Top 6 Job Boards for Finding Remote Work

The number of people working remotely has been steadily increasing, even pre-COVID-19, thanks in part to video conferencing software and other online collaboration tools.

And then came the coronavirus pandemic that upended people’s lives. Many lost their jobs, and those who didn’t found themselves forced to work from home because of stay-at-home orders. Until it’s safe and the world deemed pandemic-free, face-to-face communication will have to be minimized, and our meetings will take place mostly over the internet.

Perhaps you’re someone who believes remote work is your ticket to achieving a work-life balance. Or maybe the pandemic got you into a tight spot and now need a job you can do from home or anywhere that’s safe and convenient. Whichever situation you’re in, there are telecommute job boards you can explore to find remote job opportunities that align with your skills and experience.

In this guide, we’ll discuss some of the best places online to find remote jobs.

6 best job boards to find remote work:

• FlexJobs
• Just Remote
• Jobspresso
• Upwork
• LinkedIn
• We Work Remotely

1. FlexJobs

Started in 2007 by the “queen of remote work” Sara Sutton, FlexJobs is one of the most popular platforms for telecommute jobs.

As of this writing, the site has 30,000+ flexible and remote jobs posted in 50+ categories that include account management, accounting and finance, advertising and PR, communications, graphic design, entertainment and media, human services, sales, software development, writing, and web design.

FlexJobs screens and researches each job and company, so applicants don’t have to worry about scammers or nefarious schemes by unscrupulous actors.

FlexJobs is a paid subscription service for job seekers, starting at $6.95 for one week.

FlexJobs pricing tiers. Image source: Author

Benefits include:

• Personalized portfolio page for uploading resumes and work samples
• Free skills testing to showcase your skills to prospective employers
• Unlimited access to job listings
• Job search tips, resources, and offers sent through email
• Email notifications whenever new jobs are posted
• 30-day money-back guarantee

2. JustRemote

Founded by Tom Pinchen in 2018, JustRemote.co lists full-time and part-time remote jobs in various work categories, including project management, software development, copywriting, design, editing, recruiting and HR, sales and marketing, SEO and social media, and customer service.

Examples of work-from-home companies -- or traditional companies that allow their staff to work remotely -- offering remote work opportunities through JustRemote include:

• BitPay
• Calm
• Harvard Business Publishing
• Pandora
• Squarespace
• Starbucks
• Zillow
• Chargify
• Reddit

Signing up with JustRemote is free, and you can search through thousands of posted jobs right away. The site also offers a premium service for job seekers, called PowerSearch, which you can cancel anytime. For the price of $5 for the first month, you get unlimited access to an additional 2,000+ jobs that aren’t advertised.

Find remote jobs that are not advertised via JustRemote’s PowerSearch feature. Image source: Author

3. Jobspresso

An online service that’s absolutely free for job seekers intending to work from home, Jobspresso features thousands of remote positions that have been carefully reviewed and handpicked by its team of curators.

Jobs are posted in the following categories:

• Software development
• Marketing
• Customer service
• Community management
• Data science
• Design and UX
• Sales and business development
• DevOps and site reliability engineering (SRE)
• Content writing
• Product management
• Human resources

Companies and startups that use Jobspresso to find remote talent include WordPress, Airtable, Zapier, Help Scout, Reddit, Ubuntu, Indeed, and GitLab.

The companies using Jobspresso to find remote professionals. Image source: Author

4. Upwork

Formerly Elance-oDesk, Upwork is a global platform for remote and freelance professionals looking for jobs to do from home. It’s a one-stop shop that not only provides job listings but also tools for polishing your resume, showcasing your skills, and getting paid. You can connect with a client in multiple ways: through chat, phone calls, video conferences, and Zoom meetings.

Estimates show there are about 18 million independent workers from 170+ countries registered with Upwork. Annually, the site posts approximately 3 million jobs in 70+ categories, including:

• Accounting and consulting
• Administrative support
• Customer service
• Data science and analytics
• Design and creative
• Engineering and architecture
• IT and networking
• Legal
• Sales and marketing
• Translation
• Web, mobile, and software development
• Writing

Upwork’s advanced job search engine allows you to filter jobs according to category, client location, job type, experience level requirement, client history, budget, and project length. You can also set your search to only show listings from clients you’ve previously worked with or clients with a “verified” designation.

Use Upwork’s job filters to refine your remote job search. Image source: Author

Signing up with Upwork is free, but the platform charges a fee for every amount you earn -- anywhere from 5% to 20%. The key thing to remember is the more projects you do with a client, the lower the fee Upwork charges -- and the higher your take-home earnings.

5. LinkedIn

In an interview with the BBC, LinkedIn’s chief economist Karin Kimbrough confirmed seeing a significant rise in the demand for remote work on its platform:

• About “four times the number of jobs that offer remote work since March”
• Approximately 60% more job searches using the “remote” filter since the beginning of March
• 2.5 times more remote job applications since March globally

To get started searching for jobs via LinkedIn, you have to have a LinkedIn profile. When ready, click on the suitcase icon, “Jobs,” at the top of the page. You’ll be taken to the job search page. Type “remote” in the search bar, plus the location you want to search in.

Enter “remote” in the search bar and the location you want to search in. Then, further refine your search by applying various filters. Image source: Author

Remote work hunters can apply relevant filters, such as salary, job function, job title, and company, to find the open job positions that suit them best. You can also receive job alerts and suggestions via email based on your searches.

Every day, millions of jobs are posted on LinkedIn. Even better, searching the job boards isn’t the only way to leverage the platform to find remote work. There are other ways, such as building your network, reaching out to people, and joining relevant groups.

6. We Work Remotely

Another remote job board to check out is We Work Remotely or WWR. The site is 100% free for remote workers, while companies looking to build a remote team of individuals with specialized skills can post a job for $299 for 30 days. All listings are reviewed and verified by the WWR team, so you can rest assured that all listed jobs are legit.

Take note that We Work Remotely, just like JustRemote and Jobspresso, does not process applications or save job seekers’ profiles. Instead, it sends applicants to the employer’s website, where you can submit your cover letter, resume, portfolio, and other related documents.

Aside from full access to the job listings, WWR offers remote job seekers valuable resources such as a list of the top 100 remote companies, an advanced job search engine, a list of remote working tools, and the WWR Learning Portal, which provides free guides and resources on how to kick-start your remote work journey.

We Work Remotely’s free Learning Portal page. Image source: Author

Jobs at We Work Remotely are listed under the following categories:

• Programming
• Design
• Copywriting
• DevOps and system administration
• Business, management, and finance
• Product management
• Customer support
• Sales and marketing
• Full-time
• Contract
• All Other -- examples of jobs in this bucket are QA specialist, communications officer, research analyst, project manager, executive assistant, and community liaison coordinator

Companies using the platform to find talented remote professionals include Toptal, Inside.com, Thinkific, The HOTH, Semaphore, TaxJar, ReCharge Payments, Hubstaff, Toggl, and Quicken Loans.

Make remote working work for you

Whether by choice or necessity, more and more people are working remotely. Remote meetings are fast becoming the new norm. People are collaborating with colleagues through screen-sharing software, Google Meet, and similar applications.

So if you’re looking for remote work that matches your qualifications, aside from knowing where to find remote job opportunities, it’s vital that you also understand the video conferencing best practices for when it’s time to interview with a job recruiter.