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Transitioning to Remote Work

I knew a bit about remote work prior to visiting my brother in the fall of 2018 at his new house in Colorado. We arrived on a Thursday and of course, he had to finish out his work week.  Yet, he easily made time in his schedule to pick us up on Thursday around 2 pm. And then on Friday, he prescheduled all of his meetings in the morning and the afternoon so we could go on a 2-hour hike + a lunch in the middle of his workday. I was amazed at the amount of flexibility he had. As I spoke to him more about working from home, he spoke about freedom, trust, and being extremely productive. I left wanting….no, needing that type of work environment! This was my ‘Aha!’ moment!

A few months later in January 2019, I started my search for a new – remote – position as well as venturing into networking. Because I was very specific with my position requirements and the type of company I was interested in, I worked with a career coach. This path obviously isn’t for everyone but my coach was able to educate me in networking tactics while keeping me on track. Pretty early into networking, I realized that I was behind on my remote work knowledge. I used my early networking opportunities to learn about organizations or platforms I should join to help increase my remote work knowledge. (A few examples: WorkPlaceLess, Remotive and the #remotework on LinkedIn)

Once I became more clear with what I wanted out of my next career more with the help of my coach, and I set myself up for success by learning as much as I could about remote work, I began to network more effectively. I was able to clearly communicate with complete strangers about what I wanted and they were willing to help! (Like Ashley and Leah here at Prowess Project!) This really boosted my confidence. I knew that I was moving in the right direction. It was just a matter of time until I landed my first remote position and I am never going back!

My advice for those looking to transition from onsite to a remote position is this:

  1. Do your homework, make sure remote work is for you.
  2.  Become clear with what you want out of your next role and company.
  3.  Talk about what you want with others! Family, friends, and individuals you network with. 
  4.  Network with remote workers. We love to talk about remote work and spread the remote work love!

Good luck to anyone just starting out, it is a bit step and you are going to crush it!

Tory Fitzgerald

Prowess Project Manager

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