Top 7 Mandatory Remote Work Skills
As a remote worker or remote employee, it's a given that you'll need to be proficient with digital tools in a remote environment to be successful.
Even more important, though, are your skills and how quickly you can adapt to a range of applications and interact with different people in a remote team.
These skills listed below are "mandatory" from a range of research I've done online as well as talking to different hiring managers and successful remote employees and leaders.
This list is focused on mostly "soft" skills, which are important because they are transferable from past positions and experiences. Note the difference between hard and soft skills, which Zety has a great definition:
“Hard skills are teachable and measurable abilities, such as writing, reading, math or ability to use computer programs. By contrast, soft skills are the traits that make you a good employee, such as etiquette, communication and listening, getting along with other people.”
So, in order to get a job, we need a good mix of these two types of skills. The hard skill is the thing that we’ve typically done training for, had education in, or gotten experience doing. Soft skills are the ancillary skills we learn through experiences that help us work.
Especially for those who haven’t worked remotely in the past, or are transitioning, will need to rely heavily on soft skills and also re-tooling their valuable hard skills.
Top 7 Mandatory Skills
Autonomy
You're proactive in your decision-making and don't need people to tell you what to do. When a challenge arises, you're able to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to figure it out independently, but also know when to ask for help.
Communication
Strong communication skills are necessary, meaning you can encode and decode messages effectively asynchronously, especially with digital collaboration tools and writing. Because with remote work you're often working within different time zones, it's important you also give people everything they need in as few messages as possible to make decisions or take the next step.
Emotional Intelligence
You're empathetic to social, team dynamics, and other people. You recognize the way you see the world isn't the way others see it, and you do as much as you can to improve your cross-cultural literacy. You communicate your intentions clearly and upfront. IQ is much less important than emotional intelligence, IMO.
Digital Proficiency
According to CMSWire, digital proficiency is defined as the measure of capacity to use digital technologies to one's benefit. It doesn't mean you need to be "technical," or even that you have to work in tech. This is a huge misconception. It just means you understand which digital tools companies use to communicate and you're able to easily navigate and adapt to new tools.
Sales (not what you think)
Not only is a remote job search a direct marketing exercise. in which you must be able to market and sell yourself as the solution... but being at a company, everyone is a "salesperson!" Each day when you go into work, you sell your ideas, your work, your decisions, and more. Whether practicing your leadership skills, your persuasion skills, or passing along your ideas to colleagues on projects - sales skills will help. Remember, this is not a negative or malicious thing, it is a life skill that will help you in anything you do, and make you invaluable.
Self Motivation
You don't need external motivation to work hard, it comes from within! Being a team player in a remote work environment means your personal life is often mixed with virtual meetings on a daily basis. With less physical separation between these parts of your life, it's essential you create your own focused hours and stick to them as much as possible.
Hard Skill
Specific expertise/transferable skills you've learned through experience. There are so many, but not limited to digital marketing, programming, design, data analysis, account management, people management, project management, and more.
Unsure About Your Qualifications?
Some people looking for remote work realize there is a large gap between the experience they have and the job they are going for:
You have no experience working remotely at all and you're unsure if it's right for you
You don't have proficient computer skills and the digital world doesn't come intuitively
You're considering drastic switches in your role, industry, or profession and don't have hard skills in those industries you're considering
If any of these are true for you, you may consider an alternate path as a next step. Now, I'm not here to tell you anything is impossible. I completely support people going after their dreams and making things happen.
However, there's a level of empathy you need to have for the recruiters and hiring managers at these companies. They are looking for people who are a 'fit' for these roles. So, if you have a wide gap between your current skill and experience level, you may consider a few things:
Finding a certification, course, or some type of continuing education in the new niche you're exploring
Pitching an internship with an organization or finding some way to volunteer your services
Finding a mentor, coach, or community with particular expertise who can help guide and provide knowledge and meet other people who are succeeding in that field
Because, if your skills aren't where they need to be, you're going to have trouble getting hired. And, instead of swimming upstream to get a job you're not qualified for, you need to make yourself more qualified.
If you're not confident about your hard skills or remote proficiencies, consider taking some online courses, finding a mentor, or an internship to get some experience and knowledge. You can also offer up volunteer services virtually. You can start courses for free on platforms like:
If you're feeling qualified for remote jobs but you're not getting calls back for interviews, it's time to figure out why! Set up a free Remote Job Strategy Session with The Remote Job Coach to get clarity on what you can do differently: