Get ready to meet Kristin Vierra, a powerhouse of inspiration and the undisputed queen of remote career opportunities! Kristin has spent years helping others unlock their true potential, guiding them through career pivots, burnout recovery, and embracing the freedom of remote work. Her story is packed with adventure—from breaking away from Silicon Valley’s tech grind to exploring the vibrant streets of Buenos Aires.
In this interview, we’ll dive deep into Kristin’s journey of self-discovery, resilience, and the art of finding career fulfillment on your own terms. Whether you’re dreaming of becoming a digital nomad, craving career alignment, or simply curious about how persistence shapes success, Kristin has the stories and insights to fuel your imagination. Ready to rediscover yourself and take control of your career? Let's get started!
✨ Ready to start your journey? Find the top remote job boards below! 👇
You’re always helping others finding jobs, but where did your career path start Kristin and what has it brought you?
While many come to me for support in finding a job, our process delves much deeper. It's about uncovering purpose and finding deeper meaning and fulfillment in both their work and lives.
My journey has deeply inspired me to help others find this, as I experienced my own challenges and learnings on my path to career and lifestyle fulfillment. This included early career burnout, career pivots, severe values misalignment, and the transition to a fully remote career and lifestyle.
My career started when a college summer internship at a Big 4 accounting firm in San Francisco evolved into a full-time role as an auditor fresh out of college. However, after passing three of the four CPA exams and missing the fourth by just three points (!!!), I hit rock bottom. The demanding workload, long hours, and stress from studying and the CPA exam led to severe burnout. It forced me to evaluate with a coach if this was even the path I wanted, which is when I first tapped into traveling my own path versus the script I felt society was writing for me. This led to my first major career transition into HR, recruiting, and project management roles within Silicon Valley’s tech space.
The demanding workload, long hours, and stress from studying and the CPA exam led to severe burnout.
See the next question for where this led...
One day you decided to do things differently, on your terms. Could you please share a bit more about your journey?
After transitioning into HR, I was much happier and more aligned in my career but it still felt like there was something missing. I reached a point where I felt bored and stagnant and knew something needed to change, but I wasn’t sure what. I kept trying to find it through the next course, certification, or promotion… with no luck.
UNTIL.. one weekend, two random yet synchronistic conversations with friends about travel sparked an AHA moment. An extended trip abroad had been drawing me, but fear had been keeping me from booking a ticket or making moves. These conversations inspired me to put my things into storage, leave my stable tech job, and take a one-way ticket to Guatemala. What started as a one-month adventure turned into three months of life-changing, transformative travel through Central America.
I returned to the US and tried to settle into a new role in a new city (San Diego), but I couldn’t shake the travel itch. The journey of ‘on my terms’ continued as I boldly pursued a role in Latin America to move abroad and experience full immersion. This led me to secure an aligned HR tech job in Buenos Aires in 2018. Craving more freedom and flexibility to explore the beautiful continent of South America, I transitioned to fully remote work in 2019, leaving behind the traditional 9-5 office job. During this period, I also began my coaching certification and started working with a US-based coaching company as a life and career coach. These experiences ultimately evolved into my current heart-aligned coaching business, where I help others find deeper fulfillment in their careers and lifestyles, often supporting them to experience it through the beauty of remote work.
Craving more freedom and flexibility to explore the beautiful continent of South America, I transitioned to fully remote work in 2019, leaving behind the traditional 9-5 office job.
What are the pro’s and con’s about a remote lifestyle?
As I always tell my clients, everything has tradeoffs. This is also true for a remote lifestyle. However, it is such a beautiful and rewarding way of living. There is so much growth and fulfillment that comes from travel, adventure, immersion, and/or living abroad.
Pros:
Freedom
Flexibility
Travel and exploration across different cultures and countries
Broadening your mindset
Building a global community
Cost savings (depending on location and how you live)
Living and learning from diverse places and environments
The ability to design your life and lifestyle globally
Cons:
Difficulty grounding if you’re traveling frequently
Lack of consistent routine if you’re often on the move
Being far from close family and loved ones
Potential feelings of isolation or loneliness as you settle in new environments
Navigating challenges that can arise related to housing, visas, internet, etc.
You currently reside in Buenos Aires as a slowmad, what do you value most being there?
Buenos Aires is where I first moved abroad, spending two years living here as an expat before fully embracing a remote lifestyle. My time in this city was a catalyst for my personal growth, remote journey and the business I have today, making it an especially meaningful place. It truly feels like home to me.
What I value most about being here is cultural immersion and connection. I love growing and deepening my fluency in the language, local culture, the city’s vibrancy, embracing Latin dances, and building community. Aligned with these values, I started a monthly event here to connect foreigners and locals, facilitating cross-cultural awareness and perspective sharing.
There is SO much I appreciate about being here, but above all, it’s the learning, growth, and deep cultural immersion that originally drew me to Buenos Aires and continues to be a primary reason that I love living in this city and country.
My time in this city was a catalyst for my personal growth, remote journey and the business I have today, making it an especially meaningful place.
What does alignment mean for you? And how can one navigate to find it?
Alignment is challenging to define in a single sentence because it holds many meanings and takes various forms. For me, alignment means living in a state of flow. It involves following my intuition, speaking my truth, living my purpose, and creating meaningful impact. These aspects contribute to a deep sense of flow and alignment in my life.
It's a journey to finding alignment and can look unique to each individual. Alignment can apply to so many areas of our life - career, relationships, lifestyle choices, etc. The foundation is deep self-knowledge, which involves understanding your core values, passions, and what truly motivates you.
As a coach, I'm passionate about guiding clients through this process of self-discovery. Together, we explore what alignment looks like for them personally, and then work to curate a career and lifestyle that reflects and supports their authentic selves.
The foundation is deep self-knowledge, which involves understanding your core values, passions, and what truly motivates you.
Could you tell us a bit more about what it means to be a career fulfillment and lifestyle coach? What does your day look like from start to spark?
As a career fulfillment and lifestyle coach, I’m grateful to wake up inspired, knowing each day brings something new as my clients navigate their unique journeys to deeper fulfillment. In my previous corporate and tech roles, I often felt bored and restless for the next phase of growth, but my current work provides constant challenges, growth, and meaningful impact in the lives of my clients. This deeply fulfills me.
My day typically starts with dedicated "me time" - meditation, journaling, reflection, intention setting, and looking at the day ahead. While not always perfect, this practice significantly impacts my workday by allowing me to pour into myself first, allowing me to best support my clients.
I structure my workday using time blocks, balancing deep work, client sessions, and breaks for activities like getting sunshine, co-working with a friend, or taking a dance class. As an advocate for slow and intentional living, I design my days for balance, since I didn't choose this lifestyle for hustle or burnout!
This career allows me to find deep meaning and impact in my work while constantly pursuing learning and growth - aspects I deeply value.
What has been your biggest learning whilst coaching others to find fulfillment in life?
My biggest learning has been that there is no single definition of fulfillment. Both through my coaching and travel experiences, I’ve learned that there are so many beautiful, unique versions of fulfillment in this world. People find happiness in remarkably diverse ways. This realization has ignited my passion for helping others to connect with their intuition and uncover their own version and definition of fulfillment. My role is to guide them as they navigate their unique journey to a life of greater meaning and happiness.
Follow your curiosities—they’ll never lead you astray. ✨✨
What is the most inspiring story about persistence you have ever witnessed?
It’s tough to choose one story! I read a book before moving abroad and starting to build my own dreams that was filled with inspiring stories of persistence. This fueled my drive and resilience during a challenging and pivotal time in my life.
One inspiring story that stands out is that of female entrepreneur and founder of Spanx, Sarah Blakely. I read in an article that her father would have failure-sharing sessions at the dinner table. He believed celebrating failure would motivate his children to try new things and explore new options- I love that approach. She worked as a door-door fax salesperson, spent years building her product while working a 9-5, and received countless rejections before achieving success. She always kept pursuing her vision and built a billion-dollar company with no background in fashion, or retail. It’s a truly inspiring story of the power of persistence, believing in a vision, and not giving up.
What I learned from these stories is the power of relentless persistence, and that true success often comes not from avoiding failure, but from embracing it as a series of learning opportunities on the journey to success. These stories have also altered my perspective on the word “impossible.”
I've carried these lessons with me throughout my journey, and often share them with my clients. The most inspiring stories of persistence are those where individuals face repeated challenges, yet continue to push forward, adapting and growing until they achieve their goals and dreams.
In my work and life, I've come to believe that this kind of resilience is not just inspiring - it's transformative. It builds character, and turns dreams into reality.
What I learned from these stories is the power of relentless persistence, and that true success often comes not from avoiding failure, but from embracing it as a series of learning opportunities on the journey to success.
What do you believe the best traits in a human can be, and how does travel contribute to this?
I believe the best traits are an open mind and genuine curiosity. These qualities allow for continuous learning, personal growth, and expansion.
Travel is a amazing catalyst for developing and deepening these traits. It exposes us to diverse cultures, perspectives, and ways of life, challenging our preconceptions and expanding our understanding of the world. We are able to approach life with a greater sense of wonder, nurturing our curiosity and opening our minds to other perspectives and realities in the world.
What have been your biggest lessons when it comes down to redefining success and boundary setting?
My biggest learning about redefining success is that our definition of success isn’t fixed or rigid. It's so important not only to define success but to regularly reassess and revise our definition as we grow and evolve in our career and life journey.
As for boundary setting, I've learned it's a skill that requires continuous practice– what I like to call flexing the muscle. It involves overcoming people-pleasing tendencies, honoring our needs, and becoming comfortable with saying 'no' as a complete sentence. While challenging, consistently exercising this 'muscle' is truly life-changing.
Can you share a memorable success story of a client who transitioned to remote work with your guidance?
One particularly memorable success story involves a client who fully embraced both the work and lifestyle shift. This client planned to relocate from the US to the EU and adopt a digital nomad/remote lifestyle. Throughout our coaching sessions, I supported her journey toward deeper clarity and purpose in her work and lifestyle.
I had the opportunity to also meet her in person when I visited San Francisco for the holidays, bringing our virtual connection to real life! Since then, I've had the privilege of following her beautiful adventures across Europe, watching not just her travels, but also personal and professional growth.
Stories like hers are why I'm so grateful for my work. It's not just about supporting clients to uncover deeper fulfillment in their work and lives during our sessions. My joy and fulfillment come from witnessing their journeys continue to unfold after our work together and hear updates on their growth.
Her story is a powerful testament to the potential for growth and fulfillment that can be unlocked when we courageously pursue what ignites passion and purpose in our work and lives.
Hold the vision and practice resilience. Remote job searching isn’t your standard job search, but with passion, dedication, and resilience, it will pay off in the long run.
What are some common misconceptions about remote work that you often encounter?
A few of the common misconceptions I hear are the classic 'laptops by the beach,' 'they never actually work,' and 'it’s lonely.' While some remote workers may choose to work by the beach, I tend to opt out—sun blocking my screen and sand in the keyboard isn’t ideal. I love working in a space with a view of the beach, though! All jokes aside, remote work is much more than these stereotypes. It’s about the freedom and flexibility to design work environments to how an individual best thrives. While someone might work by the beach, that’s just one small part of the picture. Remote work allows for so much more opportunity for individuals to design work environments beyond that (ie. accommodating disabilities, optimizing for focus and productivity, mixing work with travel, or finding inspirational settings that fuel creativity)
For some, remote work could feel lonely if they don’t take advantage of the flexibility to diversify their environment by working in places like coffee shops or coworking spaces. As for the misconception that remote workers 'never work,' I’ve been far more productive and efficient since going fully remote. Based on my personality, I thrive in this setting, enjoying the balance between independence and working from shared spaces when I choose. Of course, this is unique to each individual!
I also believe remote work isn’t for everyone—it requires a specific skill set and toolkit to truly thrive. Ultimately, remote work allows us to design our environments to fit our needs, but when it’s not done intentionally, it can lead to challenges.
As for the misconception that remote workers 'never work,' I’ve been far more productive and efficient since going fully remote.
How do you see the future of remote work evolving, especially post-pandemic?
I closely follow updates and trends in the remote job market through various news sources, one of my favorites being the Flex Index, which shares insights in its monthly State of Flex webinar. I see hybrid work becoming the most common model, with remote work continuing to grow. I believe flexible working arrangements —hybrid and fully remote—will continue gaining momentum over the next few years as resources improve, and companies adjust and refine best practices to support this way of working for their organizations and employees.
What role does mental health play in a remote working lifestyle, and how do you address it with your clients?
Mental health plays a critical role in a remote working lifestyle, especially when constantly moving and adapting to new environments while balancing work. It takes extra effort to stay grounded, feel secure, build community, and maintain balance. The challenges can range from feelings of loneliness to burnout to difficulty establishing a routine. When working with clients, I first focus on identifying the root of their challenges, then provide tools and strategies to support them. This can include grounding practices, time-blocking techniques to balance work and travel, strategies for finding aligned community in new destinations and environments, etc.
When working with clients, I first focus on identifying the root of their challenges, then provide tools and strategies to support them.
What advice would you give to someone who is hesitant about making the leap to remote work? Or the other way around, which is something we currently started to experience too.
I’m all about using experimentation to figure out if something is right for you.
If someone is considering remote work but isn’t sure if it’s the right fit, I’d suggest starting with freelancing or shorter-term contracts. This allows them to experience the remote work model without committing to it in the long term. If someone is already in a full-time in-office role and debating whether to switch to remote work, I recommend freelancing to get a taste of remote work.
Additionally, researching and conducting informational interviews with current remote workers can provide valuable insights and help to answer any questions they may have. This can clarify whether remote work is a model they want to pursue.
For those hesitant about diving into the remote lifestyle, I also suggest taking an experimental approach. Rather than making an immediate leap into becoming a digital nomad, start with a shorter trial period of working remotely from a new destination abroad—potentially two weeks to a month— test out the lifestyle and see if it suits you.
What tools or resources do you find indispensable for remote work and why?
My personal favorite remote tools include: Zoom (for virtual meetings and client sessions), GSuite (Google Docs, Sheets, etc., for real-time and asynchronous collaboration), Krisp (to cancel background noise during calls), Notion (for organizing projects and documents), Monday.com, Trello, and Asana (for efficient project management, tracking tasks, and collaboration), Figma (for collaborative design), and Slack (for communication). I love how the remote work stack continues to grow and evolve.
You are the number one influencer on LinkedIn when it comes to sharing resources about remote job opportunities!
Discover the best remote career opportunities and tips from Kristin here:
I’m constantly updating and improving my list, and here’s the most recent version!
Remote job boards (w/ premium paid and subscription-tiered plans)
Remote job boards and aggregators (completely free)
Niche remote job boards
Upstack (remote developers)
JS Remotely (remove javascript jobs)
Remote based on region
➡️ Job boards with remote options:
Tech
-Dice
Social good
-Impact Source
General
Make sure to give Kristin Vierra a thank you, follow & support!!
Thank you for your always positive energy while bringing so much value to others.
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Want to schedule a call with Kristin and dive deep?
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