Finding a work-at-home job requires a bit of organization. One of my favorite tools for keeping track of all the details needed for a successful work at home job search is Trello. Trello is simple to learn and is such a perfect way to keep all of the information you need in one place.
One of the biggest mistakes I see when people start searching for a work at home jobs is thinking that you can just throw out applications and eventually have success.
Work at home jobs can be super competitive so having a system in place to make sure that you are following up with job leads, building connections with people in your industry of choice, and steadily working on improving your skills can make all the difference in the world.
Trello is a free productivity tool that is perfectly suited for supporting a work at home job hunt.
It’s set up similar to the idea of using post it notes on a board to help organize thoughts and it can help you organize your remote job search and find a work at home job faster.
How to use Trello as a job search tool
Trello is a free tool, which is a definite perk when you are searching for a remote job. It is super simple to learn how to use, but don’t let the simplicity fool you — Trello can be a powerful tool to keep your job hunt on track.
I created a Trello job hunt template to get you started or you can start a new board from scratch and adapted it to your own needs.
If you are creating a new board from scratch, the first thing you need to do is create a new board. Name it whatever you’d like.
Trello is built up of “lists” and “cards”. I like to think of them as a wall of post-it notes to keep my thoughts in order.
Each list contains cards. Each card can contain checklists, information, files, or nearly anything else that you can think of. You can even set deadlines and reminders for the tasks within each card, which is super helpful for keeping your remote job hunt on track.
In the first column, I like to keep all my major to-do items and reference lists that I can use while actively searching for a work at home job.
Be sure and snag a copy of our Trello Job Hunt template because we already did the hard work for you.
You can use this first Trello list to help you keep track of all the tasks you need to finish each week and organize resources that you come across.
For repeating tasks, I like to do the work once whenever I can. Set up checklist templates for items that you will be doing more than once. In the image above, we used a “resume checklist” to keep track of all the steps that make an effective resume. You can customize this and make it as detailed as you’d like, then use it for every type of resume that you need to create.
When you find a job you’d like to apply for, you can add it to your “Positions of Interest” list. Within the card you can add any information you need to apply for the job, including the url of the position, the hiring manager’s name, etc. You can even attach the resume and cover letter that you’d like to use to the card.
Once you have applied to the job, you can drag and drop it into the “applied” list.
I’d recommend following up on a job application 1-2 weeks after applying. Once you follow-up, you can move it to the “Follow-Up” list, along with any notes about the method you used to reach out to the company.
If you are like me, you won’t remember anything unless you have alerts set up. Trello will allow you to set due dates for individual cards and to-do list items.
To effectively search for a job you need to be applying to quite a few positions. Keeping track of all of them is not reasonable. Setting due date alerts helps you free up your mental energy to focus on the next task at hand, rather than making sure you remember future tasks.
Trello is an amazing tool that can help you with your work at home job hunt (and keep you organized once you land the job). If you are still trying to decide what type of job you are hunting for, check out this list of 60+ work at home job ideas.
