More job boards, more listings.

Something that can throw you off a bit when you start a remote job hunt is feeling like you’re not searching hard enough. They say that looking for a job should be a job in itself, and that includes the amount of time it takes you a day. This is true; looking for that job should be at the top of your daily priorities. But things can feel a bit skewed when you scroll through an entire set of search results from a job board and apply to a few jobs, and then only an hour or two has passed. You shouldn’t force yourself to spend the entire day reloading a search bar just to feel like you’re not wasting your time (especially since that would be a total waste of time). Rather, the trick is to diversify.

Most job search sites like Indeed or Glassdoor keep a record of your recent searches. So let’s say you search, I dunno, “engineering, within 25 miles, $35k annually.” You’ll get all of the open postings for engineering jobs within 25 miles of your home address that pay at least $35k annually, probably a few hundred results, maybe more or less depending on where you live. Depending on your personal criteria, you may be able to pinch anywhere from ten to thirty decent listings amidst the chaff. Going through all of those and applying to them will probably take a couple of hours.

What comes after that? Two things: first, try a different search. Refine your criteria, search a different field, change how far away the position can be or how much it pays. You’ll probably get some overlap, but you may also uncover some positions you may have missed. Secondly, check another site. Don’t just lurk on one job board, check all of them. Again, there may be some overlap, as a lot of jobs will cross-post their links and listings, but more than likely, you’ll get some completely different listings.

Searching for jobs on online boards is kind of like codebreaking; you need to try a lot of different combinations of sites and search criteria. If you’ve got the drive and the ideas, you can easily spend an entire day on this. Just remember to take breaks and let your brain rest!