5 Things to Consider During Your Remote Job Search

Will a Remote Job Help Me Travel More?

Ahhh, the million dollar question. We are entering a unique time in the history of the workforce. Some companies are requesting your presence back in the office, while other companies, like Airbnb, are giving the people what they want, more freedom and flexibility with regards to location.

Now, if you have always wanted to make travel a bigger part of your life, but you haven't made any moves to make it a reality up until this point, you are not alone!

Additionally, it is very common to assume a remote job is THE solution to make your travel dreams a reality. And it is for many, but it is not for everyone.

Maybe you're wondering why I am being a Debbie Downer here, but there is a reason. I help people take career breaks and find remote jobs so they have more flexibility and freedom in their lives. HOWEVER (all caps because this is important), anyone can get a remote job. I truly care about your happiness as well, which means whatever solution you decide upon to be able to travel more needs to align with your values, goals, and dreams for your lifestyle.

Repeat after me: Just because a job is remote, doesn't mean it is the right job for me.

5 Things to Consider During Your Remote Job Search

1. What are your priorities? Subconsciously, we prioritize everything we do in life. For example, if you say you want to cook dinner at home every night, but then you keep finding yourself in line at Chipotle, cooking is NOT a priority. Once we start bringing awareness to where our priorities lie, decision-making becomes much easier because you can simply think about what is a higher priority. Another example, if your career is a priority, but travel is a higher priority, then making career-based decisions (like accepting a role that requires you to be in the office) will make you miserable.
2. What do you want your lifestyle to look like? Some jobs, even if they are remote, aren't a great fit for the midday dips in the pool and 3pm happy hours you may see on TikTok. First, you need to be aware of what you want your life to look like and then find the job that fits that lifestyle, not the other way around. If you want to go to the beach early every single afternoon, YOU CAN, but, you'll need to find a job that supports flexibility. And you need to know your needs before you can find a job that matches them. Makes sense, right?
3. What are your dealbreakers? Everyone has dealbreakers in every facet of life. You won't date someone who smokes, you won't rent an apartment with wall-to-wall carpet, and you won't work for someone who, I don't know, hopes their email found you well...These are going to be personal for each individual, but think about yours so you can keep them in mind during your job search.
4. Remember--this is your life: As someone who highly associated her identity with success at work, I struggled when I decided to dial back my responsibilities. My first couple of remote roles were super entry-level, but I was not entry-level. This struck a cord with my ego. I opted for lower pay and lower responsibilities for more freedom and flexibility of time and location. I WANTED this. I was so certain; however, sometimes my ego would creep in and rear it's ugly head and tell me I'm smarter than the work I was doing. I would constantly have to tell me ego, who cares? All this to say, we often feel this need to prove ourselves through performance. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROVE ANYTHING TO ANYONE and I am simply writing this here to raise awareness that this will likely happen if you are straying from what people expect from you. It is normal, it is okay, but it isn't easy. A community can be really important in these moments, so feel free to join my Free Facebook Group for career breakers and remote workers.
5. Rejection is part of the process: Rejection never feels good, but it is naive to go into any job search and not expect rejection. If you go in with this expectation set, it feels worse when it happens. I encourage my Remote Work and How to Find It students to consider that every rejection brings you one step closer to the offer that is meant for you.

Remote Work isn't for Everyone

Once you've considered the 5 items listed above, truly assess if remote work is your solution to travel more. While there are a number of possibilities out there, from working in a different country and traveling locally, to getting a job that allows you to travel, I outline my three favorite options in this post in case you'd like to read a little more.

Normally, if you lean towards valuing stability in your life and feel comforted by that consistent paycheck (but also want to travel), often times a remote job will be a great option for you. It also pairs well with a career break.