Want a remote job? Tough luck — you’re too late.

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the increasing difficulty of landing remote jobs in the current job market, with a focus on the high competition and low acceptance rates for remote job openings.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The Impossible Odds of Landing a Remote Job

1. What factors are driving the intense competition for remote jobs?

• Many large companies have ordered their remote employees to return to the office, prompting office-averse professionals to look for fully remote roles
• Companies are now listing almost every new job opening as in-person or hybrid, leading to a sharp drop in the number of remote roles available
• There has been a dramatic slowdown in the tech industry, which had supercharged the boom in remote work

2. How has the competition for remote jobs impacted applicants?

• Some applicants have taken pay cuts of up to 20% to land a remote role
• Others have accepted offers that represent a significant step down in their careers
• Applicants are enrolling in certification programs to try to stand out from the remote-hungry pack
• Many have been forced to give up on the prospect of remote work and resign themselves to office life

3. What statistics demonstrate the intense competition for remote jobs?

• The job opening for a people-operations analyst at Cribl received over 1,700 applications, with a 0.06% chance of getting selected
• On LinkedIn, only 9% of job postings were fully remote, yet they attracted nearly half of all applications
• On ZipRecruiter, the typical remote opening now gets three times as many applicants as in-office roles

[02] The Surge in Remote Job Applications

1. How have companies been impacted by the surge in remote job applications?

• Small startups like Remote and Mural have been overwhelmed by the high volume of applications for their remote job openings
• However, this has also created an opportunity for these companies to access a larger talent pool as corporate giants order employees back to the office

2. What strategies are applicants using to stand out in the remote job search?

• Setting up alerts on job sites to be among the first to apply
• Joining online communities to trade tips and leads
• Directly messaging recruiters and hiring managers on LinkedIn
• Getting creative, such as submitting poems or videos related to the company's mascot

3. What advice does the article give about using AI tools like ChatGPT in the application process?

• The article warns that hiring managers have noticed many applicants using AI to generate introductions on their CVs, which is not viewed positively

4. What is the outlook for the competition for remote jobs in the future?

• The article expects the competition to intensify in the coming months as more large companies enforce return-to-office mandates
• 2024 is predicted to see even more competition for remote roles as the "dream of remote work" becomes more elusive