Sarah Smith and Kevin Long have taken remote work to a new level. Their office is a camper van.
The location varies. The married couple, co-founders of camping app The Dyrt, ditched their Portland, Oregon, office and went fully remote when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. In July 2021, they decided to travel around the U.S. for several months, working wherever they landed.
“It’s a new world order,” said Long, 47, who is currently working with Smith, 52, in Phoenix. In fact, the pair managed to secure $11 million in funding while on the road.
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They have extended that same philosophy to their 44 employees, who are scattered around the country. The startup is still hiring for 14 open positions and plans to add more after its most recent round of funding.
Yet working from anywhere isn’t the norm when it comes to remote jobs, according to data from FlexJobs.
About 95% of remote jobs require employees to be based in a specific location, the career website found. (A list of the companies with the most work-from-anywhere job listings in 2021 is below.)
The geographic requirements may be based on state, city, country or even region of the country. To be sure, even The Dyrt’s employees are restricted to working in the U.S. and its time zones, unless it is briefly during an extended vacation.
The most common reasons for the requirements include legal and tax considerations, the ability to be available for in-person staff or client meetings, travel and time zones. Some jobs also require state-issued certifications or licenses.
When looking into a remote position, make sure the job is truly one you can work from anywhere. If you want to know about a vaccine mandate, research the requirements before you apply. However, fully remote work that doesn’t include travel or in-person meetings may not have a mandate.
With that in mind, FlexJobs compiled a list of the top companies hiring for work-from-anywhere jobs. Here are the top 10 businesses with the highest volume of job postings in 2021 that didn’t have a location restriction and required no time in the office.
- Wikimedia Foundation
- Achieve Test Prep
- Coalition Technologies
- Chainlink Labs
- Elastic
- Cactus Communications
- Hopin
- Toptal
- Automattic
- SelfDecode
Landing a work-from-anywhere job like these can be tricky, said Brie Reynolds, career services manager and career coach at FlexJobs.
“There are not a lot of them, but they are highly coveted by job seekers,” she said. “There is more competition for fewer jobs.”
The career advice remains the same, but is even more important, she said. Tailor your resume and cover letter to the job, sticking exactly to the requirements. Research the company and network.
Employers may want someone who has previous experience working from anywhere or someone who is incredibly good at self-management.
“They really look for people who are great independent workers because you are given a lot of freedom in a job like this,” Reynolds said.
Highlight this on your resume. Also, mention strategies you use to keep yourself focused on a task and that you are an excellent communicator. Show examples of your accomplishments.
At The Dyrt, organizational and communication skills are a must. Workers need to have a strong internet connection and work online during working hours, Long explained.
“As an employee, whether working from a van or your living room, you have to make the commitment to make it successful,” he said.
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