Lorraine Otieno, the founder of Beyond the Savannah, is a certified coach and seasoned human resources (HR) professional with a passion for remote work. Lorraine Otieno works remotely. Lorraine Otieno’s educational background Employment Working remotely Risks of working remotely What university student earns + View more The businesswoman opened up on working remotely and how to apply for online jobs. According to Who Owns Kenya, she moved from earning a salary of KSh 160,000 to KSh 500,000 monthly. Lorraine Otieno’s educational background According to her LinkedIn profile, Lorraine studied international business administration from 2010 to 2013 at the United States International University – Africa. She holds a master’s of business administration – human resources management from the same institution and a diploma in HR from the College of Human Resource Management. Employment She worked as an accounts intern from September 2013 to October 2013 at the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) but realised accounting was not her thing. Between April 2015 and June 2015, she worked at the Doctoral Association of Eastern Africa before securing a full-time job as an HR officer at Mabati Rolling Mills (MRM). At MRM, she climbed up the ladder from an HR officer to an HR officer in talent management. In 2021, while seeking greener pastures, she came across a remote company named Superside. Initially, she was unsure about the job, but her fears were calmed when she learned about other Kenyans working there. She thus resigned and secured employment as a senior people care specialist. Working remotely Lorraine established Beyond the Savannah and initially wanted to post travel content. However, she found a market gap for training people on remote jobs and equipping them with skills to get the jobs. “The remote jobs are very competitive. No remote company would want to hire someone with a lesser skill. The interview process is intense,” she explained. Besides her company, she revealed other websites where Kenyans can work online. They include We Work Remotely, Working Nomads.com, just remote.com, Upwork and remote.co. Risks of working remotely The HR professional warned that people looking for remote jobs should be careful not to fall into scams. She noted that one cannot be hired instantly as there must be a rigorous interview exercise since the companies are looking for the best brains. Other red flags include asking for money for training or asking one to offer free services in exchange for stock. “We curate job openings that are hiring worldwide and in the EMEA time zones, particularly those looking to hire African candidates,” she said. To qualify, the CV must have an applicant tracking system companies use to shortlist candidates.
by Japhet Ruto