After the Great Resignation of 2021, recruitment and talent acquisition professionals will have noticed another phenomenon. The Great Redefinition!
The global pandemic has done many things for society, not least changing our life outlook – including how we earn a living. It's redefined our approach to work, what we're happy to accept - and not! For many of us, our wants and needs have altered dramatically since Covid came along, and we crave something different. It's not that we don't want to work at all, but flexibility is critical for most employees nowadays – way more important than salary and other benefits – and we'll do anything we can to achieve it!
The shackles are OFF!
Have you changed your mind about how you work recently and fancy something remote-based? You're not alone. More people are looking to work differently, with droves leaving the traditional behind in favour of something sporadic. Or shall we say, nomadic?
When the virus forced the world to shut itself away temporarily, many of us got used to it. We learned to work from home – in a kitchen, lounge, bedroom or garage – often dressed in our PJs and slippers! It showed us how well we could complete our jobs from anywhere. And then, the penny dropped: if we can work from any location, where do we want that location to be? Do we even want it to be one location or many?
Introducing the digital nomad…
A hard-working, skilled professional with the ability and desire to plug away at their trade from wherever they are in the world. And they are popping up all over the place!
Imagine one day you're working from a cafe in Cairo. The next a beach in Bali. Does this sound like your kind of lifestyle? The key here is having the skill (work creds), the ability (technology) and the desire (motivation) to make it a success. Perhaps a passport, too, depending on where your nomadic boots are taking you!
Industries that work well for digital nomads – and those that don't…!
Of course, we can't all work from anywhere. There are plenty of trades and industries that cannot function without a physical presence. Traditional retail – selling products from an actual store – is clearly no good. Nor is hospitality (although anyone with an Air BnB business will tell you otherwise!). Manufacturing is tricky, too – unless your factory is swapping humans for bots, in which case, you may be looking to find something new anyway.
Yet there are plenty of opportunities outside these hands-on roles where you can easily work from anywhere. Here are just a few.
Creatives
Graphic designers, web developers, content writers. These types of role, whether through a company directly or as a freelancer, suit the digital nomad lifestyle down to a tee. So long as you have a means to 'create' – a portable device, wifi connection and any software apps you use for your craft – you can work from anywhere. And, being creative, you're likely to get plenty of inspo from beyond the confines of a traditional four-walled workspace. Beaches, parks, woods. Then maybe head into a café or co-working space to grab a broadband connection, and away you go!
VAs (or Virtual Assistants)
These are a lot like a PA, but as the name suggests, they work virtually. That's from a remote location, which could be absolutely anywhere in the world. No more running over to the boss with a calendar to book them in for meetings when this activity can be done digitally. Remember, anything deemed highly confidential to your client needs working on away from other people. Not that anyone intends to do so, but people can quickly see what you're up to when working in public spaces, so stay vigilant.
Accountants
These people are experts at looking through figures and staying awake simultaneously – a skill in itself! So, do they need to be present while bean-counting? Absolutely not.
If you're tasked with balancing the books or any other accountancy-type jobs, you can pretty much perform them from any location. So long as you have the means to send your findings to your clients – physically or digitally – you're OK to haul up anywhere, get the laptop out and crunch away! And, as with the VAs, be mindful of where you're setting up 'shop' for the day and keep confidential data out of sight from any prying eyes…
Coaches
We mean the business type, not those who train athletes – although the latter are more prone to working remotely nowadays too! If you're a mentor who helps others to improve their business, this can easily be done digitally. That's if you're committing to delivering sessions by video call; you might just as easily call your mentee by phone and have a chat the old-fashioned way. Most importantly, you needn't have any sessions in the flesh to make mentoring work effectively. You just need to know your stuff, how to listen and resolve pain points, and set meaningful objectives over a reasonable timeline. Too easy? If yes, grab your passport and plane tickets and off you pop to pastures new!
Online tutors
If you're a maths whizz, a language specialist (including English) or an expert in any core school subject, online tutoring is a great career option - definitely, if you don't want a base in one school or college, the confines of a classroom or teaching students face-to-face. There's no learning process you can't achieve digitally – many students will respond much better to this method than sitting in a classroom! You can then set and send homework digitally to ensure your students have work to do between sessions. And marking answers can be much more fun when sitting on a sun lounger!
Still prefer to work directly for a company?
It's fine, not everyone fancies the full freelance life. It takes a lot of self-motivation and management skills to make running your own show a success. Besides, many still want all the comforts of a PAYE set up – and that's fair. There's much to be said for paid annual leave, sickness benefits, pensions and the like!
That doesn't mean you're automatically bound by a company to work from a fixed location. Nor must you be at a leadership level to tap into a WFH lifestyle. For example, Customer support agents can be based anywhere. No need for a physical presence in a call centre or office to do their job effectively - just like any other digital nomads, Tech Support and Customer Service roles rely on technology to operate effectively and nothing else. Ok, empathy and good manners might help too... But if this is you, there is no reason why you can't answer calls through a wireless connection or respond to customers via an online chat room. So long as you have internet, you have the means to work remotely.
Desperate to become a digital nomad?
We're hearing from countless companies that are more than happy to hire people who desire to WFH. It reduces their overheads, for starters. But more than this, employers are beginning to listen to what their audience wants. And by welcoming those looking for the freedom of remote working, it opens up the talent pool significantly, which means finding the right people faster.
Are you longing for the nomadic lifestyle but want all the benefits of permanent employment? Or are you a hiring manager struggling with the move to flexible working?
121 are recruitment specialists with lots of useful advice to help you achieve your employment objectives – whether you're an employer or a want-to-be employee. Arrange a chat with one of our professional team today! Call 01904 769142.