Tired of the long commutes, stuffy offices, or just having to put on pants in the morning? Turns out it’s not just you. Software Developers from all over the world are interested in working from home. Luckily, with the steady growth of the tech industry, remote employment is becoming more and more available. I’ve personally been working remotely from my home for nine years and absolutely love the lifestyle it provides.

Recently, I’ve been talking with a lot of developers that have expressed an interest in working remotely, but didn’t know where to look for remote positions. After answering the question so many times, I decided I should write an article listing the resources I use to find six figure remote Software Developer positions. So here they are!

Remote Job Boards

My favorite resource is remote job boards because the postings are guaranteed to be available for remote applicants. They provide a great a way to find contracts or jobs and often give you a good idea of the salary range. Some of the sites even allow you to setup email alerts for positions that match your qualifications, making it even easier to track new listings. The following is a list of remote job boards that I use when searching for a new contract or position:

Community Threads

Another great resource that I’ve had success with is community threads. There are thousands of online communities for Software Developers that can provide leads on remote jobs or contracts. I’ve personally gotten over three years of full-time contract work from http://reddit.com/r/forhire and is actually where I landed my current contract at the time of writing this article. The great part about using online communities to find remote jobs is that you often end up working with people that have similar interests. My two favorite contract teams that I’ve worked with came from forhire threads on Reddit. I absolutely love the online culture of Reddit and of course, so did they.

Additionally, communities like http://news.ycombinator.com post monthly threads for full-time, and freelance developers searching for work or employers looking to hire. whoishiring.io is an application that aggregates those threads and is a great way to track them.

Creating Keyword Job List Emails

In my most recent search for remote contract work, I tried out a new tactic that ended up landing me a couple interviews and a contract offer. Huge job boards like indeed.com are a little old-school and don’t typically have a lot of remote postings. However, they do offer the ability to setup daily email notifications that include lists of postings that match a search criteria. So what I did was setup one of these emails using some keywords related to my career and included the word “remote”. This doesn’t guarantee that you only get remote positions though, so be careful when applying for positions from these sites, as some of them might not actually be remote friendly.

Linked In Recruiters

Most Software Developers have received messages from recruiters on Linked In and have more than likely been annoyed by it. I’ve definitely felt this way about recruiters but I think it’s important to consider all possible leads when searching for remote Software Developer jobs.

With that said, there are some guidelines that you can use to make better use of both the recruiters time and your’s. Let them know right out the gate that you’re only interested in remote positions. Good recruiters will work with you to find positions that fit your requirements, when they come up. Bad recruiters will throw every single available position your way, regardless of your criteria. It’s also a good idea to let the recruiter know things like your hours of availability, and salary expectations or contract rates. The more specific you can be, the more likely the recruiter is to come to you with tangible leads instead of random crap.

Slack Communities

As it turns out, other Software Developers are a great resource for finding available jobs. It makes sense if you think about it. Software Developers, by the nature of their career, have direct access to businesses that utilize Software Development services.

So where do you find other Software Developers? There are thousands of Slack communities available out there, including local ones. A lot of these communities have a jobs channel where people post available positions and contracts that they’ve run into. These communities are absolute gold when you’re looking for remote work, because Slack communities, by their very nature, attract more modern thinking individuals. As an added bonus, Slack communities are a great way for you to network with others in the industry. Even if you don’t find a job, you might make some great friends!

Parting Advice

The most import thing to remember when looking for remote Software Developer positions is to cast a wide net. You’re competing with hundreds of thousands of other people and it’s important to leave no stone unturned. Keep your resume strong, open enough channels, and you’re bound to see results.

Good luck!

Looking for Tech Jobs? Check out my website ObviousJobs.com for jobs with full salary disclosure.

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