Crafting a resume for work-at-home jobs might seem like you're merely swapping office shoes for slippers, but as the workspace extends into the digital realm, the stakes are surprisingly high. With a staggering 98% of workers expressing a desire to work remotely at least some of the time, tailoring your resume for remote roles is more crucial than ever.
This overwhelming preference for flexibility and autonomy in the workplace requires a resume that highlights your skills and demonstrates your adeptness at thriving in a self-directed environment.
Whether you’re targeting a creative field or a more traditional sector, your resume must convey that you’re fully equipped for the future of work—a future where remote jobs aren’t just a niche but a norm. Let’s explore how to construct a resume that glows in a world where almost everyone wants to log in from home.
Key takeaways
- The reverse chronological format is recommended for remote roles to highlight career progression and remote management capabilities.
- Resume design should ensure readability with professional colors and clear layouts, ideal for showcasing remote work tools and technologies.
- Experience sections should be adapted to reflect remote work capabilities, using concise bullet points and quantifiable metrics.
- When tailoring your resume to remote jobs, highlight your ability to thrive in a self-directed environment while ensuring it aligns with the job description and proper formatting for ATS and recruiter approval.
- Incorporating a functional or hybrid resume format can benefit those with limited remote work experience by emphasizing relevant skills.
- Certifications related to remote work, such as Certified Remote Work Professional, enhance a resume by validating expertise in necessary remote tools and practices.
Now, let’s turn theory into practice with a sample work-from-home resume to guide you.
Work-from-home resume sample
Here’s a work-from-home resume template to show how you can effectively present your qualifications for remote roles.
Samantha Weatherspoon
Boston, MA | s.weatherspoon@email.com | (555) 565-1623
linkedin.com/in/sweatherspoon
Summary
Detail-oriented and tech-savvy professional with over 3 years of customer service experience, specializing in payment processing and issue resolution. Skilled in leveraging CRM tools to enhance operational efficiencies and customer satisfaction. Eager to apply my expertise in virtual credit card transactions and support to contribute to Global Payments’ success.
Experience
Customer Service Specialist
PayTech Solutions, Boston, MA
July 2019 – Present
- Process and manage high volumes of electronic payments and resolve related issues.
- Utilize CRM software daily to track customer interactions and report on transaction anomalies.
- Train and support new team members, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of payment systems.
- Maintain excellent service standards, keeping detailed records of customer interactions and transactions.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
Graduated May 2019
- Relevant Coursework: Financial Accounting, Business Analytics, Customer Relationship Management
- Honors: Dean's List (2017, 2018), Cum Laude
Certifications
- Certified Customer Service Professional (CCSP)
- Certified Payments Professional (CPP)
Skills
- Proficient in MS Office Suite, especially Excel
- Experienced with Adobe Acrobat and CRM software, including Salesforce
- Excellent oral and written communication abilities
- Effective at multi-tasking and managing high-volume workloads
Languages
- English (Native)
- Spanish (Conversational)
Now that we've seen a sample resume, let's discuss various formats that can further enhance your work-from-home application.
How to format a work-from-home resume
Creating a well-structured and professional resume layout is crucial for making an all-around good resume that grabs the attention of recruiters. This section will guide you through the best practices for resume formats tailored to work-from-home job applicants, ensuring it meets industry standards and effectively demonstrates your skills and experience.
Best resume format
- Reverse chronological format: This format is highly recommended for work-from-home roles, emphasizing your work experience and career progression which is essential for showing your ability to manage responsibilities remotely.
Resume design
- Keep resume margins between 0.5 to 1 inch to ensure readability.
- Use business colors on your resume, primarily black and white, with minimal use of accent colors for resume headings to maintain a clean appearance.
- Choose clean, professional fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman, sized 10 to 12 points.
- Consider a double-column resume layout to maintain clarity and ease of reading, especially important when listing remote work tools and technologies.
- Aim for a one-page resume, but two pages are acceptable if you have extensive experience relevant to remote work.
Resume header
- In your resume header, be sure to give your contact information, including your city and state, but omit the full address as a full-time home location is less relevant for remote jobs.
- Provide a professional email address, LinkedIn profile, and personal website or portfolio if relevant, which can be linked to remote work projects or tools you’re proficient with.
- Generally, avoid including a photo unless explicitly requested or relevant to the job market in your country.
- Create a concise resume headline that summarizes your professional identity and highlights your adaptability and proficiency in remote environments.
File formatting
- Save your resume as a PDF to preserve formatting.
- Use “FirstNameLastNameRemote_Resume.pdf” as a naming convention for clarity and to underscore your focus on remote work.
Here are the key resume sections for a work-from-home applicant:
- Summary
- Experience
- Education
- Certifications
- Skills
- Languages
Each market has its own resume standards – a Canadian resume layout may differ, for example.
PRO TIP
Concerns about ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) sometimes miss the mark. Despite popular misconceptions, our findings show that fonts, colors, columns, and the length of your resume don't affect how well it’s parsed by these systems.
For work-from-home candidates, the focus should instead be on matching your resume's language to the job description and making sure elements like dates and bullet points are properly formatted, as these can influence your application's success. Keep in mind that not all companies use ATS, so it's important to avoid overloading your resume with keywords and ensure it remains clear and easy to read.
Not sure if your current resume is up to par when it comes to ATS? Run it through Enhancv’s free ATS checker and see how it stacks up!
Is your resume good enough?
Drop your resume here or choose a file. PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.
Now that we’ve selected the right format, let’s focus on building a compelling professional history section for your work-from-home resume.
How to best write your work-from-home resume experience
When crafting the work experience section for a work-from-home resume, it's important to adapt your entries to reflect remote work capabilities and the nuances of virtual environments.
Here’s how to structure each entry to illustrate your suitability for a remote role:
- Set the stage for your experience by clarifying your role, the company, and the fact that you worked remotely.
- Use concise bullet points to describe key responsibilities and achievements, particularly those that demonstrate your ability to work independently and effectively in a remote setting. Don’t forget to begin each point with an action verb.
- Specify any software, collaboration tools, or methodologies used, particularly those relevant to remote work, such as project management platforms, communication tools, and virtual collaboration techniques.
- Whenever possible, quantify results to demonstrate the direct impact of your contributions, especially those that showcase your ability to succeed in a remote environment.
- Your work experience shouldn’t extend further back than 10-15 years, focusing on roles that display your skills and achievements in remote work contexts. This ensures your resume remains concise, impactful, and relevant to the needs of employers seeking remote workers.
Tailoring your resume for remote roles is essential because it increases relevance by matching your skills and experiences with the specific requirements of the job, proving you are an ideal fit for working from home.
Working from home is both a challenge and an opportunity. It's the ultimate test of self-management and productivity.
James Clear, author of "Atomic Habits"
How tailoring your resume works
- Aligns with job requirements: Tailoring your resume helps match your experience with the specific needs and technologies relevant to the job, making it easier for recruiters to see your fit.
- Demonstrates remote capabilities: Specifically highlighting remote work experience and skills shows recruiters you’re capable and experienced in the nuances of remote work.
- Improves ATS optimization: Customizing your resume with keywords from the job description can help optimize it for applicant tracking systems as well as impress the recruiter with your dedication to detail.
We’ll provide you with an actual job description for a work-from-home position to help you tailor your resume effectively. This practical example will guide you in drawing attention to the most pertinent information and skills.
Payment Operations Representative - Remote
Position Overview:
Every day, InterGlobal Payments makes it possible for millions of people to move money between buyers and sellers using our payment solutions for credit, debit, prepaid, and merchant services. Our worldwide team helps over 2 million companies, more than 1,200 financial institutions, and over 500 million cardholders grow with confidence and achieve amazing results. We’re driven by our passion for success and we’re proud to deliver best-in-class payment technology and software solutions. Join our dynamic team and make your mark on the payments technology landscape of tomorrow.
Responsible for supporting the success of daily payment transactions to include but not limited to processing high volumes of virtual credit card payments on behalf of our clients.
Role and Responsibilities:
- Process high volumes of virtual credit card proxy payments on the buyers’ behalf through multiple channels including online portals and via phone.
- Research and resolve payment issues across multiple methods of payment.
- Investigate and record the root causes of payment issues.
- Offer support via phone and email, and troubleshoot issues regarding payments.
- Critically evaluate business processes and workflows to improve operational efficiency.
- Assist in training new team members of this quickly growing team.
- Communicate with customers and internal stakeholders as necessary to complete the above responsibilities.
- Build strong rapport and maintain ongoing external and internal relationships.
- Cross-train on the Supplier Enablement team functions as assigned.
Requirements & Minimum Qualifications:
- Ideally a Degree in a related field or strong customer service experience (2-3 years minimum experience in customer service).
- Oral and Written communication skills.
- Ability to pay close attention to detail and to ensure the accuracy of reports and data.
- Ability to communicate with various business contacts in a professional and courteous manner.
- Computer and Internet literate.
- MS Office Suite - Excel.
- Adobe Acrobat.
- Proficiency with CRM tools (SalesForce).
- Ability to listen to and understand user issues and respond appropriately.
- Personal track record of being thorough, courteous, and responsive in customer service.
- Ability to analyze information and use logic to address customer issues and problems.
- Ability to cool-headedly manage difficult or emotional customer situations.
- Eagerness to quickly achieve a high level of understanding of the software and configuration options, and be able to communicate the value of these features to clients.
Here’s an example of a work experience entry targeting the job ad from above:
04/2018 - Present 
- •Managed daily processing of over 500 virtual credit card transactions through online platforms and phone, ensuring high accuracy and client satisfaction.
- •Led a team initiative that improved payment issue resolution time by 40%, directly enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency.
- •Developed and maintained robust relationships with key clients and stakeholders, effectively reducing conflict resolution times by 30%.
- •Utilized CRM tools including Salesforce to document and track customer interactions and payment issues, achieving a customer satisfaction rate of 95%.
09/2015 - 04/2018 - •Resolved an average of 30 payment disputes daily, maintaining detailed records and consistently achieving a 98% satisfaction rate on problem resolution.
- •Spearheaded a workflow optimization project that increased team productivity by 25% through more effective use of Microsoft Excel and Adobe Acrobat.
- •Trained and mentored over 10 new team members, focusing on high standards for data accuracy and customer communication, which became a model for the department.
- •Handled sensitive payment information and customer data with utmost confidentiality, adhering to stringent security protocols.
These entries are effective because:
- Each company description is brief yet informative, providing context about the employer's industry and focus, which helps to situate the candidate’s specific role within a larger organizational framework.
- Entries underline responsibilities directly relevant to the job ad, such as processing payments and resolving issues, using specific tools like CRM software.
- Achievements are quantified with specific metrics, such as improvement percentages, demonstrating the candidate’s impact on previous positions in a tangible way.
- Both entries explicitly mention that the roles were remote, aligning with the remote nature of the job being applied for.
- The descriptions focus on skills crucial for remote work, such as independent management, effective communication, and problem-solving, illustrating the candidate’s suitability.
With your professional history outlined, let's now focus on how to quantify your achievements and prove your impact with numbers.
How to quantify your experience on a resume
Including specific numbers and results on a resume offers tangible proof of your accomplishments and impact, making your capabilities clear and measurable to employers. To effectively quantify these achievements, incorporate precise metrics like percentages, dollar amounts, or numeric improvements, which are especially persuasive for employers considering remote candidates.
Here are some examples for a remote position:
- Specify the percentage by which you increased productivity by implementing efficient work-from-home practices.
- Detail the exact number of customer issues resolved per week to highlight your problem-solving effectiveness.
- Provide the dollar amount of sales or savings achieved through your remote work initiatives.
- State the exact number of virtual team members you've managed or trained remotely.
- Quantify the reduction in turnaround time for projects you've directly influenced through your remote management.
We’ve gone through how to properly detail your professional history, but what if you don’t have any? Let's address how to build your resume if you're new to the remote workforce.
How do i write a work-from-home resume with no experience?
Writing a work-from-home resume without direct experience can be a challenge, but with the right format and focus on your relevant skills and potential, you can create a compelling application.
Here are some key strategies and structures to consider:
- Functional resume: This format emphasizes your skills and abilities rather than your chronological work history. It’s ideal for those new to the workforce, career changers, or individuals with gaps in their employment.
- Hybrid resume: Combines elements of both chronological and functional formats, showcasing relevant skills at the top of the resume followed by a brief work history. This format is useful for candidates who have some relevant skills but limited professional experience.
Besides choosing a different more relevant resume format, you can also add extra sections to compensate for your lack of experience.
Such as:
- Focus on transferable skills such as communication, time management, and proficiency in tech tools like Microsoft Office and CRM software.
- Mention any school or personal projects relevant to the job, particularly those that demonstrate your ability to manage tasks or coordinate with others remotely.
- Select a traditional template to maintain a professional appearance, even without work experience.
- Enroll in relevant online courses or certification programs that focus on remote work tools and practices to build foundational knowledge.
- Gain practical experience by participating in virtual internships or freelance projects that allow you to work remotely.
- Join professional organizations related to telecommuting and remote work, and participate in online forums and webinars to show commitment and gain industry knowledge.
- Emphasize your ability to work independently, manage remote projects, and maintain productivity in a home office setting.
Objective statement tips
An objective statement is a brief and concise declaration placed at the top of a resume. It outlines the applicant's career goals and how they align with the company's needs, aiming to capture the employer's interest. Ideal for an applicant without any professional experience.
- Be specific: Tailor your objective statement to the job and company, indicating your enthusiasm for the role and how you plan to contribute.
- Focus on company benefit: Express how you can add value to the company, referencing specific skills or traits that match with the job description.
Have a look at the example below.
Let’s now identify and list the skills that make you an ideal candidate for remote work with or without an impressive work history.
How to list your hard and soft skills on your resume
Demonstrating your skills on a work-at-home resume emphasizes your ability to effectively manage tasks, communicate virtually, and maintain productivity independently. These skills aim to illustrate both your technical proficiency and your adaptability, which are crucial for successfully completing projects and collaborating remotely.
Hard skills vs. soft skills
- Hard skills: These are specific, teachable abilities or skill sets that are easily quantifiable and often verified through certifications and practical experience.
- Soft skills: These are interpersonal attributes and behaviors that enhance your ability to work independently and as part of a team in a virtual environment. Shown through your past remote work experiences and are transferable across various remote job roles.
Hard skills for remote work
For a work-from-home resume, list your technical skills prominently in a dedicated skills section. Ensure these hard skills match the requirements outlined in the job description to increase their relevance and visibility to both hiring managers and applicant tracking systems.
Below is a thorough list of the most common and appreciated hard skills for those working remotely:
Best hard skills for your work-from-home resume
Soft skills for remote work
Soft skills, which underscore your core competencies in interpersonal abilities, should be woven throughout your work-from-home resume—within the summary or objective, work experience, and education sections—to provide context and demonstrate their practical application. This method ensures that these essential skills are effectively displayed across various sections, not isolated in a single area.
Here’s a list of the top soft skills related to remote work:
Best soft skills for your work-from-home resume
Now with your skills listed, let's move on to detailing your educational background to complement your work-from-home capabilities.
How to list your certifications and education on your resume
Including an education section on your work-from-home resume establishes foundational knowledge and credibility. It demonstrates your commitment to learning and emphasizes relevant degrees and coursework tailored to remote work environments.
Here’s what to list:
- Degree earned (major and minor): State your degree to showcase your area of expertise.
- Institution’s name: Include the name of the educational institution.
- Location: Though often less critical for remote roles, give the location of the institution.
- Graduation year: Helps to provide a timeline of your educational background—add the month if you’re a recent graduate.
- GPA (optional): Mention if it’s 3.5 or above to underscore academic excellence.
- Honors: List any honors received, such as cum laude or Dean's List, to highlight your achievements.
- Relevant coursework and achievements: Focus on courses and academic projects that display skills pertinent to remote work, such as digital communication or independent project management.
This tailored education section will help shine a light on the skills and training that make you a strong candidate for remote positions.
Below is an ideal example of an education entry for a work-from-home resume. It has been targeted to correspond with the previous job offer for a Payment Operations Representative.
04/2021 - •Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Dean's List (2017-2021)
- •Digital Communication Strategies: Developed comprehensive projects that enhanced digital communication skills, crucial for managing remote customer interactions effectively.
- •Project Management: Led a semester-long project that simulated the setup and execution of a virtual customer service center, improving operational efficiencies by 30%.
- •Financial Technology Innovations: Explored cutting-edge payment technologies, aligning with InterGlobal Payments' focus on best-in-class payment solutions.
- •Advanced Excel Techniques for Business: Mastered data manipulation and reporting skills essential for managing and analyzing high volumes of transactions.
This education entry effectively showcases a strong background in business and technology with a specific emphasis on skills relevant to a Payment Operations Representative role at InterGlobal Payments.
The inclusion of a minor in IT and relevant coursework directly ties to the demands of handling complex payment systems and customer service in a remote environment.
Work-from-home certifications on your resume
Certifications on your resume validate your expertise in remote work tools and processes, underscoring your dedication to professional growth and setting you apart from other candidates. It's beneficial to have a separate section for certifications to enhance clarity and display the scope of your qualifications. Otherwise, they can be integrated into your experience or education sections.
Be sure to include the name of the certification, the issuing organization, date obtained, and, if needed, the date of expiry.
Here are some of the most sought-after certifications geared toward working remotely out there:
Best certifications for your working remote
Next, we’ll explore crafting a compelling resume summary that encapsulates your remote work qualifications.
How to write your work-from-home resume summary
A resume summary is essential for a work-from-home candidate as it provides a brief overview of your professional strengths, achievements, and remote work capabilities. It should highlight your ability to manage tasks independently, utilize digital communication tools effectively, and maintain productivity in a remote environment. Include quantifiable achievements, relevant skills, and experience.
Key elements of a resume summary:
- Quantifiable achievements
- Relevant skills and experience
- Tailored to the job offer
- Expresses efficiency and adaptability
- Between three and five sentences long
- Avoid the first-person pronoun ‘I’
Let's review an example of an excellent resume summary tailored to the remote position job advertised above.
This summary clearly aligns with the responsibilities and requirements outlined in the job advertisement, emphasizing relevant skills, experience, and quantifiable achievements.
PRO TIP
Need help with crafting your summary? Try our AI-assisted resume summary generator to write a successful and targeted professional resume profile that’s guaranteed to catch the recruiter’s eye!
Finally, let’s have a glance at some extra elements that you may decide to involve in your next remote job application.
Additional sections for a work-from-home resume
If you’re asking yourself what else you can put on your resume, consider including these optional sections. They can be beneficial as they create a more comprehensive picture of your qualifications, experiences, and unique attributes that set you apart from other candidates.
- Projects: Detail specific projects where you improved remote operations or implemented digital transformation initiatives.
- Publications: Provide any articles, blogs, or papers you’ve written on remote work best practices, digital communication, or productivity tips.
- Volunteer work: Detail any volunteer roles where you managed or participated in remote activities or events, demonstrating your ability to coordinate and engage from afar.
- Awards and recognitions: Any accolades received for your work in remote settings or in capacities that reflect key remote work skills can be listed here.
- Testimonials: Brief quotes from previous employers or clients that attest to your reliability, communication skills, or efficiency in remote environments can add a personal touch and credibility.
- Languages: Proficiency in multiple languages can be particularly appealing for remote positions that interact with global teams or clients.
- Hobbies & interests: This can enhance your work-from-home resume by showing your personality and additional skills that might be relevant to remote work.
In conclusion
With your resume now finely tuned to showcase your remote work abilities, it's crucial to keep it updated and reflective of your growing skills. Whether you're stepping into a new role or elevating your current position, a well-crafted resume is your gateway to thriving in the flexible, dynamic world of work-from-home opportunities.
