7 Practical Ways To Find Remote Jobs for UX/UI Designers

One of the main challenges in finding remote jobs is the limited pool of available listings compared to in-person positions. Additionally, it may be harder to assess a candidate’s design skills and experience through remote interviews and portfolio evaluations.

Some companies may also prefer to hire individuals located in specific time zones or regions for more seamless collaboration. It’s important for job seekers to effectively market their skills and experience to potential employers and stay informed about remote job opportunities through job boards and professional networks.

Working as a remote designer, I have collected 7 effective ways to help you find your remote job. These ways I have used these in my career, and they effectively worked for me.

Job Boards

Websites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and Remote.co often have remote jobs for UX/UI designers. There are a lot of opportunities, but most of them will be in the office.

To find relevant opportunities think of an SEO specialist. Enter the proper keyword, so you get the right results. Yes, you might get way fewer results, but they will be exactly what you need.

These keywords are called “search keywords”. Use relevant keywords related to your desired job position such as “remote UX/UI designer” or “remote UI/UX design jobs”.

Don’t search with a broad search keyword, like “designer”. If you’ll go with this strategy you get non-relevant industries as well. Ok, so now you know how to use keywords properly. How to improve your search?

There is one option that many people often ignore — filter results. Use the website’s search filters to refine your results to only show remote jobs. For example, Indeed allows you to select “Remote/Work from Home” as a job location.

If you don’t see relevant results right now, don’t be sad. Stay updated. Create job alerts on the websites to receive notifications of new job postings that match your search criteria.

Networking

Networking can be an effective way to find remote jobs. Many people think about networking as getting the latest industry updates, and just a way to communicate with a similar specialist.

Unfortunately, no one talks about how networking can be powerful. For example, one of my career opportunities came because I used Facebook to find a founder of the company and learn about the product I was interested in. As a result of our conversation, I got a contract.

While Facebook isn’t the best choice for you, start with LinkedIn. Connect with professionals in your field and other professional networks and follow relevant groups and pages to stay informed about remote job opportunities.

By actively building and nurturing your network, you can increase your chances of hearing about remote UX/UI design job opportunities and gain insights into what employers are looking for in a candidate.

Join professional organizations, attend industry events and webinars, and connect with other UX/UI designers on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.

Be active as you feel comfortable and talk to people. After all, recruiters are always looking for recommendations. And your network can be a source for you.

Ask for recommendations. Reach out to your network and ask if they know of any remote UX/UI design positions or if they can make introductions to relevant hiring managers or recruiters.

If you have a solid network and will be looking for a remote opportunity, there is a chance that someone from your network can recommend you for a job.

Showcase Your Work

Share your portfolio and recent projects on social media and professional networking sites to showcase your skills and increase your visibility to potential employers.

Did you know that many employers don’t post their opportunities, but look for new employees by searching for candidates on websites like Behance or Dribbble?

That’s right, some companies prefer to look for a candidate based on the portfolio you have already. If they like your work, they reach out and propose you a job.

A few years ago I decided to spend a bit of my time and create a concept Google Redesign project. It was something I was excited about for my personal growth and developing innovative ideas.

After a few months, when I was looking for a remote job. One of the recruiters came to me and proposed an interview. I asked how did she find me, and she answered that the company liked my Google Redesign project.

It’s important to look for a remote job in different ways to increase your chances, and sharing side projects or concepts is a great way to stand out from other designers.

Offer Help

Offer to help companies that are looking for volunteer designers. This is an indirect job search because there is no guarantee that you will be hired, BUT you get a real project to your portfolio!

As you remember, your portfolio is super important for companies, and having real projects is always better than concept ones.

How you can offer help to companies? Try to search platforms with volunteer opportunities for non-profit organizations. I have personally used Catchafire and helped 2 organizations with their websites.

What did I get from this collaboration? I have volunteer experience on my LinkedIn and 2 real projects to showcase.

By boosting your collaboration with different companies, you can connect to different businesses and propose a further collaboration. It can start as a volunteer opportunity that can transform into the contract of a full-time role. This is one of the ways to look for remote jobs.

One of the popular directions I always recommend to my mentees is joining startups. This is an amazing opportunity to participate in product creation from scratch.

You can gain unique experience and add it to your CV and LinkedIn. While most startups don’t pay in the very beginning, your work can be paid once a startup gets funding.

If you want to get a salary immediately, then you need to look for startups that provide paid opportunities.

It’s way easier to find remote jobs in startups because they are more open to it in comparison to enterprise-level companies. Also, you’ll get a unique opportunity to work with business strategy and product creation, which is impossible to get in solid companies.

Follow Companies

Follow companies and organizations that are relevant to your field and have a history of hiring remote workers. Research companies that had remote jobs in the past. Create a list of these companies and check them from time to time.

Many companies have career pages where they list open positions, including remote ones. It makes your search even easier. It’s usually called “Careers” or “Join us”.

Furthermore, it’s also very helpful to browse company pages. Look for companies that have a history of hiring remote workers on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a great platform to search for remote jobs. You can also follow companies and recruiters in your field and stay updated on their job postings.

If you know companies that hire remote workers from time to time, create alerts on LinkedIn. Once you have a notification, reach out to a recruiter and ask to learn more details about their open role.

Your major task will be to be among the first applicants the recruiter sees in their candidate list or messages. Try to send your CV and portfolio directly to a recruiter to increase your chances to be reviewed as a potential candidate.

This strategy needs a solid understanding of the list of companies you’re interested in. It’s your strong side because when you’ll send a message to a recruiter, you can say that you’ve been following their company for a while, know about their business, and explain your strong sides as a candidate.

Telling details about the company is very important to a recruiter because he or she will see your personal interest in working at this company.

Freelance Websites

Websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr have a wide range of remote jobs available.

Yes, this is something you already know, but I want to explain how you can use these standard websites in a bit different way.

For example, you’re looking for a remote UX designer role. You found the opportunity on Upwork and would like to apply to this company, but you don’t want to use Upwork.

Well, here is a way around it. Remember the company name and try to find it on LinkedIn. If it’s a solid business, they probably will have a LinkedIn page.

Then try to find a recruiter who works at this company. It is usually visible on the company page under the “People” category.

You can try to find a recruiter by the same name that will be provided on Upwork, but it’s not a 100% guarantee. This is why I prefer to use full LinkedIn power.

This way around will allow you to find any company on LinkedIn if you saw relevant opportunities on other websites.

And of course, you can use freelance websites directly by applying for remote jobs there.

Professional Organizations

Joining professional organizations in your field, such as the Interaction Design Foundation or the Usability Professionals’ Association, can help you connect with potential employers and stay informed about job opportunities.

There are many organizations, Slack, and Facebook groups you can use. For example, I love Designer Hangout and Hexagon on Slack, and Woman in UX on Facebook.

Of course, I love my own UX Designers Club group where we have many aspiring designers.

Ok, you joined an organization or group, what’s next? Most of these groups post job opportunities.

If you joined a Slack community, usually there is a separate Slack channel “careers” where you can find remote jobs. Sometimes, there will be a separate channel called “remote job opportunities” or something like that.

If you joined a Facebook group, you need to monitor posts. Recruiters might post job opportunities directly in the group.

Lastly, if you joined an organization, and have a solid website, you can check their career pages for relevant jobs.

Final Thoughts

Finding remote jobs requires a proactive approach and a combination of job search strategies.

Utilize job board websites, professional networks, and your own network to find job opportunities. Additionally, it’s important to have a strong online presence, including an updated portfolio and social media accounts, to showcase your skills and increase your visibility to potential employers.

Be persistent in your job search, network regularly with industry professionals, and stay informed about remote job opportunities in your field.

Finally, consider expanding your skillset to make yourself a more competitive candidate and increase your chances of landing a remote UX/UI design job.