How to use a skills shortage to get the remote job of your dreams

A skills shortage sounds scary but it gives you a chance to demand the kind of working conditions you really want.

It’s official: the United Kingdom is facing a skills shortage in its labour market, and especially in IT fields.

For businesses, it means a time of greater challenge in finding and successfully winning over a talented candidate.

For jobseekers and those who may be looking for new opportunities, however, it represents a tempting opportunity to land the job of your dreams.

RemoteWorker.co.uk will show you how.

 

More demand is a good thing

When we talk about a labour shortage, what that really means is that skilled, talented people are in high demand.

And where you’re in high demand, you can in turn demand certain things that you may have otherwise struggled to get.

This is the perfect opportunity to land a fully remote job if you’re looking for one.

Statistically speaking, most jobs in the UK report themselves to be hybrid. But this can be a little misleading because there’s no set standard — different companies each have their own policy.

A company can advertise itself as “hybrid” but only offer one remote working day per month. Or, it could mean that you are expected to work from home 90% of the time but come into the office every now and then.

The high prevalence of hybrid work can be both a blessing and a curse, but a labour shortage means you can ask for exactly the kind of arrangement you want and have a high chance of your new employer agreeing to it.

This is especially the case for IT, where most jobs around the world have long ago shifted to being fully remote.

 

Capitalise on global opportunities

For that matter, you can also pursue global remote opportunities if the local labour pool isn’t meeting your expectations or desires.

You can either leverage your high desirability abroad as encouragement for local recruiters to try a bit harder to win you over.

Or, at face value, you can use your high-in-demand skills to land a fully remote job using resource sites like RemoteWorker.co.uk.

Here, again, you can use your skills to your advantage to negotiate precisely the terms you want without settling for less.

 

Consider upskilling your way to a remote job

If your skills aren’t quite there yet, you can think about improving your talents to put yourself in a better position to be able to demand the job that you want.

In a tight labour market where skills are low, employers may be more willing to bend their hiring standards a bit in exchange for a guaranteed skilled worker in the long run.

You may be able to leverage your future upskilling plans if you’re already taking a course, for instance, and work it out to your advantage in exchange for remote work.

It may be a bit trickier of a deal than if you already had the full skillset, but it’s still worth a try.

And with resource sites dedicated to remote and hybrid jobs only, like RemoteWorker.co.uk, your chances are increased all the more.

Find the latest remote jobs in the UK via RemoteWorker.co.uk.