Where to Find the Best Remote Talent in 2025
Jun 4, 2025
Finding the best remote talent can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. With so many platforms and strategies available, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and waste precious time and resources. After a decade of experience in recruitment, especially focusing on remote hires and virtual assistants (VAs) since the pandemic, we’ve gathered valuable insights into where the true “superstars” can be found—and how to attract them effectively.
Whether you’re a startup founder, HR professional, or recruitment enthusiast, this comprehensive guide will share data-driven, practical advice on where to find the best remote talent. We’ll walk you through the top sources that have yielded the highest quality hires for us and explain how to use each channel strategically to maximize your chances of recruiting exceptional candidates.
Why Finding the Best Remote Talent Requires a Strategic Approach
Before diving into specific sources, it’s crucial to understand why sourcing remote workers differs from traditional hiring. Unlike entry-level or less specialized roles, the best remote professionals—whether developers, marketers, or virtual assistants—are often not actively job hunting. They’re engaged, productive, and happy in their current roles. This means that simply posting a job ad on popular boards won’t cut it if you want to attract top-tier talent.
Instead, you need to combine targeted sourcing techniques with smart job board strategies to tap into passive candidates who might be open to new opportunities if approached correctly. Over the years, we’ve refined our approach to balance these two methods, and we’ll share exactly how we do it.
Best Platforms to Find Remote Talent in 2025: The Ultimate Breakdown
1. LinkedIn: The Premier Source for Superstar Remote Workers
LinkedIn remains the undisputed leader in sourcing top remote workers, accounting for nearly half of our successful hires. Why? Because LinkedIn is where professionals build their personal brand, network, and showcase their experience. Most superstars are active here, even if they are not actively job hunting.
For recruiters and employers, using LinkedIn effectively means going beyond free searches and tapping into subscription tools like RecruiterLite or Sales Navigator. These tools provide advanced filters and search capabilities, making it easier to find candidates who perfectly match your criteria.
From our agency's data:
48% of our hires came from LinkedIn.
About 30% came specifically from RecruiterLite, a cost-effective alternative to LinkedIn's full recruiter subscription.
Why not use the full LinkedIn Recruiter subscription? Unless you are an enterprise with thousands of employees, the cost often outweighs the benefits. RecruiterLite offers a more affordable, yet powerful, way to source candidates efficiently.
One key insight is that top remote workers are often passive candidates—they are engaged in their current roles but open to the right opportunity if approached with the right messaging. This makes targeted outreach on LinkedIn a game-changer for finding remote talent.
2. OnlineJobs.ph: A Goldmine for Remote Talent from the Philippines
Another significant source of remote workers is OnlineJobs.ph, especially for roles that can be effectively performed by virtual assistants or remote specialists from the Philippines. According to our data, around 32% of our superstar hires have come from this platform, making it a critical tool in your remote hiring arsenal.
However, success on OnlineJobs.ph requires skillful job posting and candidate filtering. What do we mean by this? With OLJ, posting a job ad and waiting for applications can result in a flood of unqualified candidates—often 90% of applicants may not meet your needs.
To maximize your chances on OnlineJobs.ph and other job boards:
Keep your job listings active but rotate them periodically to avoid giving the impression that the role is never filled.
Vary job titles and descriptions to attract a broader range of qualified candidates.
Be prepared to sift through many resumes to identify the rare gems worth interviewing.
While it requires more effort compared to LinkedIn's targeted sourcing, OnlineJobs.ph remains one of the best platforms to find remote talent in 2025, especially for cost-effective, high-quality remote workers.
3. Indeed and Facebook: Supplementary Sources with Niche Potential
Surprisingly, platforms like Indeed and Facebook contribute to only about 6% of our hires each. While these numbers seem small, they shouldn't be overlooked, especially if you know how to leverage them strategically.
Indeed can be a solid option for sourcing candidates—especially if you’re a direct employer leveraging free job credits. It’s particularly useful for high-volume roles or entry-level positions. However, while it has reach, the effectiveness of paid ads can vary; costs can add up quickly, and the quality of applicants often spans a wide range. To make the most of Indeed, it's important to write clear, targeted job descriptions and filter responses carefully.
On the other hand, Facebook groups—especially those focused on remote work or specific industries—can be an underutilized but highly effective recruitment channel. Take ICAP (Independent Creative and Advertising Professionals) for example, a Filipino-centric group teeming with freelance creatives actively seeking remote work. These groups tend to be more niche, so while the volume of applicants may be lower, the quality is often higher because members are already embedded in the culture and workflows of remote collaboration.
The key to success with Facebook groups is active engagement. Don’t just post a job and walk away—interact with the community, respond to questions, and show you're genuinely interested in finding a great fit. Building trust in these spaces can help you unlock access to highly capable, remote-ready talent who may not be actively job-hunting on traditional platforms.
4. Referrals: Untapped Potential for High-Quality Remote Hires
Referrals currently account for about 5% of our hires—which might seem low at first glance, but don’t let that number fool you. Our data consistently shows that referrals deliver high-quality results, often leading to strong conversion rates. This is because employee referrals tend to connect us with candidates who share similar qualities to our top performers, as team members naturally recommend people they trust and know to be capable.
To boost referrals:
Encourage your current employees to recommend candidates.
Offer incentives or recognition for successful referrals.
Make referral generation a formal part of your recruitment process.
Building a strong referral program can significantly increase your chances of finding remote workers who align well with your company culture.
Why Targeted Sourcing Beats Traditional Job Ads for Finding Top Remote Workers
Job ads still play an important role in remote recruitment, but they often attract a high volume of unqualified applicants. This is especially true on platforms like OnlineJobs.ph, where the quality-to-quantity ratio can be low.
Targeted sourcing—actively searching for and reaching out to candidates who meet your criteria—offers several advantages:
Access to passive candidates: Many top remote workers are not actively job hunting but are open to new opportunities if approached correctly.
Higher quality candidates: By using advanced search filters and refining your outreach, you can find candidates who precisely match your needs.
Better engagement: Personalized messaging increases response rates and helps build relationships before the formal interview process.
LinkedIn subscription tools like RecruiterLite and Sales Navigator are particularly effective for this approach. Sales Navigator offers robust filters, but RecruiterLite is often preferred for recruiting due to its cost-effectiveness and user-friendly interface.
Best Practices for Using Job Boards and Platforms to Find Remote Talent
Whether you rely on job boards or targeted sourcing, here are some tips to enhance your remote hiring strategy:
Keep Job Ads Fresh and Varied
Posting the same job ad continuously can send the wrong message to candidates. They may wonder why the role hasn’t been filled and assume there are problems with the company or the position.
Instead, rotate job postings every few weeks and vary job titles and descriptions. This keeps your listings fresh and attracts a wider range of candidates.
Monitor and Filter Applications Diligently
Expect to sift through many applications to find the right fit, especially on job boards. Develop a clear screening process to quickly identify promising candidates and avoid wasting time.
Leverage Multiple Platforms
Don’t rely on a single platform. Use LinkedIn, OnlineJobs.ph, Indeed, Facebook groups, and referrals in combination to cast a wide net and increase your chances of finding remote workers.
Personalize Your Outreach
When you identify a potential superstar, reach out with tailored messages that speak to their skills and motivations. Personalized communication improves response rates and starts building rapport early.
Summary: Where to Find the Best Remote Talent (Based on Our Agency's Data)
LinkedIn (48% of hires): Use RecruiterLite or Sales Navigator for targeted sourcing and outreach.
OnlineJobs.ph (32% of hires): Post clear job ads, use screening tools, and refresh listings regularly.
Indeed and Facebook (6% each): Supplement your sourcing with these platforms, focusing on niche groups and relevant roles.
Referrals (5% of hires): Develop and promote an employee referral program to tap into trusted networks.
Other channels, like email blasts or random sourcing, have minimal impact compared to these main sources.
Start Finding Your Superstar Remote Workers Today
If you’re ready to take your remote hiring to the next level and find the best remote talent, start by exploring some of the best platforms to find remote talent in 2025—including LinkedIn’s RecruiterLite and OnlineJobs.ph. Although these platforms may currently be the most reliable for us, it's essential to explore others as well. By learning how each one operates and identifying which best suits your needs, you can unlock the hidden pool of superstar remote workers.
Overall, a strategic approach that includes targeted searches and personalized outreach can increase your chances of connecting with those top-tier talents that you may not have seen yet. Invest time in crafting targeted searches and personalized outreach to unlock the hidden pool of superstar remote workers waiting for the right opportunity.
Need expert guidance or a tailored recruitment strategy? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hello@m-oceanrs.com so we can connect you with the top remote talent your company deserves.
