Last week, I caught up with a friend who recently cracked a high-paying remote job at a global startup. I asked him what he did differently, and honestly, his advice blew my mind. It wasn’t the typical “grind LeetCode” stuff we hear for product-based companies.
Here’s a summary of everything he shared with me 👇
🧠 1. “Don’t Just Focus on Coding – Communicate Like a Pro”
“In remote companies, how you write and explain matters as much as how you code.”
He said async communication is the backbone of remote teams. Instead of just focusing on problem-solving, he improved his writing—Slack messages, PR reviews, Notion docs. He even recorded Loom videos to explain his side projects. This gave hiring managers a ton of trust in his remote readiness.
🌐 2. “Your Online Presence = Your First Impression”
“They won’t know you unless you show yourself. Build your credibility online.”
He made sure his LinkedIn headline screamed “remote-ready.” He also had a clean personal website and a strong GitHub profile with a few real-world side projects. One of them was a tool he built using Java + Spring Boot + Docker – the repo had stars and great documentation.
🏗️ 3. “System Design > DSA After a Point”
“DSA got me to the interview, but System Design got me the job.”
He did some DSA prep (like LeetCode/InterviewBit), but his main focus was on designing scalable, fault-tolerant systems. He practiced designing things like rate limiters, real-time notification systems, and job queues – the kind of problems you’d actually face in a remote backend role.
📜 4. “Resume Must Show You’re Built for Remote Work”
“Your resume should scream that you’re productive without supervision.”
He used a project-first resume, with points like:
- Built and deployed XYZ microservice using Docker + CI/CD
- Worked in async team using Jira, GitHub, and Notion
- Collaborated across time zones with engineers from 3 countries
He also mentioned timezone flexibility and remote collab experience.
🧪 5. “Interview Rounds Were Not What I Expected”
“There was a take-home assignment instead of live rounds.”
Instead of rapid-fire DSA rounds, he got a take-home project: build a simple API with basic auth and background job processing. They checked how he structured the code, wrote documentation, handled edge cases, and how well he communicated decisions.
🛠️ 6. “I Learned Tools That Remote Teams Actually Use”
“These tools aren’t fancy – they’re just the remote team essentials.”
He got familiar with:
- GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Notion
- Docker, VS Code Remote, GitHub Actions
- Slack, Zoom, Loom
It showed in the interviews that he could hit the ground running.
💡 7. “Apply Where Remote Companies Actually Hire From”
“LinkedIn is okay, but use remote-first platforms too.”
He applied through these:
And he sent personalized cold emails to startups he loved.
🧠 8. “Soft Skills Decide Your Growth in Remote Roles”
“Nobody’s going to micro-manage you. You need to self-manage.”
He worked on:
- Writing better async updates
- Being proactive in discussions
- Managing priorities and setting boundaries
This helped him stand out in culture-fit interviews where they asked things like “How do you avoid burnout working remotely?” or “How do you collaborate without daily meetings?”
🧭 What I Learned From Him:
| Key Area | What Matters |
|---|---|
| ✅ Online Presence | GitHub, Portfolio, Testimonials |
| ✅ Skills | System Design, DSA, Real Projects |
| ✅ Tools | Git, Docker, CI/CD, Jira, Slack |
| ✅ Resume | Show remote-readiness clearly |
| ✅ Interviews | Project-based + async thinking |
| ✅ Strategy | Remote-first platforms + direct reach out |
💬 His Final Advice?
“Bro, focus less on how to pass a coding round and more on showing you’re already remote-ready. That’s what they want.”
