Top 5 Sites for Finding a Remote Developer or Designer Job

Having been down this road and experiencing the frustrations first-hand, here are five sites that I would consider to be the best of the bunch.

The Contestants

In no particular order.

Stack Overflow Careers 2.0

• Site url: careers.stackoverflow.com
• Filter type: Location (Telecommute)
• Number of remote posts (approx.): 127
• Observations: It is rare to find a quality site that has an explicit location filter for telecommute positions. Also impressive is the fact that the job posting form (for employers) has the following statement below the ‘Telecommute’ checkbox–‘Check this only if you are considering candidates who will work entirely remotely’, I’ll raise a glass to that!
• Grade: A

37signals Job Board

• Site url: jobs.37signals.com
• Filter type: keyword search
• Number of remote posts (approx.): 15-20? (it was hard to tell, you have to guess the terms: telecommute, remote, anywhere, etc.
• Observations: The posts are of good quality, but for a company that is such a large proponent of remote working they do a pretty lackluster job identifying those posts. Also, their job posting form simply has an open text input for location with no checkbox or other way of identifying the post as remote.
• Grade: B

Dribbble – Jobs

• Site url: dribbble.com/jobs
• Filter type: none
• Number of remote posts (approx.): 10?
• Observations: Similar to 37signals job board, there are some quality remote gigs here, but you have to dig without any assistance. In fact, this site offers no filtering at all and this job board is simply a launchpad to external sites (i.e. passive income generator). Best bet is to Ctrl-F for ‘Anywhere’, which is a hint on the location text field within their job posting form.
• Grade: C

Authentic Jobs

• Site url: authenticjobs.com
• Filter type: checkbox
• Number of remote posts (approx.): 60
• Observations: This site has earned a reputation for the quality of its posts and it is the only site in this group whose sole purpose is listing jobs. I also noticed you can bookmark a useful URL after filtering authenticjobs.com/#onlyremote=1. As with stackoverflow, there is a checkbox to tag the post as a telecommuting position–‘Work can be done from anywhere (i.e. telecommuting)’. The other bonus here is filtering that allows you to separate out full-time jobs, though the telecommute checkbox to ’Show only telecommute jobs’ is buried under a map icon.
• Grade: A

Career Pages on Employer Sites

• Site url: You’re gonna have to dig.
• Filter type: n/a
• Number of remote posts (approx.): n/a
• Observations: The fact of the matter is that the current state of job boards, with regards to finding remote jobs, sort of stinks. There are very high quality remote positions out there, but you are going to have to seek them out. That being said, make a list of the companies that offer remote working arrangements and keep an eye on their career / jobs pages. The demand for remote jobs is rising and as with traditional jobs, the best employers don’t always rely upon job boards.
• Grade: n/a

The Winner

If I had to pick one, the best site is authenticjobs.com, followed closely by Stack Overflow Careers 2.0. Both of these sites allow for explicit filtering of telecommuting jobs and provide a means for employers to clearly tag a job as such. The slight edge goes to Authentic Jobs mainly for its advanced filtering.

The common thread in each of these contestants making my short list is the quality of the job posts. These sites represent not only some of the biggest players in the web industry but also employers with a solid reputation with regards to work environment. As with any job search, you will be doing some digging in turning up the gems. The good news is that the jobs are out there if you are willing to put in the work.

Things You Should Pay Attention to While Searching

Location: USA – The meaning of this ‘location’ is wildly inconsistent. From what I can gather, it typically means they want somebody from the USA; however, it does not mean that you can live anywhere in the USA. In short, they want to relocate you..

Searching for keywords is never all that reliable, but in particular the term ‘remote’ will bring back a potpourri of things since the term has many meanings within the web / technical industry. The keywords ‘telecommute’ and ‘anywhere’ provide superior accuracy.

Employers (even those who are not truly offering a telecommuting opportunity, for shame) know that people like you are searching for those keywords. As with any other ‘optimized’ content, they are going to stuff these words in their job postings (e.g. ‘telecommute not an option at this time’).

Another annoyance you will come across is employers who offer ‘alternative work arrangements’, but label them as telecommuting or remote working. In fact, what they are really offering is the option for you to work from home on occasion–once a week, due to inclement weather, etc.

Lastly, if you are fortunate enough to get a response, then don’t be afraid to clarify the remote working arrangement up front. Neither you nor the employer want to prepare for, schedule and trudge through an entire interview only to find out you have different interpretations of the term ‘telecommute’!

Happy hunting and if you have any other good advice or links, please share in the comments below.