If you’re wondering how to get a remote job, I was right there with you.
A few months into my search, I got ghosted by a company I really wanted. The interview had gone well, or so I thought. I waited for the follow-up email. Then I waited longer.
Nothing.
That silence broke something in me.
And weirdly, it was also the thing that changed everything.
I Knew I Wanted Out
At the time, I was working as a UI developer in Georgia, commuting back and forth for a job that could easily be done remotely. I liked my coworkers, but I was burned out. Life felt like it was passing me by while I kept telling myself the same thing:
Maybe later.
Maybe after the next promotion.
Maybe when the timing is better.
I took a short sabbatical to get my head right, and I realized something:
Going into an office every day was no longer the life I wanted.
I knew I wanted a remote job. I just had no idea how to actually make it happen.
Every job posting seemed to want “2+ years of remote experience,” which felt like a cruel joke. How are you supposed to get remote experience without first getting a remote job?
So I did what most people do.
I applied to everything and hoped for the best.
Four Months of Rejection
For four months, I applied constantly.
LinkedIn. Indeed. FlexJobs. Every job board I could think of. I probably applied to hundreds of roles.
Most applications disappeared into a void. Some turned into polite rejections. A few became interviews, then went nowhere.
The ghosting hurt the most.
Especially the tech company I really wanted.
I had prepared for the interview. I thought it went well. I let myself get hopeful.
Then… silence.
I felt rejected, insecure, and honestly unworthy. After a while, I started believing the rejection emails were telling me something true about me.
That I was not good enough.
That I did not have the right experience.
That remote work was for other people.
Job searching is isolating in a way people do not talk about enough. You usually cannot be fully honest about it at your current job. Your friends care, but they are not in it with you.
Most days, it was just me, my laptop, and a growing pile of rejection.
The Shift
Somewhere in that third-to-fourth-month stretch, I hit a wall.
I was miserable. Desperate. Dipping into savings to pay bills. I was also anxious because I thought I would have to take a pay cut just to get a remote job and would not be able to sustain my lifestyle if I did.
Then I had a conversation with a friend who was also job searching.
She was getting interviews and rejections too, but her energy was completely different. She was steady. Positive. She believed she was worthy, and it showed.
That conversation stayed with me.
I have always loved quotes, and I knew sitting in negativity was not helping. So I started looking for something I could hold onto when my thoughts drifted dark.
I found this Buddha quote:
“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”
It sounds simple. Maybe even cliché. But it hit differently when I was drowning in rejection.
I realized I had been approaching my remote job search with a defeated mindset. Every application felt like “please pick me.” Every rejection confirmed what I already believed, that I was not good enough, that I did not have the right experience, that remote work was for other people.
So I tried something different.
I got intentional about my thoughts. I wrote down quotes and reminders, stuck them around my apartment, and repeated them out loud every morning. It felt silly at first. But over time, something changed.
I stopped telling myself I was not qualified.
I started believing I had something real to offer.
That shift was not magic.
It gave me the clarity to finally improve my approach.
How I Finally Got a Remote Job
Once my mindset changed, I stopped searching in panic mode and started making better decisions.
Here’s what I changed.
1. I overhauled my LinkedIn profile
I updated my headline with the specific role I was targeting. I changed my background photo. I refreshed my skills section, asked former coworkers for recommendations, and rewrote my About section so it sounded more results-focused and more aligned with where I wanted to go.
2. I changed how I was applying
I had been spraying and praying, hoping something would stick.
It was not working.
So I slowed down. Instead of applying to 20 jobs a day with the same generic materials, I read each job description carefully, researched the company, and tailored my applications. I focused on roles that actually fit, not just roles that existed.
3. I fixed my resume
My resume was fine for in-office roles. But it did not speak to what remote employers actually care about:
- self-management
- communication
- working independently
- taking initiative
So I reframed my experience to make those strengths visible. That mattered more than I expected.
4. I kept showing up, even when it still sucked
Once I got into a groove with this new approach, something shifted.
I started getting more callbacks. More interviews. More confidence. And when rejection emails still came, I handled them differently. I did not spiral the same way. I did not question my value every single time.
I just kept going.
If your resume and LinkedIn are underselling you, start there.
Inside The Remote Job Search Kit, I break down the exact strategy, templates, and tools I used to go from rejection to remote job offers.
Get The Remote Job Search Kit →
Then Everything Changed
A few weeks after those shifts, a recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn about a remote UI opportunity. I said yes.
Within a week, I had my first interview with the person who would become my future manager. Then one more interview.
And the most important part?
It was fully remote.
Within two weeks of that LinkedIn message, I had a job offer.
And here’s the wild part: it was not the only one. In that same window, I got two job offers.
Going from months of ghosting to choosing between offers felt surreal.
But it proved something I needed to learn:
A shift in mindset, combined with a more intentional strategy, can change everything.
What I Want You to Know
If you’re in month two, three, or four of a remote job search and feeling like nothing is working, here’s what I wish someone had told me.
The “remote experience” requirement is softer than you think
If you do not have years of remote work on your resume, that does not automatically disqualify you.
Soft skills like communication, self-direction, initiative, and ownership go a long way. You probably already have those skills. You just need to put them on paper the right way.
Your mindset is not woo-woo. It is strategy
The way you think about yourself shows up in your applications, your interviews, and your energy.
If you are approaching every application thinking, “I probably will not get this,” that carries.
Small changes compound
I did not overhaul everything overnight.
I tweaked my LinkedIn.
I rewrote my resume.
I applied more intentionally.
None of it felt dramatic on its own. But together, it worked.
It will probably take longer than you want
Four months felt like forever when I was in it.
But looking back, it was the setup for everything I have now: more flexibility, more location freedom, and a career that fits my life better.
The Real Shift
If I had given up after the ghosting, after the silence, after all the rejection, I would not be writing this now.
My shift did not come from a perfect resume or a magic job board.
It came from deciding I was worth hiring, and then backing that belief up with a better remote job search strategy.
You are too.
If your remote job search feels stuck, start here
I built a free 7-Day Remote Job Reset to help you get unstuck and start moving forward with more clarity.
Inside, I’ll walk you through the mindset shifts and first steps that helped me stop spiraling and start building momentum.