Ok - I’m going to leave qualifications for last. Let’s look at what I feel are some core skills. Remember, most skills are learnable with the right teaching method so don’t get too disappointed if you feel you lack some of these skills or need to improve them.
- Time Management: I suck at this. I use all sorts of aids to improve this - but at the end of the day I know that this is a weakness. I procrastinate more than I would like! But - if you are working from home you will need to be your own time manager. Some companies have software that counts keystrokes etc… but at the end of the day you will need to manage your time.
- Discipline: Similar to time management you will need to discipline yourself to start and end on time. Hit deadlines. Look for opportunities for the business. Plus all of the other things you would be doing if you worked at an office. Like Networking!
- Networking: Whether you are working for your self or someone else you need to network. Professional networking is a skillset that can be learnt - so learn it and use Discipline from above to make sure you continue to grow AND nurture your network.
- Continuous Education: When you are working from home you don’t get the camaraderie of being in the office and you also lack those unofficial educational opportunities. You know - like when you hear someone else having a problem and working through an answer with a manager? All of a sudden you just learned something too! Well - when working remotely you lose out on those opportunities. You need to learn more to grow with your company (If you are an employee) or you need to learn more to grow your business if you work for yourself. Look for opportunities to learn and grow - invest in YOURSELF for the future.
Now - for qualifications - that will all depend on your industry. One that I would recommend though is getting certified as an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) practitioner. You should focus on the communication and influence skills that you can learn in NLP. When working remotely many of the subtleties of non-verbal communication are lost. By learning skills to bridge those gaps you can become seen as an expert in what you do and say as well as at team building and group leading.
I hope this helps