Ask HN: Best place to look for remote jobs? - mrgrowth
======
calcsam
An old colleague of mine, who'd worked for an LA-based tech company for 10
years, went to hand in his resignation. He was moving to Charlotte so he could
be with his girlfriend.

His boss begged him to stay -- he could even work remotely. My friend took the
deal. He lives in Charlotte now and flies to LA every 2 or 3 months.

The best place to look for remote jobs is to talk to people who have worked
with you in the past and trust you.

~~~
dasmoth
I broadly agree with this, and nice to hear from people who've made it work.

But how feasible is it to do this today when so much of the current crop of
advice seems to be teams-over-individuals, nobody-is-indispensible messages
telling managers to avoid letting programmers gain this kind of leverage at
almost any cost?

~~~
crdoconnor
Don't work for companies like that. I have a few "red flags" which I look for
when I interview for companies to avoid this type of mindset and if I see
enough red flags I reject the company.

Those places are usually career dead ends anyway, even if you're not bothered
about working remotely.

Unfortunately, there are many places which _only_ have employers like that
which means you either move or you deal with it.

~~~
dandandan
Can you elaborate on what you're looking for at the interview stage to
determine a company has this mindset? I've seen it after a few weeks at an org
but figuring that out earlier would be helpful.

~~~
crdoconnor
I have a few questions I ask which often tease out the red flags:

* What hours did you and your team work in the last month? (anything that indicates long hours are frequent is a red flag, not because long hours are intrinsically bad (though they are), but because it's usually being used as a proxy for measuring productivity).

* What is your policy on remote working? Who do you have remote working currently and under what circumstances? ("no remote working" is ok for me if there's a non-bullshit reason but YMMV).

* Who is currently your best or one of your better developers? How did you come to that conclusion?

* What characteristics do you look for in clean code vs. technical debt-laden code? How do you handle and plan for paying down technical debt?

* Who reads your team's pull requests? (worst answer is "nobody", 2nd worst answer is "the team").

* Have you read any of my code? What did you think?

I'm usually not looking for a perfect answer to all of these questions, just
avoiding the companies that give an impression of widespread systemic
dysfunction in their answers or a manager who is clueless.

~~~
dasmoth
>>> * Who reads your team's pull requests? (worst answer is "nobody", 2nd
worst answer is "the team").

What's the _best_ answer you've heard for this one?

~~~
crdoconnor
Something involving not only the team reviewing each other's code but somebody
with the power to hire/fire (i.e. the answer "I will").

~~~
dasmoth
Ah, makes sense. Thanks.

------
taway_1212
The HN's Who's hiring thread is pretty good - I found a remote job twice
there, and I'm not even in the US.

~~~
ishansharma
Since it's a throwaway, mind telling a bit more? I'm not from US too and it's
hard to find remote jobs there. Are you in one of the nearby countries or
Europe?

~~~
taway_1212
Eastern Europe. One job was on East Coast, which is not that terrible in terms
of timezone differences. The other one was in SF, which I honestly though
would be too much of a stretch (but applied anyway) - it turns out they found
a way to make a tightly-knight coding team across nine timezones work
reasonably well.

As for finding remote jobs, I think it's good to be experienced with something
niche or in very high demand like Clojure, Haskel, Spark etc. Companies can
easily find locals to work on popular technologies, but for the uncommon or
hot ones, they sometimes need to bite the bullet and build a remote team -
even if they would prefer not to.

------
spoiledtechie
In all honesty, I work part time on remote jobs. I have a lot of debt I need
to pay off, family medical.

I have for the 2 years, applied to 100+ jobs a week. When I don't have work or
when I find my current work teetering off, I sit down every Monday, go to 40+
job sites I have collected over time and just apply to as many as possible
within the 2 hours or so.

Its hit or miss, but I tend to find something within the month, someone
looking for part time remote work.

I am always looking, but since its part time, I get filtered out a lot due to
employers wanting full time folks.

Just Hustle. Keep Hustling. Don't stop hustling. It helps me.

~~~
neals
One of my companies has been growing and our single developer is leaving.

I've been hard at work preparing everything for remote developers to be able
to help us out where ever they are and how for as much hours as we can afford
them to work. My idea is to scale the company based on a dynamic remote team,
where knowledge is shared and only ideas come from within the company itself.

Please tell me where you have been looking for remote work? I'm dying for some
good parttimers.

~~~
mryan
The Who is Hiring threads on HN have been pretty useful - you tend to find
likeminded people.

If you need any part-time assistance with DevOps-related topics (Continuous
Delivery/Integration, etc.), I'd be interested in hearing more - my email is
in my profile.

------
mbil
[https://remotebase.io/companies](https://remotebase.io/companies)

------
pieterhg
Remote work is the #1 perk/benefit for employees now. It's no wonder it's hard
to land a remote job because everybody wants them.

The focus should be on increasing your skills, making them more unique and
super necessary for employers.

And then use the relationships you have already (eg current employer or
clients) to start working remotely.

------
santoriv
I've gotten two remote jobs off the HN "Who's hiring?" thread. It can be a bit
frustrating. I applied to every single remote posting on the thread for 2
months in a row. So I guess that's one job per month (maybe I was lucky or
unlucky who knows).

Following are some of my impressions but they are subjective and perhaps a bit
speculative.

Generally I've found that the attitude of most US companies is that if they
are willing to hire remote, they are usually only interested in hiring
candidates inside the US - even if they are a native English speaker (I was an
American living in Vietnam). This is very different than the attitude that
I've gotten talking to a companies in say ... Singapore or Germany.

Another thing that seems to happen is that some companies seem to throw the
REMOTE OK tag to their posting without considering whether or not everyone on
their engineering team is actually ok with working with a remote employee.
I've done several interviews with teams that were REMOTE OK but had no
existing remote employees. Usually it only takes one person to veto a hire.
That's something to think about if they are looking at both local and remote
candidates. Unless there is a really compelling reason to hire remote, usually
they will go local (makes sense). You might not even _want_ to work with one
of these companies because they aren't set up for remote work... communication
takes a bit more work from all team members - not just the remote ones.

Overall I've had a much more positive experience with the HN: "Who's hiring?""
thread than anywhere else. I think this is because the first point of contact
is often an engineer and not an HR person. My resume is a bit odd and doesn't
have a BRAND_NAME_SILICON_VALLEY_COMPANY or a BRAND_NAME_UNIVERSITY so it
bounces right off the HR department. It's very helpful to be able to talk
technology with someone in the initial conversation. If I can get a
knowledgeable front-end engineer to look at some of my previous work, then I
usually get to the coding round.

I had no luck with any of the remote hiring sites: remoteok.io or
weworkremotely.com. YMMV

Ultimately getting a remote job seems to come down to:

1\. Having some kind of portfolio to demonstrate your competence. 2\. Doing as
many interiews as possible. Also the more interviews you do the better you get
at it.

Good luck!

------
pablo-massa
Job boards

* [http://weworkremotely.com](http://weworkremotely.com)

* [http://remoteok.io](http://remoteok.io)

* [http://remotebase.io](http://remotebase.io)

* [http://workingnomads.co](http://workingnomads.co)

* [http://authenticjobs.com](http://authenticjobs.com)

* [http://folyo.me](http://folyo.me)

* [http://jobspresso.co](http://jobspresso.co)

* [http://wfh.io](http://wfh.io)

* [http://remotefriendly.work](http://remotefriendly.work)

* [http://linkedin.com/jobs](http://linkedin.com/jobs)

* [http://angel.co/jobs](http://angel.co/jobs)

* [http://designernews.co/jobs](http://designernews.co/jobs)

* [http://news.ycombinator.com](http://news.ycombinator.com) (monthly posts for freelance jobs)

* [http://dribbble.com/jobs](http://dribbble.com/jobs) (only design)

* [http://getonbrd.com](http://getonbrd.com) (latam)

\-----------

With broker

Here you apply as a professional, they approve you (or not) and then assign
you projects.

* [http://toptal.com](http://toptal.com)

* [http://workmarket.com](http://workmarket.com)

* [http://crew.co](http://crew.co)

* [http://hired.com](http://hired.com)

* [http://onsite.io](http://onsite.io)

* [http://workingnotworking.com](http://workingnotworking.com)

* [http://gun.io](http://gun.io)

* [http://gigster.com](http://gigster.com)

I do not recommend

* [http://upwork.com](http://upwork.com)

* [http://freelancer.com](http://freelancer.com)

* [http://nubelo.com](http://nubelo.com)

* [http://fiverr.com](http://fiverr.com)

* [http://workana.com](http://workana.com)

* [http://guru.com](http://guru.com)

\-----------

Slack communities

Interact with other freelancers. Usually you will find a #Jobs channel.

Free membership

* [http://wearedomino.com](http://wearedomino.com)

* [http://designerhangout.co](http://designerhangout.co)

* [http://launch.chat](http://launch.chat)

Paid membership

* [http://join.nomadlist.com](http://join.nomadlist.com) ($25 month | $75 year | $200 lifetime)

* [http://workfrom.co/chat](http://workfrom.co/chat) ($5 month | $50 year)

* [http://freelance.chat](http://freelance.chat) ($25 lifetime)

\-----------

This list is from an article [1] that I wrote, hope can help!

[1] [https://medium.com/@pablomassa/sites-to-get-remote-work-
as-a...](https://medium.com/@pablomassa/sites-to-get-remote-work-as-a-
freelancer-16092a954e21#.mzqr3nbqo)

~~~
spoiledtechie
Can anyone confirm, that any of these sites have found them remote jobs? I
would love to know as I am interested in joining, but I don't actually think
its worth it?

Paid membership * [http://join.nomadlist.com](http://join.nomadlist.com) ($25
month | $75 year | $200 lifetime) *
[http://workfrom.co/chat](http://workfrom.co/chat) ($5 month | $50 year) *
[http://freelance.chat](http://freelance.chat) ($25 lifetime)

~~~
pieterhg
As the maker of Nomad List: no, definitely no guarantee and it's not the main
purpose of the community at all.

It's just a chat and there's a jobs channel. I know many people found clients
etc. through it but it's very informal. Think of it like a bar, not a network
event. You might meet the right people, you might not.

------
mseo
You can filter for remote jobs on stackoverflow:

[http://stackoverflow.com/jobs?sort=i&l=Remote&d=20&u=Km](http://stackoverflow.com/jobs?sort=i&l=Remote&d=20&u=Km)

------
rrherr
[https://remoteok.io/](https://remoteok.io/)

~~~
spraak
I don't really like this site and others like it. I could be wrong, but it
appears to be an automated scraper of real managed content like
[https://weworkremotely.com/](https://weworkremotely.com/) which is what I'd
recommend and found my first remote position through

~~~
zo1
The last time I tried one of these "work remotel" sites with an "io" tld, they
ended up re-using my email address on other business ventures. Essentially
some tard thought that I was a "lead" because I signed up for updates for a
specific set of remote job criteria. I never got any of those updates, instead
got emails promoting some other website/startup that the same guy ran.

~~~
pieterhg
Ah I think that was me! Sorry about that. Email alerts are working now, and
I'll never send anything else to there anymore.

------
archildress
[http://weworkremotely.com](http://weworkremotely.com)

------
grimsbylad
I'm not sure if there really is a best place to look for remote jobs. It
depends. I personally don't like aggregators as it's so easy to overlook a job
post. I prefer visiting individual job boards. As a side note, I do agree with
some of the comments in this thread. The best way is of course to talk to
people you know and have worked with in the past. Meetups and events can also
be a great place. Perhaps it won't land you a remote job today, but it may in
the future.

What kind of remote jobs are you looking for? Tech or non-tech? I've generally
found weworkremotely and the HN hiring thread to be among the best. If you're
interested in remote jobs at startups, AngelList have a special collection for
you [https://angel.co/job-collections/remote/](https://angel.co/job-
collections/remote/)

It might be worth your time to look through [http://nodesk.co/remote-
work/](http://nodesk.co/remote-work/) for a collection of remote job boards
(it's a list so visit them all and save the ones you find useful) as well as
[http://workintech.io/](http://workintech.io/) (job boards specifically geared
for tech jobs).

Let me know what you're looking for and perhaps I can help point you in the
right direction.

------
AdamGibbins
[http://wfh.io/](http://wfh.io/)

------
kaizensoze
[https://github.com/kaizensoze/remote-freelance-
jobs](https://github.com/kaizensoze/remote-freelance-jobs)

------
lukasm
[https://github.com/lukasz-madon/awesome-remote-
job](https://github.com/lukasz-madon/awesome-remote-job)

------
DoodleBuggy
Many I know with remote positions had worked at the company previously and
then went to move or quit, and was given permission to work remotely.
Obviously one needs to be an effective employee for that to be the case, and
not mind occasionally traveling.

Otherwise you could seek employment at a place known for having primarily
remote workers.

Contract work and freelance is also easy to remote.

------
spoiledtechie
[http://weworkhourly.com/](http://weworkhourly.com/) is a good site for jobs.

------
49531
I've worked remote for the last 3 years with two different companies and found
both on HN who is hiring posts.

------
fastftw
Toptal! If you want a referral, let me know!
[https://www.toptal.com/talent/apply/#book-just-devoted-
progr...](https://www.toptal.com/talent/apply/#book-just-devoted-programmers-
today)

~~~
eloff
The interview experience is terrible. I completed a much more ambitious
project than I needed to, demonstrating the ability to pick up a complex new
framework quickly (React Native). I also implemented a very thorough auth
system demonstrating mastery of secure programming (proper salting, message
signing, defense against timing attacks.) That didn't matter one bit, I got
denied for omitting a requirement which wasn't in the listed requirements and
for not communicating to clarify the requirements. Whilst I understand the
value of timely communication with real clients, I assumed these guys could
get their own assignment requirements correct.

In addition to all this, you will get a much lower rate than you're expecting.
While it's true that you set your own rate, they basically told me if I don't
charge at the same below-salary rates as the rest of the people on their
network, they won't send business my way.

So huge waste of time on the interview, plus you'll make less than a salaried
position for the advantage of sporadic work and no benefits. Stay away if you
know what's good for you!

~~~
spoiledtechie
I couldn't agree more that their interviewing is terrible.

~~~
bnt
Were you interviewing for one of the Core developer teams (the ones actually
building Toptal), or for Toptal to work as a freelance developer (to work on
Client projects)?

Toptal has a lot of open (internal) positions and their interview process is
different than when applying to work on Toptal as a freelancer. Everyone on
the Core development team is remote.

[https://www.toptal.com/careers](https://www.toptal.com/careers)

~~~
spoiledtechie
Freelance work.

------
ryandamour
I'm a Sr. Security Engineer at a security firm called Defense Point Security.
We are always looking for remote talent. Feel free to shoot me an email at
ryan.damour@defpoint.com with your resume!

~~~
mrgrowth
Hi Ryan, security is something I'm very interested in. Don't have much
experience apart from tinkering. Would love to chat if you had some time?

------
aalhour
Does anybody know a good place to look specially for part-time Remote work?

------
goldfishcaura
If you do data engineering, you can work with me:
[https://www.caura.co](https://www.caura.co) \- my clients are all remote

