A common term a job seeker in the 21st century would have most likely come across is the phrase remote job/work or any of its variants - telecommuting, virtual job, telework, home-based job.
It is not surprising since remote jobs have grown astronomically (159%) over the decade. Do you know that even some hr vacancies in nigeria are remote opportunities?
With the advent of technology, the need for face-to-face interaction at the workplace has greatly reduced, as tools have been developed to help facilitate smooth workwithout having to physically be in the same place.
In this article, you will learn the following;
A remote job is any job that does not require you to be physically present at the office in order to carry out your duties. The guiding principle of working remotely is that workers do not need to be converged in the same place for work to be done. It also seeks to eliminate commuting and its associate stress, while also allowing for flexible work hours.
Basically, one-on-one interaction is not necessary with remote jobs. However, this does not mean remote workers never get to have in-person interactions with their colleagues. Remote work is of varying degrees.
For instance, you might be given the opportunity to work remotely for a large portion of the week, but be required to come in for meetings, presentations and so on. Also, some offices leave their doors for staff during the work hours. That is, should you decide against working from home at a particular time, you can still get the job done, literally, from the office.
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It is important that you decide if remote jobs are meant or fitting for you. It is not an indictment on your work ethic to think they might not be the right avenue for you, as different things suit different people. Your personality and your lifestyle are major factors in deciding if you are the right person to work remotely.
If you are an extrovert that thrives in a place with human contact, then remote work might not be your forte. Also, if your expediency is tied to direct supervision and/or working closely with others, working from home might not be for you. Likewise, if your home environment is fraught with distractions, then your productivity would most likely be affected should you decide to work remotely.
In all, you must weigh your options carefully before deciding what suits you best.
Why remote jobs?
As stated earlier, technological advancement has eliminated the need for people to be in the same place before interacting. This coupled with the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic has further made remote working even more popular.
At the height of the pandemic, most companies were shut down to limit the spread of the virus. To keep up with the times, various places of work started implementing their own version of remote working – full or part.
Understandably, many employers weren’t prepared for a health crisis, much more, a government imposed lockdown that would restrict commuting. After a while though, many employers and employees soon adapted to the new way-of-life. Thus, resulting in what many observers have noted tobe continued employee productivity and in some cases, even more so than when they were required to work at the office.
As a result of this, more employers have become more sold on the idea of remote working for their employees and more remote jobs are springing up now more than ever. Especially in Nigeria, where the concept is fats gaining ground. Before you make up your mind about engaging in remote work, it is important that you understand its advantages and disadvantages clearly.
Main Advantages of Working Remotely:
As it has been stressed for the larger part of this write-up, remote work has so many upsides for workers. So, here are some of the many advantages of working from home as it concerns employers, employees, the economy, and the planet.
1. Improved Work-Life Balance
A key thing with remote working is that it allows for flexibility, which means that workers can structure their day as they like, starting and ending it as is most suitable for them. This carries a caveat, though. The must perform their given tasks, complete their work and produce results. Otherwise, the purpose would be defeated. The ability to control your work schedule can be invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of your personal life.
Whether it’s balancing school schedules, medical appointments, and errands, or attending an online fitness class in the morning, or even being home for a contractor can all be done a little more easily when you work from home.
2. Reduced Commute Time and Stress
Commuting is one of the leading causes of employee fatigue. In a country like Nigeria, where the transport system is subpar, the stress of commuting is more than doubled.
Not only is time that could have been spent being more productive wasted in traffic, it also tells on you physically. After all, human beings are not machines. Health issues such as the following can arise from continued commute stress:
By working from home, your predisposition to these health issues is greatly reduced.
3. Flexibility:
One unique thing about human beings is how similar, yet so different we are. When it comes to work schedule, each person has a pattern they favor, but in thetraditional workspace there is (almost) always a standard closing and resumption time. Imagine lounging at work while everyone else is busy working? It would be incredibly awkward.
While working from home, however, nobody is watching. You plan your day as you want. Don't fanxy working during the day? No problem at all. Just make sure you perform the tasks assigned to you and produce results. Depending on your job function, you can work when you want to.
4. Work anywhere:
In line with flexible work hours is the opportunity to work literally anywhere. Compared to your workplace where you will most likely be confined to a particular seat/area, with remote work, you can work even while in bed. In fact, you can work in an entirely different country from your colleague. That is the beauty of being a remote worker.
5. Reduced costs:
Commute costs are virtually non-existent (if you work fully remote). As a result, you will have more spare cash you would have spent in transport to save or perhaps spend on something else. Not to mention the money typically spent on lunch and coffee at work that would no longer be necessary while working remotely.
In addition to the above, added benefits like less office space consumption, reduced cost on work tools, and increased worker productivity among others that benefit the employer.
Top Disadvantages of Working Remotely:
Despite having so many benefits, like most things in life, remote work also has its own cons. In Nigeria and other developing countries, the greatest challenge to working remotely is availability of resources – devices, electricity and internet services. It goes without saying that without these, you would not be able to work remotely. Some of surface level flaws are as follows:
1. Loneliness:
One thing about working from the office is that it physically represents teamship. You feel some sort of connection when you share the same with people working towards the same goal. Working exclusively from home alone can birth a feeling of being isolated and inadvertently lead to reduced productivity.
2. Overworking:
There is the widely held belief that working from home avails you the opportunity to kick back, relax and then work at the time that is most suitable for you. In reality, many people have difficulties dividing home life and work life, resulting in a never ending work day.
3. Increased Distractions:
Depending on your work ethic and your devotion to your job, productivity can take a nosedive while working from home as you are exposed to increased distractions. This is not to say distractions do not exist in an office, but at home they are further raised. If you are fallible and perform better under direct supervision, working from home might not be your forte.
4. Limited relationships among employees:
As discussed earlier, working together in an office allows for co-workers to form friendships and develop oneness, as they are all working towards a common goal and having shared experiences. This valuable part of the workspace experience is, however, diminished with remote work as employees depend on teleconferencing, phone calls and other impersonal means of communication.
5. Communication issues:
If you find face-to-face contact problematic, wait till you experience how limiting and chaotic remote communication can be.
Messages can be misinterpreted or lost in translation when done remotely. Therefore, it is important that you are as clear as possible in order to evade communication issues.
Overall, remote work is not for everybody, some people really thrive in an office environment, and others thrive working remotely. Knowing what works best for you would ultimately help guide in your application processes.
How to Apply for a Remote Job in Nigeria Step by Step
After determining if working remotely is for you, you would need the following:
How to Write Your Resume for a Remote Job
It is not alone to show interest in working remotely, your resume must reflect this desire, too.
Top Sites To Find Remote Jobs in Nigeria
Remote jobs are becoming more popular in the Nigerian employment scene. Not to mention how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced even companies that were not previously predisposed to remote work to be welcoming of it.
If you are interested in remote work in Nigeria and do not quite know where to find them, here are some pointers below:
1. MyJobMag
MyJobMag is on the top sites for job openings in Nigeria. With a mission to solve employment challenge plaguing the country and continent at large, many job listings for remote jobs are uploaded on the website daily. If you are unsure of applying for remote jobs, you can browse through the other categories.
In addition, there are resources available to guide you as newbie to the remote working world.
2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the largest platform that connects employers, employees and job seekers.
To find a remote job on LinkedIn, you can input remote jobs or “Work from Home” jobs on LinkedIn that are your area of interest or cater to your skills and qualifications.
You can also directly search for remote jobs there. To search for a remote job:
3. RemoteJobbsCo
On remote jobs co, you can search for remote job opening around the globe and apply for anyone that catches your fancy. Since the website strictly curates for remote jobs, you can search through any category that pleases you.
4. Twitter
Finding a job on Twitter sounds odd, right? Actually, quite a number of people have found remote jobs via the microblogging and social networking medium, Twitter. You can follow relevant persons in your chose field for any posting or you can simply input relevant keywords related to your desired profession into the Twitter search box. You can even tailor your search results by making use of the Advanced Search function on the social network.
The world is a global village. There is no limit to where opportunities for remote work might arise, joining an online community of people with similar interests increase your chances greatly.
In all, remote jobs are not necessarily difficult; they are just different. You would still need to be cautious when applying and the same interview tips for any other job are still applicable.
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FAQs
1. What are the best remote jobs?
Thanks to technology, almost any job can be done remotely. Still, there are some professions that can very easily be done remotely. They include: accountant, market research analyst, computer systems analyst, marketing manager, computer network analyst, systems administrator.
2. Where can I apply for a remote job?
As mentioned earlier in the article, there are sites that you can easily access remote jobs. At Myjobmag, we have a page dedicated to latest remote jobs.
3. How can I work from home in Nigeria?
This is very achievable. The first step is to secure the remote job using the earlier stated resources. In Nigeria, content writers, social media assistants, virtual assistants, proofreader, blogger, YouTuber, translator, transcriptionists are the best suited jobs for remote work.
4. How can I get a job in the USA from Nigeria?
Again, technology has made it possible for you to work from any corner of the world. To work for an American company in Nigeria, you'll need to offered employment there and if it is an on site job, the immigration process will be sorted out.
Let us help you find remote jobs with optimized job applications.
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