We are continuing our remote interview series with Annika, our Junior SEO based in Portugal. Annika joined the In Marketing We Trust family 3 months ago and jumped straight into contributing for one of our biggest clients!
Starting a new role while also beginning to work remotely is no easy task. It’s both exciting and challenging. However, as usual, we want to shine a light on the challenges and excitement to help you navigate the digital nomad life.
Remote Junior SEO Interview
It’s commonly known that the beginning is the hardest. What was the hardest thing for you to overcome when starting at IMWT?
Getting used to the new routine, finding a way to fit the work into my day and being productive. So I would say time management! I often felt like I spent all day “at work” but then only had about 3 or 4 hours logged at the end of the day. I think that it’s very different than office jobs (most, obviously those problems exist there too) where you go in the morning and then go home at night and that’s it. It’s easier to sleep in, “waste” a lot of time in the morning and then work until late. Which is fine, if it’s intentional. But for me, the challenge was to find a routine that works and then manage to stick to it.
What motivated you to pursue a remote job?
Location independence, mostly. But also having the freedom to create my own work environment and work around the times when I am most productive, as it gives me the feeling that I am spending my time well and intentional. (It’s the part that I am struggling with a lot at the moment but at the same time I love that I get to struggle with it, try different ways and figure it out!)
What are your best tips for working remotely?
I don’t know if I can give any tips yet, as I am still trying to figure it out. I would say having a routine and leaving the house! Working from home is fine on some days I think but most of the time it’s really unproductive for me. And I like separating my home space from my workspace. Actually I think having a clear separation of work time and non-work time is so important!
There are still a lot of misconceptions around working remotely (e.g. remote workers are less productive, more lonely). Which do you think are the most common? Did you have any before starting working remotely?
I think being less productive is the most common one, seeing remote work not as actual work as you are not going to an office.
How do you sustain a healthy work-life balance?
Trying to set clear boundaries between work time and free time and schedule time off.
What is your biggest tip on working remotely in SEO and Content?
I think trying to take some time and staying up to date with current SEO trends and best practices is really important, as everything is evolving very quickly.
Based on your experience, what are some of the best ways to land a remote job?
Focus on learning skills within the tech space, as this field offers a lot of opportunities for remote work and look for jobs in specific communities/job groups.
What is the best thing that you’ve learnt so far at IMWT?
It’s so valuable for me to be working with Ana and Leigh who have been in SEO much longer than me. It’s great to see how they approach the optimisation for big and complex sites and I am learning a lot!
Want to work remotely for In Marketing We Trust? Check out our current vacancies here.
