After graduation, I was hired as a remote digital marketer for a media start up. It certainly was a very unconventional path when everyone around me moved on to corporate life or travelling the world to find #innerpeace. Not only are start ups higher risk, working entirely remote was something that was almost unheard of. You can imagine all the curious questions I get.
Here are the answers to 4 questions I get asked all the time.
What do you actually do?
I work at Travelog, a media platform which covers the latest travel trends and news across Asia. I’m responsible for the business’ operations and have my nose in project management, process improvement, content creation and curation, digital marketing, initiating strategic partnerships and motivating a team of remote workers spread across the globe.
What’s it like working for a start-up?
It’s fast-paced, ever-changing, exhilarating at times and damn frustrating at others. But at the end of the day, there’s always something on the table that needs figuring out and I love a good challenge.
I’m a big believer in the idea that work is what you make of it.
If you’re after growth opportunities and an environment that pushes you to learn quickly, start ups are a good choice. This is especially true for early-stage businesses where the focus is on keeping your heads above water whilst breaking new ground. A flatter organisation allows for constant collaboration across functions and this exposure can help you to build your own knowledge base and skillset. The fact that you’re always encouraged to think differently and try new things also allows you to build resilience when things don’t go according to plan.
The flipside of start up world is that you’re trying to make the biggest impact with limited resources.
While corporates have access to learning materials, expensive software, hardware and other tangible resources, everyone’s hustlin’ on freemium until it’s a life or death situation. It’s not a big deal the majority of the time but sometimes you just wish you had X program, which would cut your workload by half.
There’s also a level of risk and instability. There are periods where you feel like you’re just on the cusp of something big but nothing eventuates or maybe a sudden opportunity comes out of nowhere and the deadline is scarily close. Because start ups work with such limited resources (money, time, people etc), we don’t always have the cushioning or enough runway to deal with big blows.
What’s remote work life? It’s basically working from home… in your PJs, right?
Sometimes! Each business will have their own remote work guidelines. For us, there’s flexibility to work from home, in a cafe, co-working space, while you’re commuting or travelling… as long as you have stable internet and can answer Slack messages and Skype calls.
Remote work has its pros and cons as well, and I’ve learnt that it’s not for everyone. It takes even more discipline and professionalism than in the face-to-face work environment and it’s up to each team member to communicate effectively with each other.
Ultimately, remote work gives me that freedom to do my best work in my own special way. Sometimes it’s working in a hotel’s lobby lounge whilst people watching market researching and sometimes it’s having music at full blast with a Byredo candle burning in the background.
How do I get a job like yours?
There appears to be an increasing number of remote start up roles compared to when I first started. However, they’re still far and few in between. I’d say that it’s still easier to find a remote start up role if you have creative skills like graphic design, digital marketing, content creation and the like. This is especially true for lean or early stage start ups that are looking to keep their overheads as low as possible.
If this is something that interests you, I would suggest searching ‘remote’ or ‘virtual’ start up roles and seeing what pops up! This Trello blog post also shares specific job sites where you can search for remote jobs or. Better yet, send an email to a start up you have an eye on and start a conversation – you just never know!
Some tips for when you’re in the process of searching for a start up role:
– Speak to founders, leaders and team members (ask for an intro!) to better understand their business culture
– Ask questions like what their current pain points are and growth plans are
– Make sure that you share the business’ values and that the direction they’re heading makes total sense to you
– Discuss role expectations and agree on what you will be primarily working to achieve
Each individual’s start up experience is going to be unique and these are some insights I’ve picked up along the way. Got more questions? Of course you do! Send me a message – I’d love to answer then for you!