I've been hand-screening companies for our job board over the past few months. As of this week, 106 have made the cut. That sounds like a lot until you consider how many didn't.
For every company that earned a spot, several more got filtered out. Even among those that made the cut, there are some I could absolutely see myself at and others that, while clearly awesome, just wouldn't be right for me.
That screening process is the same exercise you need to do for yourself, just at a smaller scale. Today we're building your filter before you start searching, so you're not chasing roles that were never going to fit.
Your Job Search Needs an ICP
Startups don't try to sell to everyone. The good ones obsess over their ideal customer profile. Who specifically is going to get what we do, and how do we speak directly to them?
Your job search works the same way. Hundreds of people apply to the same remote roles, most sending the same generic pitch to every company. The ones who stand out have figured out which companies are going to get them, their background, their working style, their personality, and they tell their story in a way that resonates with that specific audience.
You can't do that if you're writing to everyone. You need a target.
Define What You Want
So many people tell me they want a "remote" job and when I ask what kind, it becomes clear they haven't thought very far past the fantasy of working from home. The fact is, remote work that doesn't energize you can actually be really draining. Doing work you hate from a location you like is going to get old fast.
Think about what kind of work makes you feel good, what kind is tolerable and what just depletes you?
Then consider the kind of jobs you're qualified for. The overlap between those buckets becomes our north star.
Then define your remote model. Fully remote means no office and usually the broadest geographic flexibility. Remote-first means designed around distributed work but possibly with optional offices. Hybrid reintroduces geographic limitations, though hybrid roles are more plentiful, so this is a personal calculation. There is no right answer.
At Remotivated, we classify companies across this spectrum because the differences aren't cosmetic. Your remote model shapes your schedule, your communication patterns, and your time zone constraints. These aren't details. They're the texture of your daily life.
So while we only display remote jobs, you'll also see the companies categorized by their overall work model.
Define Who Gets You
This is the part most job seekers skip. Beyond logistics, think about the kind of company where your personality and working style would actually thrive. Are you energized by early-stage chaos or do you need enterprise structure? Do you want a mission you believe in or are you happy solving interesting problems? How much autonomy do you need? What are your deal-breakers, like RTO risk, rigid schedules, or lack of certain benefits that matter to you?
This is your ICP taking shape. When you know who your audience is, everything gets sharper. You stop writing for everyone and start writing for the specific kind of organization that's going to read your application and think, "this person belongs here."
Find the Patterns
Now for the real work. Start listing companies you're attracted to. Pull from job boards, articles, companies friends have raved about, brands you admire. Get them all down.
Then study the list. What do these companies have in common? Maybe they're all Series B to D startups in a certain space. Maybe they all emphasize async communication on their careers page. Maybe they share a certain energy in how they write, informal and direct, or thoughtful and mission-driven.
Those patterns are your ICP crystallizing. They tell you what to filter for in your search and what language to echo when you craft your own narrative. If every company you're drawn to talks about ownership and outcomes, that's a signal about what to emphasize when you tell your story.
Your list might split into two or three distinct buckets. Maybe one cluster is early-stage product companies and another is established remote-first consultancies. Great. You don't need to force them into a single profile. You just need to understand each bucket well enough that when you apply to a company in that group, you're speaking their language.