WTF is my "online" job? Plus! Tips for a successful and productive career at home
Hey.
It’s me.
That girl who likes to sing, worked on a boat for awhile, and now posts frequent pictures in different countries. But uh, rest assured I haven’t taken up pick-pocketing to fund my life. I do indeed work! Full-time, even! And during these touchy times where working from home is being encouraged (or mandated) more than ever before, I thought it would be a good time to tell you how exactly I work 40 hours each week without ever stepping foot in an office, and a few tips on how to stay productive and positive in a remote career.
(I know. This is all ironic, seeing as I’m a metaphorical child in the working world, but hey! I get shit done and thoroughly enjoy my life.)
Here’s how:
For a bit of backstory, just under one year ago, I was searching for a job, any job, that would allow me to earn a bit of money in Portugal, while I navigated my way through the visa process. I had been busting my butt to take on writing gigs, so I stacked my CV full of job crumbs, and passed it around like germs at a church daycare. Lo and behold, I got the luckiest of lucky and scored a full-time copywriting and brand management job, working for an entirely remote company.
In those first few months, I learned how to use Google sheets, what KPIs are (key performance indicators), and that Excel and I will never be friends. I was blessed with bosses who believed in me, colleagues who never once made me feel stupid, and most importantly, humans, who greeted me with kindness every single morning (via skype).
I say this in the past tense, because in typical Emily fashion, after about six months, I was looking for something more. Either more copywriting freelance work for small business, more guest blogging for a variety of sites, just… something more than figuring out 50 ways to say the word “sale” without using the letters S A L and E.
And then, something amazing happened.
Despite being woefully underqualified (but incredibly enthusiastic), I was approached by my company to take on a brand new position. A position with a lot of freedom, responsibility, and most of all, expectations.
“Ok, we get it Hughes. Get to the point. What is your actual job?”
Well, Facebook told me it’s called the Talent Development Manager. I tried to type in “Talent Manager,” but the only autofill option from Facebook was “Talent Development Manager” and it sounded fancier so I happily clicked to accept.
So! What does this mean? I work for an e-learning company that produces online courses. Not like University scammy stuff, a la Trump University, but bite-sized courses to satisfy your curiosities. And if you can imagine filling your computer with happy, productive, kind humans who genuinely believe in the work they’re doing, that is my computer every weekday morning at 8 am. This company is the bomb.com (is this still cool to say? Was it ever cool to say?) and I’m in charge of a new branch of it. A branch that aims to partner with expert influencers and Youtubers to hep them create streamlined, structured courses that their followers are hungry for. Without giving too much away, all I can say is that I have some phone calls with the craziest characters. And I mean this in the best way. Every single day is an adventure, contacting content creators (and their agents) all over the world, to discuss everything from bronzer to barbeque.
So. That’s what I do.
Now. How do I do it? Honestly, it’s pretty easy.
When I first started working remotely, I was a definitely scared as to how productive I would be. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. I was raised with a strong work ethic, so if I don’t work hard at something, I feel like a phony version of myself. And I’m not doin’ that five days a week, so what did I do?
I worked hard.
If you think you won’t be productive working from home, just think about your work ethic. And be honest here. Are you a hard worker, or are you the kind of person who always says “Oh, I can do that later.” In all honesty, if you’re the “tomorrow” kind of person, I’d urge you to go through a bit of bootcamp before working from home.
Cute plants help too
(if you can keep them alive, unlike me…)
But if you’re lucky, you’re also given the tools to effectively work from home (my company uses skype chats, asana, and google calendar to keep everything organized). Speaking of skype, one of the biggest things I had to get used to when I started working from home was phone calls. Does anyone else not answer the phone if they don’t recognize the number? Send a text for something you’d like a speedy reply to? Or avoid looking at missed calls because it wasn’t the “right time?” Oh gosh, this was me for so long, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Because you know who’s always asking for calls these days? THIS GAL. Thanks to those aforementioned bosses who believed in me (both women, by the way), I learned the importance of scheduling, proposing, and participating in calls multiple times every day, in order to be clear and effective in my position. Why type back and forth, especially if something is unclear, when you can just hop on the phone, get a bit of human interaction, and maybe even swap a funny story while you’re at it. There may be no water cooler in our company skype chat, but there are certainly GIFs aplenty.
Oh, and speaking of humans. When I’m working from home, I like to feel like a good human who’s got her sh*t together. This means wake up, shower, put on cute clothes (notice I said clothes and not pajamas?), make coffee, and light a candle, all before opening up my laptop and saying helloe to my real, yet virtual, colleagues. Personally, I swear by a standing desk as well. Sitting for too long makes me feel gross (eloquent word choice, I know), and the tabletop gadget I found to elevate my work situation only cost about $30. Money well spent, if you ask me.
To top it off, I recommend putting on a podcast or playlist. I stick to instrumental playlists, as I can’t write while simultaneously listening to someone else’s lyrics. (Just me?) If you have Spotify, I totally recommend the “Instrumental Vibes” playlist at the moment.
The flip side of this “human” point, is that after a few months of working exclusively from home, I missed people. I’m a social person. Yes, I was incredibly productive alone at my desk, but I was also very grumpy for no apparent reason. Turns out science has a reason for it. In actuality, we do better when we’re around people (click here for the article from the World Economic Forum), and when you’ve got work to do and calls to make with (somewhat) famous folks in LA, the loud grinding of an espresso machine at a neighborhood café doesn’t really sound that “profesh,” if you know what I mean. And this, my friends, is where it’s really important to do your homework.
Part of my decision to move to Hamburg was due to the resources that are available in cities. In Hamburg, there’s not just one coworking space to rock up to. You’ve got options! Do you want a fancy, tech-themed space? Do you want a complimentary gym to sweat in during your lunch break? Or do you want something more artsy? Take your pick, folks! But keep in mind, that just like the personalities of each space, their prices vary as well. I went with a creative, productive, welcoming space called Betahaus and I’ve never been happier with a monthly expense.
BUT, during these quarantined days, claiming a shared desk in a confined space filled with hard surafces isn’t the best idea. But you need human interaction! So make those phone calls. Opt for a facetime when you can. And put on real clothes!
I won’t lie, it feels strange to publish this post with my typically optimistic tone, in what is certainly not an optimistic time for this planet. But this is what we have to do. We have to help each other out, take precautions where we can, and find ways to be busy bees if we’re lucky enough to still have a job.
I am. And I don’t take for granted for one moment how lucky I am to be where I am now in life, as opposed to where I was two years ago. So that being said, if you’re on the hunt for a new job, if you’re looking for tips on what side gigs exist online, or simply need help sprucing up your CV. Send me an email. The contact button should be at the bottom of this page, if I do this blogging thing correctly. Whatever I can possibly do to help, I will.
You know, maybe we could even hop on a call…