Remote Ready Academy · Phase 1 · Module 3
Finding Remote Jobs
Efficiently
The way most people search for remote jobs is almost guaranteed to produce mediocre results. This module replaces that approach with one that actually surfaces the right roles.
You should have a CV draft from Module 2 before starting here. You will begin building your active target list in this module and you need the CV ready before you can apply to anything you find.
The remote job market has its own ecosystem. The roles that matter most often do not live on the same platforms where most people spend their time searching. That is not an accident — it is a structural reality of how remote companies hire, and understanding it changes where you look first.
Spending hours on generic job boards filtering by the word “remote” is a low-return activity. You will find roles, but so will several hundred other people who got there at the same time. The applicant pool for publicly listed remote roles on mainstream boards is enormous. The strategies in this module are about finding roles before that pool forms.
The platforms that actually work
There is a tier system to remote job boards and most people only know the first one. Here is how they stack up in practice.
We Work Remotely
The largest dedicated remote job board. Strong across tech, marketing, customer support and design. Roles here tend to come from companies with a genuine remote culture — not companies that added a remote filter to an existing in-office listing.
Remote OK
Strong for technical and digital roles. Good filtering options and a clean interface. Updates regularly and tends to surface newer listings faster than some of the larger boards.
FlexJobs
Subscription-based but worth it for the curation. Every role is manually screened, which means less noise and fewer scam listings. Good for professionals at mid to senior levels across a wider range of functions.
LinkedIn with remote filter active
High volume, variable quality. The key is to filter aggressively. Set location to remote only. Filter by date posted within the last 24 to 48 hours to catch listings before they accumulate hundreds of applicants. Consider turning off Easy Apply — it reduces competition from people who click through everything without reading it properly.
Company careers pages directly
Consistently underused and consistently high return. Many remote-first companies post roles on their own site before they syndicate to job boards. The Bonus 3 company list is your starting point. Bookmark the careers page of every company you are genuinely interested in and check it weekly.
Boolean search strings
Boolean search is a simple way to surface far more targeted results on platforms that support it. Google is particularly useful here. A search structured like this will return remote job listings that generic searches miss entirely:
Lever, Greenhouse and Ashby are applicant tracking systems used by thousands of companies. Searching them directly via Google surfaces listings that often do not appear on job boards at all. Swap in whatever role title is relevant to you. This is one of the most consistently effective search methods available, and almost no one is using it.
Setting up automated alerts
Manual searching is time-consuming and inconsistent. Job alerts bring roles to you on a schedule. Set up at minimum three automated alerts across different platforms using specific search terms relevant to your target role. Check them daily. Apply within 24 hours of a listing going live wherever possible — applications submitted early in a listing’s life consistently outperform those submitted after several days.
On LinkedIn specifically, save your search with the remote filter applied and set alerts to daily. The platform notifies you the moment a matching role appears. It is a basic feature that a surprising number of people either do not know about or do not bother setting up.
The company-first method
This is the approach that consistently produces the best outcomes and it is also the one that requires the most initiative. Instead of searching for roles and then researching the company, you start with the companies and follow them until a role opens.
Identify twenty to thirty companies from the Bonus 3 list that you would genuinely want to work for. Follow them on LinkedIn. Check their careers pages weekly. When a role opens, apply immediately. Because you already know the company, you can write a far more targeted application than someone who found the listing on a job board an hour ago and is applying cold.
Some of those companies will not have a relevant role open for weeks or months. That is fine. When they do you will be ready — and you will be applying before most people even know the role exists.
Module 3 Action Step
Set up three job alerts on different platforms using search terms specific to your target role. Then open Bonus 3 and go through the company list. Highlight twenty to thirty companies that are genuinely relevant to your background and the direction you want to go. Check their careers pages this week.
This is your warm target list. You will use it throughout Modules 4 and 5.
Start applying to roles you find now. Do not wait until you have finished all six modules. Applications should begin in this module.
Resources in This Module
- Top 15 Remote Job Boards: Platform Guide (PDF)
- Boolean Search String Reference Sheet
- Job Alert Setup Walkthrough
- Bonus 3: 150 Companies Hiring Remotely Right Now →