I have been working online for about three years now. It’s
on and off, yet it’s fascinating to consider that majority of my income comes from
this unique stream. Looking back, I recognized that I reached a long way in this interesting career. I
remembered my first time, with no idea where to start. This is why I’d like to
share my experience on finding an online job. You might be surprised that
landing a job online is easy as long as you persist and know the basics.
This topic is longer than I thought, so I went ahead and divided
it into three sections. First is about the skills to have for you to land a
job. Second, is about the websites to look for online jobs and how to create a profile. And third, is about
some tips that you could use to really land a job. Let’s go straight
ahead on the first one.
For you to get a job, you should have the skills that
employers are seeking for. However, you might be shocked to know that you already
have one if not most of the skills. Let’s take a closer look.
What skills do you need?
You need not to be a seasoned programmer or an SEO expert to
land an online job. There are thousands of jobs out there that only requires basic skills and offer a decent salary already. So what are these basic skills that I'm talking about?
Below are some of the skills that I had, including the ones I developed, that allowed me to
land a job 80 to 90 percent of the time in the past three years.
Writing
A lot of online employers are looking for people who could
create content for their websites. Content is crucial for any website so that
it stays indexed by Google on its famous search engine. Web owners want traffic
for their site so that they can sell their products or get more clicks on their
ads.
Most beginners think that they need to have a degree to
write or at least have a long experience in writing or publishing. Well, there
are employers who look for these qualities. However, there are also many employers
who are satisfied with writers as long as you can create decent, readable
content. Sometimes, it is even more important to meet quotas and be prompt with
the tasks. An acceptable grammar that is readable is all you need.
I remembered my writing level when I first started. It was
awful. I tell you. I’m no writer and it’s funny to recall that I made money out
of the crappy output I created. Of course, I continued to study and keep an
open mind, which eventually improved my skill. Yet even today, I don’t see
myself as a great writer, I just write. Luckily it is enough to help me land
jobs here and there.
Web Developing
Another basic skill that you might already have is web
developing. If you know HTML and CSS, then landing a job is easy. You might
have encountered web creation from school, where you created simple html tags
and a simple web page. You should know that you’re just a step away from
getting a decent online job with the help of a few tutorials.
Sites like W3schools are great for taking basic lessons. If
you prefer videos, then you can find hundreds of them on YouTube offering free
tutorials. But really, if you just do a quick search on Google you will find
thousands of useful resources.
Programming skills are always in demand. Yes. The real money
goes to advanced programmers who know PHP, Java, object-oriented programming,
and the many other complex languages. However, the amazing part is you can also
get to where they are even without a curriculum! You just need to have awesome programming
skills (which you can learn online, for free!) and an enticing portfolio. So
just continue moving forward if ever you pursue this career. There are many
successful self-taught programmers out there. If they can do it, you can do it.
But back to landing a job, yes CSS and HTML5 are basically all you need.
SEO
This is a seemingly intimidating skill or term just by
hearing the name. But in reality, it is very easy! SEO is an acronym for search
engine optimization. As the name implies, it is a set of skills or techniques focused
on helping websites rank high on Google or any other search engine. As you know, a site with high ranking has high
traffic, which means higher chance of getting sales, promoting brands, and many
more.
SEO is not a definite science or profession. Employers who
look for SEO specialist may use varied techniques to rank in Google. But essentially,
all you have to do is learn a few things about how SEO works and you can
already apply for a job asking for an “SEO Expert.”
Being a good content writer is a perfect preliminary skill for
SEO (as to my case). Once you are knowledgeable of how writing keyword-targeted
posts work, then you get a better idea on SEO.
Once again, there are many tutorials online since everything
is already online (laugh). To sum up SEO, it’s a bit of mixture of everything,
which includes linking articles, guest posting, commenting on relevant sites,
let others links to your site, also, using various SEO tools that your employer
uses, which by the way are easy to learn. The point here is that SEO is a skill
anyone can develop. You just have to study a bit about it, learn the
fundamental concepts, and you’re ready to go.
So the next time you find SEO job postings go ahead and
apply. Your first jobs will teach you a lot of things, just be honest to your
prospect employers that you are a beginner but interested to learn. Oh I
forgot. Honesty is a crucial aspect in finding and maintaining an online job
(more on this on the upcoming posts).
Other skills
There are many other skills that could employ you. Are you
into audio mixing or editing? Some recording engineers outsource this task. Are
you a photography junkie? There are jobs for photo manipulation and
enhancements. Do you like making videos or presentations or perhaps creating
logos, graphic designs, or drawing? There are jobs for you too. The
opportunities are almost limitless.
I bet you have one or two of these skills. This means you
are entitled for a job out there. It’s now up to you to grab the opportunity.
Working online gives you a lot of freedom. And it’s also a
great way to come up with money, fast. Most importantly, anyone can try it.
Next topic will be about the websites to look for these online
job postings.
