It goes without saying that the pandemic has suddenly transformed millions into virtual workers. During the pre-pandemic period (and yes that’s actually a term) becoming a remote employee was left to choice. But the co-founder of Remotejobs.lk’s Husny Al Ayad speaking to Arteculate says that starting a remote career after getting laid off isn’t something people do by choice any longer. “You almost begin to explore remote employment by necessity. You don’t have time to try or be down or depressed because you lost your job. You still have bills to pay, maybe a family to look after,” he said. That’s where a new startup like Remotejobs.lk’s comes in.
Unlike other similar platforms, Remotejobs.lk aims to offer full-time jobs to seekers which will also allow them to work remotely. True to its name, Remotejobs.lk connects job seekers from Sri Lanka with employers from across the world offering virtual paid work and, what is unique about Remotejobs.lk is that they only connect foreign companies with Sri Lankan job seekers. It is as simple as it sounds. “There’s always been this prediction that we would become a free-agent nation where workers offer their services independently, branding themselves to land gigs as full-time jobs wither away,” says Adhil Nizam, the co-founder of the new platform. “The pandemic simply accelerated this shift in ways that we never expected.”
Elaborating on the vision of Remotejobs.lk, Ayad explained, “Our objective is to build a community of talented workers that are willing to work remotely and thereby connect them with foreign companies. We intend to become the 1st choice for foreign employers looking for remote candidates and the 1st choice for candidates looking for remote positions. We believe that we could transform Remotejobs.lk’s platform into a social media platform dedicated to such employers and candidates.”
Fawshan Nilamdeen, another brainchild behind Remotejobs.lk’s opined that the coronavirus has also accelerated a major shift to remote working that’s severing ties between companies and employees. “It’s natural,” he says. “If there’s no business, there’s no money coming in. On top of that when the economy is shaky as it is everywhere else in the world too, the outlook is uncertain. At times like these employers are reluctant to hire more permanent workers. At best, they’d be trying to get rid of as many as they can to stay afloat.”
How Remotejobs.lk works is fairly simple with no frills of data gathering and so on. Job seekers have to create a profile and once authorized by Remotejobs.lk, the seeker has the liberty of looking for jobs based on their preference. Once applied, the employer will receive an instant notification and would review the application, before shortlisting you for an interview – all of which will be done virtually and in real-time. An agreement will be exchanged through the site closing the deal.
“We noticed that more and more Sri Lankans were looking for remote opportunities and at the same time, employers overseas were looking for alternative solutions to keep their costs minimum. We found an opportunity there when we paired both needs together,” said Ayad adding that tools such as Zoom that have flourished during the pandemic create more flexibility in the workplace. “White-collar jobs can be done anytime, anyplace, by any capable person with a phone and a laptop. Such jobs are untethered from the office, so workers don’t build personal connections with their bosses.”
Increasingly, there are many notable benefits of having a remote career. The economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus brought home the importance of having a secondary stream of income. By being able to work remotely for foreign companies, job seekers not only secures a secondary income but also earns exponentially more. Ayad goes onto say, “A newcomer to the digital marketing industry can earn a considerable amount starting from USD 500 and above, which is comparatively high to the current pay range in Sri Lanka. Apart from the monetary gain, candidates get the opportunity to work with different cultures and engage with diversified personalities, thereby enabling them to groom themselves to become a competent professional in their respective fields.”
“By providing remote permanent employment opportunities our candidates get the advantage of working with a foreign company while enjoying their time with loved once without the necessity of migrating or moving out. This will also contribute to the country to address the long due problem of brain drain. Further, the reason for which Remotejobs.lk is connecting only foreign companies is to support the economy by way of foreign remittance and to enhance the lifestyles of our fellow Sri Lankans,” continued Ayad.
Currently, many of Remotejobs.lk’s employers are based in the US, UK, Germany, France, China and India. Although new to the market and yet to capitalize on the trends Remotejobs.lk already has its sight set on a full range of HR solutions from CV writing to interview tips and so on. So rather than trawling through the average job board, head over to Remotejobs.lk, create your profile, and explore a world of remote opportunities.