How to Write an Effective Remote Job Resume (+ Examples)

How the world of work has changed over these past few years. Technology has given us so much more flexibility. 

Got an interview for a company in Nebraska but you live in New York? 

Save yourself the 1,300-mile trip and a fair few dollars along the way by undertaking the interview in the comfort of your living room or home office. 

Much easier — and cheaper! 

And it can all be done easily via Zoom, Teams, or whichever platform is offered up for your virtual job interview.

It’s the same with remote work. It was unthinkable just a few years ago that many roles could be conducted from the comfort of your sofa. With this explosion of working from home (WFH) in recent years, countless opportunities have opened up for people across all industries in the US. 

You need a great resume for remote jobs just like you would any other role. But do remote job resumes look different? Let’s explore how to write an effective remote job resume and see some examples of how to put it together so you can see what you’ll need to do to get ahead in the remote workforce.

Remote work - yea or nay

Employers are finding new ways in which to create productive teams that are distributed around the country — or even around the world. 

Of course, some jobs are easier to do remotely, such as marketing and tech work. While other industries may find it difficult to offer WFH roles. Take the construction industry, for example. It may be hard to find a remote role in a position within this field, but there are still administrative roles that could allow you to WFH.

But is remote working for you? 

It can depend on what your own particular working style is. 

• Do you thrive in an office environment, surrounded by team members, bouncing ideas off each other left, right, and center? 

• Are you happy to squirrel yourself away into the corner and get on with your work diligently and without interruptions? 

Not surprisingly, if you favor the latter approach, this lends itself more to remote working.

So, if you’re targeting a remote job, you really need your resume to reflect this aspiration.

How to tailor your resume to remote work

When you decide that you do want to pursue remote work, there are several quick changes you can make to your existing resume to achieve a great remote job resume:

1. Contact information section 

In the contact details at the top of the resume, where your name and location are found, insert that you are looking for remote work. While most job listings will specify that the job they are advertising is remote, it’s not always clear, so spell it out to a prospective employer that remote work is what you’re after.

Example:

2. Professional experience section

If you already have remote work experience, make this clear in your Work History section by writing “remote” under your job title.

Example:

3. Profile section

Hone in on your skills that would be right at home, quite literally, in a remote role. These include dependability, virtual teamwork, effective communication, and a robust work ethic. You really want to show that you’re motivated to do the work without someone breathing down your neck and having to micromanage you, so weave these skills throughout your Professional Profile.

Example:

4. Special projects or extracurriculars

If you haven’t got any remote experience to fall back on, show a hiring manager that you possess the necessary skills that mean you will succeed in a remote environment. One idea is to mention any experience of personal projects where you completed something off your own back, demonstrating how much of a self-starter you are and how you can be productive away from the office. If this won’t fit within the resume, insert it into the cover letter.

Example:

Resume skills to land a remote job

With remote jobs, your soft skills are on display more than ever. Your virtual interview will give you the chance to put those skills to the test and showcase them but be sure to also include them on your resume to give you the best odds at landing the interview in the first place.

• Use soft skills in context on your resume.

• Give details of how you accomplished something with your ability to collaborate.

• Add a metric to estimate how much time was saved thanks to your time management skills.

• Don’t just write that you’re flexible; offer up an example of how you adapted to a situation. This is what employers are looking for — show and tell.

In 2024, the skills you put on your resume are important for two reasons.

1. They show to an employer that you are perfectly qualified for the position they are trying to fill.

2. They help you get past an ATS (applicant tracking system), potentially awarding you a higher score for the more relevant skills that you possess.

Remote work resume example

Below is an effective remote job resume example for a Digital Content Manager. It was created by ZipJob’s team of professional resume writers with you in mind. 

In fact, our resume writers have published over 200 resume examples, so there should be at least one that closely matches your goals.

ZipJob is a premier resume-writing service that has been helping job seekers create job-winning resumes since 2016. Our network of over 100 professional resume writers are experts across all industries, including IT, business, marketing, and sales.

Digital Content Manager resume example

As you would expect, anything in the digital realm is something that be done easily from a remote location since it involves mostly web tools and knowledge as opposed to physical labor or specialized equipment.

Notice that the Core Competencies (our preferred terminology for the skills section) include technical skills such as marketing, digital storytelling, and copywriting. 

You’ll note that these skills can easily be echoed within your Professional Development section as bullet points. Let’s consider Team Leadership: 

• Interview, hire, train, and mentor XXX marketing interns, increasing departmental productivity by xx%.

• Collaborate with the website team to relay marketing plans, ensuring targets are exceeded.

Building teams, fostering relationships, collaborating, and training are all fantastic people skills. 

Of course, you don’t have to work in the digital world to land a remote or work-from-home position. Here is a list of other positions you might find if you want to avoid working in a brick-and-mortar job.

General remote work resume examples

Remote marketing resume examples

Tech and IT remote resume samples

Is it useful to have previous remote work experience?

It will help and certainly won’t do any harm if you already have experience in remote working environments, as this shows that you can self-manage and work in a virtual team. For practical reasons, it demonstrates that you are more likely to have an existing home office set up, which saves time and effort on your part as well as the new company. Include the word “remote” where you would usually put the location of the job--either as the primary or the secondary location.

Don’t worry, though, if you don’t have experience with working from home. You can highlight other valuable aspects.

Here are some suggestions:

• Include remote experience from academic or volunteer work. Employers often value volunteer work as much as paid work. 

• Learn about popular online tools that many companies use. Sites such as BuiltIn will tell you what certain companies use, so you can score some points by having training prior to an interview.

• If you don’t have any prior remote experience, hone in on those skills of yours that will apply to a remote work environment.

• Check out more information at The Complete Guide to Listing Remote Work on Your Resume.

The right strategy on your remote job resume wins the day

When updating your resume for remote jobs, the smart way is to compare your experience with recent job listings in your desired field, as well as updated professional resume samples. This will give you a better idea of how your resume should look and what skills you should focus on.

If you are still unsure how to customize your resume for remote work, turn to ZipJob’s free resume review tool. This tool will give you an overview of how your resume stacks up, giving you an idea of where you need to go next to nail that dream remote job.

This article was originally written by Caitlin Proctor and has been updated by Elizabeth Openshaw.

Recommended reading:

• 30 Best Paying Remote Jobs 2024 and How to Get Them

• Utilizing the STAR Method in Resume Writing

• How Much Do Resume Writing Services Cost in 2024?