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He suggests focusing on team socialization through virtual communication. Erin Mohideen, People and Culture Lead at Inspirant Group emphasizes relationship building as one of the key ways to build a positive remote employee experience. Furthermore, Rachel emphasizes the https://remotemode.net/blog/how-to-describe-your-experience-working-remotely/ importance of mental and wellness plans when building a positive remote employee experience. James Rice, Head of SEO at Picked emphasizes the importance of consistent work-related and “watercooler” communication when building a positive remote employee experience.
Distractions, technical problems, engagement, motivation and productivity are some common pitfalls of remote work. You probably already know the dreaded interview question, “What’s your greatest weakness? But never ever mention what you hate about office work — annoying coworkers, office politics, cubicle dwelling, daily commutes, fluorescent lighting, etc. This just makes it seem like you’re looking for an escape rather than a new opportunity. The more you can demonstrate you’ve got what it takes to work remotely, the better. On average, you’ll be up against four to six other professionals once you make it to the interview round of hiring.
How do you handle your calendar and schedule? What apps/systems do you use?
“Remote work—whether temporary or permanent—requires a different skill set and type of experience than in-office jobs,” says Neal Taparia, founder of Unscrambled Words, a startup with a primarily distributed team. So while the remote jobs you’re pursuing may be very similar to in-office roles you’ve had in the past, working from home requires a different work style. Another option is to separate virtual jobs into their own “Remote Work Experience” section. Directly seeing a list of other companies that have trusted you to telecommute builds a hiring manager’s confidence. Just be sure you don’t distract from your best qualifications by inadvertently hiding some relevant non-remote experience in a lower section. When hiring remote candidates, phone and video interviews will be your primary communication channels.
- With that in mind, here are ten questions you’ll probably be asked when you interview for a remote opportunity—plus advice on how to respond and sample answers.
- Creative answers are common, so asking follow up questions can give more insight into their title choice.
- It’s also easy to get sucked into doing just one load of laundry when you know your boss isn’t going to walk by and ask you why you haven’t turned that report in yet.
- Expensify, that has both in-office and remote workers, organizes a month-long offsite trip every year.
- An interviewer can learn a lot about your environment from what they can see via video.
This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with tech, which is so important for a remote worker because you simply have to use tech to work remotely. And it also shows some of your personality and outside interests, which is one way a company can gauge how you’ll fit into a team. Remote teams can be made up of people working different shifts and all around the world so you won’t necessarily be stuck in the 9-to-5 if that’s not your thing. And remote jobs are often flexible as far as day-to-day routines are concerned.
Example Answer #2
Make yourself seem like the perfect hire that you obviously are by coming up with smart answers to common remote job interview questions. While offices are distracting at times, they can also provide peer pressure to work as you can physically see your coworkers. While it’s a myth that remote workers aren’t productive, hiring managers still want assurance that you’ll be working. If your favorite part of your job is interacting with people and hosting in-person events, and your least favorite parts are working heads down, the interviewer may decide that you’re not a good fit for a remote role.
Don’t get me wrong – jobs like those have done their part in making it possible for more of us to earn a living without driving to a traditional office every day. But you can expect to encounter some of the above questions or similar variations. Companies want to make sure they hire someone who will thrive as a remote worker and fit in with the current remote-friendly culture. Perhaps you live in a rural area where job opportunities are limited.
Preparation is Key
Spending a few minutes on chitchat and connecting on a personal level will go a long way with staff members, and will also provide them with a place to share virtual water-cooler chat about whatever is on their mind. To take that even further, schedule time for fun and games — literally. Jamie Jacobs, HR expert and Co-Founder of Gig Talent, stresses the immense significance of effective communication and listening in the process of creating a healthy remote employee experience. Remote employee experience essentially refers to the overall experience a remote employee undergoes while working at a particular remote organization. It encompasses a complete set of factors that make up the experience — from remote work tools and communication policies to building team connections and facilitating wellness programs. When you’re part of a distributed team, you’re pretty likely to run into situations where you don’t feel 100% clear about what you’ve been tasked with.
Without the constant distractions of an office, I am able to stay focused on my work and complete tasks quickly and effectively. Fully remote companies have committed to permanent remote work and do not or no longer have physical offices. Abi is one of the co-founders of Himalayas where he focuses on product and growth. In his spare time, he runs a YouTube channel, podcast, and blog focused on strategy and management.
What types of remote or distributed team tools and software have you used and how did you leverage them?
And with remote workers (like Sondra and Jeremy Orozco on the oDesk blog) adopting titles like “digital nomad,” it’s clear that remote work doesn’t just mean clocking in from your home office. Remote workers travel the world, set their own hours, and rarely feel tied to a cubicle. When you have answers prepared you come across as an honest and realistic aspiring remote worker. If you’re looking for a remote job, eventually you will have a remote job interview. And, while interviews in general are a little daunting, it can be more intimidating to interview virtually — especially if it’s your first remote interview.
This question puts into perspective the candidate’s interest in working. You can see if they’re motivated to build for the long term and can plan for a long term goal. This will also give you an idea of what they’re looking to get out of their career. You can then talk about steps they would need to take along the way to achieve those goals. If they’re able to confidently answer and provide concrete goals, they have a good long term vision that aligns with the companies success.
Miscommunication happens, so hiring an employee who can fix it when it occurs is essential. Others have been laid off or were already unemployed, struggling to find work in a struggling economy. If you land the interview, you need to be prepared to answer questions you didn’t think you would have to answer before, but are of crucial importance to today’s interviewing process.