Remote work has seen a huge rise in popularity over the last few years. While it was already growing, the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to skyrocket out of necessity. However, many people are still working remotely thanks to the benefits it brings. For employers, remote work means reduced overhead, greater productivity, and happier workers. For employees, it allows for <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/real-estate/our-insights/americans-are-embracing-flexible-work-and-they-want-more-of-it" rel="noopener" target="_blank">greater flexibility</a> and the opportunity for a healthier work-life balance. 
But, the popularity of remote work has caused the job market to become somewhat &ldquo;saturated&rdquo; with potential candidates. Even if you have experience and skill, you might have a hard time standing out if you don&rsquo;t take a few extra steps. 
So, what can you do to get ahead in a candidate pool that seems to be ever-growing? How can you be the candidate a potential employer looks at and wants to interview right away? Let&rsquo;s cover a few effective and helpful tips that can make your remote work job search more successful. 
<h2>Understand Common Hiring Practices</h2>
More companies are hiring remote workers across the globe. Not only is it cost-effective for businesses, but it allows them to pull candidates from a larger talent pool, so they can ensure they&rsquo;re getting the best people for each role. You might be that person for a specific job, but it&rsquo;s important to understand the hiring processes of companies doing a lot of remote work. 
For example, some companies practice cluster hiring, where they recruit several remote workers from one specific area of the country. Some of the benefits of this practice for businesses include: 
<ul>
<li> Increased diversity</li>
<li> Greater inclusivity</li>
<li> Boosted collaboration</li>
<li> Better connection and communication</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Take a look at companies that might be looking for employees in your area. By showcasing where you&rsquo;re from and how close you are to the &ldquo;cluster&rdquo; you&rsquo;re looking for, you could stand out and become a part of a smaller pond of candidates, rather than competing against an entire ocean of prospective recruits. 
<h2>Leverage Remote Skills</h2>
Once you have an idea of what a company is looking for and how they&rsquo;re hiring, it&rsquo;s time to leverage your skills to fit the needs of a business that&rsquo;s going remote. The skills you&rsquo;ve built that are necessary for a specific role will always be important. However, leveraging skills that will help you stand out as a remote employee is just as necessary if you want to be desirable. Some of those skills include: 
<ul>
<li> Working independently</li>
<li> Maintaining productivity</li>
<li> Strong communication</li>
<li> Time management</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Including those things in your resume and cover letter will likely cause an employer to give you a second look. It can also help if you have some of the current in-demand skillsets for landing a remote job. Things like marketing, web design, HR skills, finance, and customer support are all trending right now in the remote world. While you don&rsquo;t need to be an expert in those areas, you might consider capitalizing on those skills if you&rsquo;re having trouble standing out from the crowd. 
<h2>Foster Strong Connections</h2>
One of the greatest benefits of remote work can also be a potential drawback, depending on the people involved. We&rsquo;ve seen great advancements in technology over the last several years. That&rsquo;s what has made remote work possible for so many people. In fact, <a href="https://telegramd.com/why-the-trend-toward-digitalization-is-a-great-equalizer/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">technology has become a great equalizer</a> in recent years, allowing businesses to level the playing field for disadvantaged and <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/building-confidence-in-the-job-search-a-guide-fo" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">underrepresented groups</a>. That&rsquo;s great for employers as it allows them to choose from a more diverse group of candidates, but it also means more competition for recruits. 
The advancements in technology haven&rsquo;t just made remote work more accessible for everyone. They&rsquo;ve also made it easier for people to stay connected. However, some remote employees have a hard time feeling like they &ldquo;belong&rdquo; if they&rsquo;re not getting enough human interaction. 
You want to find a healthy balance that works for you from the start. As you&rsquo;re trying to network throughout your job search, don&rsquo;t be afraid to reach out to people and start conversations. If you get selected for an interview, prepare yourself for a video chat or phone call. Get comfortable using different modes of communication to connect with people, because you might never actually meet them face to face. 
By showing that you&rsquo;re comfortable using technology to communicate (and showing that you can use it well), you&rsquo;re more likely to stand out to a potential employer. No matter where people are working, strong communication in the workplace is essential. When you understand how to use technology to your advantage and know how to communicate across multiple channels, an employer will not only see you as a great team player, but a potential leader in the future. 
The rise of remote work is a good thing, but you&rsquo;ll have to reach a little further to stand out as a candidate than you would have five years ago. Thankfully, with a few extra steps, you can prove to any potential employer that you&rsquo;re the right person for the job, and stand out in your hiring pool no matter how many people you&rsquo;re competing against. 
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Searching for a new position or switching careers? To apply and discover more about opportunities that are HIRING NOW, create an account at <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates/signup" rel="follow">careercircle.com</a>!&nbsp; </h4>
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Content Contributor:
Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest. She is interested in better living through technology and education. She loves traveling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book.

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Be a Stand-Out Candidate: Remote Work Search | Getting Hired

Be a Stand-Out Candidate: Remote Work Search

Professional culture in the US continues to evolve as the world around us grows and expands, and many of the most significant areas of development grow out of our DEI spaces. Conversations have moved from focusing on inclusion and equity to including language around intersectionality. A concept originally coined by US legal scholar Kimberl&eacute; Crenshaw in the late 1980s, is the theory that our various social identities (gender, ability, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, etc.) create unique overlap that can contribute to increased risk of oppression or discrimination. 
According to the World Economic Forum, for example, the gender wage gap in the US is predicted to close for white women in roughly thirty years, this number is estimated at over one hundred years for black women and over two hundred years for Hispanic women. The same article tells us that &ldquo;more than half of lesbian, bisexual, and trans-Black and minority ethnic women (54%) reported unwanted touching (in the workplace) compared to around one-third of white women (31%). 
Imagine a typical in-person interview scenario. The candidate is brought into an office to meet with the interviewer. They may shake hands, make strong eye contact, and smile at one another. Sitting across the desk from one another, they engage the interview material through conversation. Once concluded, more handshaking and smiles before they go their separate ways. Most interviewers will consider many &ldquo;soft skills&rdquo; when evaluating how the interview went &ndash; was the person friendly, did they appear confident, did they seem like a strong team player? These impressions can go a long way in sifting out who will or will not be considered moving forward for the role. If the interviewee has autism, however, they could be uncomfortable with eye contact or physical contact. A person requiring a communication device or with an accent might need additional time to process question-and-answer discussions. A gender-fluid individual may have a physical presentation that doesn&rsquo;t appear to align with more conservative binary dress code expectations. Any of these biases could exclude a strongly qualified candidate based strictly on hiring criteria that don&rsquo;t reflect the position&rsquo;s needs. When you start combining these attributes, the likelihood that the bias will be prohibitive only increases. These same obstacles can be seen not only in recruiting but also in considering who to promote, include in development opportunities, exposure to higher level leaders, and ultimately can impact retention and employee satisfaction. 
Those within the LGBTQ+ community continue to face policies and systems that inherently encourage invisibility in the workplace. More than 40% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and almost 90% of transgender people have experienced employment discrimination, harassment, or mistreatment according to Getting Hired. When this identity is layered with gender, race, neurodivergence, ethnicity, or ability it is clear we still have a lot of work to do. However, organizations&rsquo; continued commitment to progressive, systemic DEI initiatives ensures that we are moving in the right direction as we continue to important questions:
<ul>
<li>Can we rethink our physical locations to increase accessibility? Should this include alternate work schedules or remote possibilities?</li>
<li>Are our evaluation matrices influenced by factors that aren&rsquo;t truly performance-based?</li>
<li>Do we carve out opportunities for development and advancement for the underrepresented?</li>
<li>How can we invite the voices of those impacted by our policies to inform the changes we need to make?</li>
</ul>
 In the meantime, whatever our role we can work individually to create space for others to be seen, heard, and met as they are to promote authenticity that impacts our day-to-day excellence in the ever-changing corporate landscape of America.
&nbsp;
Sources &ndash; Learn More:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/diversity-inclusion-equality-intersectionality/">How intersectionality affects diversity and inclusion at work | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hbr.org/2022/06/an-intersectional-approach-to-inclusion-at-work">An Intersectional Approach to Inclusion at Work (hbr.org)</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp; Content Contributor: <a aria-label="Mandy Kampen - opens in new tab" data-uw-rm-brl="exc" data-uw-rm-ext-link="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-kampen/" rel="noopener" target="_blank" title="Mandy Kampen LinkedIn Profile" uw-rm-external-link-id="https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-kampen/$mandykampen"> Mandy Kampen</a>&nbsp;is a Program Specialist with AGS's Caterpillar team. She is an avid hobbyist, a self-proclaimed "indoor cat" who loves all things dedicated to nerdiness, spirituality, or wellness. Her current home is in Peoria, IL with her fianc&eacute; Angela and their two furbabies, Baxter and Sir Henry Fancypants the Third.&nbsp; 
<hr>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">Searching for a new position or switching careers? To apply and discover opportunities with our inclusive partners that are HIRING NOW, create an account at <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates/signup" rel="follow">careercircle.com</a>! </h4>

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Beyond Labels: Celebrating Intersectionality and LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Workplace | Getting Hired

Beyond Labels: Celebrating Intersectionality and LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Workplace

November marks&nbsp;<a></a><a href="https://www.military.com/military-family-appreciation-month/president-proclaims-november-as-military-family-month.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Veterans and Military Families Month</a>, a time dedicated to honoring the significant contributions made by American service members, their families, and their loved ones. It&rsquo;s also a great time to assess progress and areas for improvement around veteran employment, including employment of veterans with disabilities.
According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://adata.org/factsheet/employment-data-veterans-disabilities" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ADA National Network</a>, 29.6 percent of working age veterans (those 21 to 64) have a disability. In 2018, the unemployment rate of veterans with disabilities was 5.2 percent, compared to 3.5 percent for veterans without disabilities. While more and more organizations are working to increase employment opportunities for veterans with disabilities, many employers still express concern about hiring and retaining veterans with disabilities.
One&nbsp;<a href="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/5057002/GettingHired_November2019/Pdfs/Beyond%20Yellow%20Ribbons%20JVR.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;determined that when it comes to supporting veterans with disabilities, employers:
<ul>
<li>Struggle with accommodating veterans with the signature disabilities of PTSD, TBI and depression.</li>
<li>Are confused about resources related to recruiting or accommodating veterans with disabilities and therefore are not using these effectively.</li>
<li>Do not understand the disability disclosure rights of veterans with disabilities.</li>
</ul>
Service-connected vs. non-service-connected disability employment rates
There are not only disparities between the unemployment rates of veterans with disabilities compared to those without disabilities, but there is also a distinct difference in the&nbsp;<a href="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/5057002/GettingHired_November2019/Pdfs/vet.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">employment rates</a>&nbsp;of veterans with and without service-connected disabilities. Of working-age veterans with disabilities, 10.5 percent have non-service-connected disabilities. However,&nbsp;<a href="https://adata.org/factsheet/employment-data-veterans-disabilities" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">69 percent</a>&nbsp;of veterans with a service-connected disability are employed, while only 37 percent of veterans who report having a non-service-connected disability are employed.
What&rsquo;s the difference between a service-connected and non-service-connected disability?
<a href="https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book/benefits_chap02.asp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Service-connected disabilities</a>&nbsp;are defined as injuries or illnesses that are incurred in or aggravated by active military service. Examples include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and depression. A non-service-connected disability is any injury or illness that was not acquired as a result of active military service. For example, a veteran who acquires diabetes or has a stroke at some point after active military service could be considered one with a non-service-connected disability.
When it comes to employment, veterans whose disabilities are acquired or aggravated during active military service prove more likely to obtain jobs than veterans who have non-service-connected disabilities.
Why is the employment rate higher for veterans with service-connected disabilities than those without?
There are two likely reasons that veterans with service-connected disabilities experience higher employment rates:
<ol>
<li>Higher prevalence of organizations focused on hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities&nbsp;&ndash; Today, many organizations have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.va.gov/careers-employment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hiring programs</a>&nbsp;and initiatives designed to help veterans with service-connected disabilities find and retain employment. Veterans without service-connected disabilities can often be overlooked in these programs. Instead, they must rely on non-profit organizations that provide a wider scope than assisting with finding employment. This means they can get lost in the pipeline of competing priorities and services.</li>
<li>Greater incentives for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities&nbsp;&ndash; Employers who hire and accommodate veterans with service-connected disabilities can receive tax incentives under the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/work-opportunity-tax-credit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Work Opportunity Tax Credit</a>&nbsp;(WOTC) program. Employers can receive tax credits when they hire veterans who have completed or are receiving rehabilitative services through the state or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). They can also receive credits for hiring veterans who are members of families who are receiving or recently received food stamps.</li>
</ol>
Hiring and supporting veterans with disabilities
Employers that focus on hiring and supporting veterans with disabilities yield countless benefits, as veteran employees prove to be strong leaders, great under pressure, detail-oriented, and much more. For ideas on how to recruit and hire veterans, check out our webinar,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF3PwT6hTz0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Top Challenges Veteran Employees and Jobseekers Face</a>.
Have more questions on recruiting and retaining veterans with disabilities? Contact the CareerCircle team at gettinghired@careercircle.com.
Contributions to this blog were made by Andra&eacute;a LaVant of Solutions Marketing Group.&nbsp;

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Veterans with Disabilities: An Employment Outlook

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144 Articles

Be a Stand-Out Candidate: Remote Work Search

Beyond Labels: Celebrating Intersectionality and LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Workplace

Veterans with Disabilities: An Employment Outlook