions are Important

Managers solve problems all day long and they eat up questions like Pac Man –they’re always on the lookout to improve a process or be more efficient. It’s the air they breathe.

Sometimes they’re too close to something to ask the right questions or reveal complexities for people outside their bubble. That’s where you come in.

Learn the ins and outs of picking up your first part-time remote job

Relevant questions demonstrate you’re on the ball and able to uncover real life challenges, ones the company might be dealing with behind the scenes or not yet aware of. It shows you’re not lukewarm, or likely to ghost them after the interview (apparently Millennials do this a lot).

Give the person doing the hiring a light bulb moment and you likely have the job. Even if you plan to ghost them for a better offer should one reveal itself.

Up Next: Where to Find Them

Part time remote work and other remote freelance jobs don’t grow on trees. We’re hoping the tips above will help our readers find new ways to get their life that much closer to 80/20.

We put together a bunch of current remote part time jobs listings, ranging from data entry and social media to remote digital marketing jobs –there’s going to be something for you in this article.

Take a look around Hobo with a Laptop, there’s a lot of tips and information aimed at helping others find part time remote jobs, work remotely, and travel –and everything that goes along with that sort of lifestyle combination.