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It is a challenging time to find a great job, especially if you want to work remotely or competitively apply for hybrid positions. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests job seekers apply for between 21 and 80 jobs to land an offer. That number may be even higher for remote roles because the lack of geographical restrictions can broaden the talent pool.
When competing for remote or hybrid jobs, you must show that you have the specific knowledge and experience required for the job, plus the ability to collaborate and communicate while working remotely and manage engagement with other remote team members. It can be challenging to demonstrate to employers that you have this skill set if you have not previously worked remotely.
Today we will look at how to demonstrate that you are a remote-ready hire by preparing for common remote-related interview questions and knowing what questions you should ask at an interview for a remote job. But first, you may be able to “pre-prove” your remote working credentials with a remote worker assessment.
ETS Anywherepro Assessment
ETS and Localized are among the first companies to try to find standardized ways to verify that potential employees have the skills required to work remotely. ETS experts and Localized’s behavioral scientist-in-residence have come together to create an online assessment that tests whether individuals have the necessary qualities to successfully work remotely.
An employer could direct you to take the test as part of the application assessment process, or you can elect to take the ETS Anywherepro Assessment yourself to include in your resume. When you successfully pass the test, which currently costs US$29.99, you also receive a badge that can be used on LinkedIn and Localized to help you stand out to potential employers.
According to the program, the skills assessed include remote meeting etiquette, work-life balance, mentorship and feedback, coordination and collaboration, and cross-functional relationships. The assessment uses multiple-choice scenario-based questions to come up with an overall grade. You will also receive feedback on areas for improvement when completing the test.
Only time will tell if this test and others like it become the standard for verifying remote credentials for potential talent.
Interview Questions for Remote Employees
In the meantime, what questions can talent competing for remote roles expect to encounter when applying for jobs? According to HR experts, these are some of the key questions that employers should be asking.
Don’t forget to read our article on what you need on your resume to find a remote job.
What is your experience with remote work?
This seems an obvious question, since if you can show that you have worked remotely before and successfully engaged in team dynamics, impressed customers, and managed your workload to meet deadlines, the chances are that you can replicate that success in a new role.
For younger professionals without experience, explaining how you managed your time while studying or how you collaborated in the workplace or elsewhere during the pandemic can help fill gaps in experience.
In interview, this question is also an opportunity for candidates to ask about how the business manages collaboration for remote teams and the expectations that they have for employees when they are working remotely.
How do you organize your work and manage your time?
For many employers, how an individual manages their time and organizes their workload to ensure that everything is completed on time and that time is used efficiently is of paramount importance. Providing specific strategies can often help employers understand a candidate’s suitability for a remote position.
Areas to cover should include how you prioritize tasks based on deadlines, importance, and the type of work. Techniques such as time blocking for deep work and grouping similar tasks are effective strategies.
An employer may also want to know how you minimize distractions while working remotely and draw clear lines between work hours and other activities when you aren’t in the office. Showing that you have thought about these challenges and have effective strategies you can use will reassure employers of your suitability for a remote position.
What are the most important traits of a successful remote employee?
Hiring managers will try to understand what you think the biggest challenges for remote workers are with questions like this one. It will also help them to understand if your vision of how a remote team works aligns with their own. Your answers should focus on time management, concise communication, and effective collaboration. Employers are often preoccupied with how workers will collaborate, innovate, and build relationships without the benefit of regular in-person engagement.
What does a good remote communication strategy look like for you?
Your potential new boss will want to understand your preferred communication approach when working remotely, especially when you will potentially be managing other remote employees or distributed teams.
A good answer often focuses on how you ensure that everyone on the team can receive the information they need in a timely manner without excessive time-wasting meetings. They will also want to know how regular mentoring and feedback are sought or provided outside of scheduled performance reviews. Insights into how you develop personal connections alongside business communications are also often a high priority.
How do you motivate yourself to stay focused?
If an employer trusts you to self-motivate, manage your own time, and also check in on your own progress, they will be interested to know how you do this on the rough days. This is your opportunity to explain how you create a focused workspace and tune out potential distractions, how you monitor your own time, and how you determine if you are working effectively. Time management apps that help you assess your time usage are often useful tools.
How do you maintain a work-life balance?
Does an employer really care about how you manage your personal life as long as the job gets done? The good ones do. It is now accepted that overwork and a negative work-life balance result in burnout, which can cost companies money in terms of productivity and morale. Employers are keen to know how you switch off at the end of a challenging day and how you manage to find time and space to completely switch off from work and recover so you can give your best when you are on the clock.
Questions to Ask a Remote Employer
If you are applying for a remote job, there are several key questions that you should be asking a potential employer at an interview. These questions can help show potential employers that you have fully considered the implications and challenges of a remote position, and help you determine whether that company’s remote work environment is a good fit for you.
What hours are remote employees expected to keep?
As a remote employee, will you be expected to keep traditional office hours, or do you have flexibility in planning your schedule as long as the hours are covered or the work gets done? Even when there is significant flexibility, many businesses will have core “online hours” when most meetings happen and colleagues expect to be able to communicate with one another.
Is the team fully distributed or hybrid?
While you may be working remotely, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the team is fully remote. Your experience can be quite different depending on whether you are part of a fully remote team, or you are a remote worker contributing to a team that is mostly housed together and has regular in-person interactions.
How does the team communicate?
It may feel like picking over the details to ask exactly what platforms are used for communication, though being able to show your familiarity with preferred platforms can be a bonus. This question should be more about getting an overall feel for communication approaches. How regular are team meetings and check-ins with your manager? Are you expected to be available online via collaborative tools like Slack most of the day? Does the company have strategies for asynchronous communication for team members in other time zones or with different work schedules.
What type of regular social events does the team have?
This kind of question shows that you are a team player and that you are interested in building a relationship with your coworkers, even at a distance. This can also help you understand the company’s expectations, as some businesses hire remote workers but still have the expectation for you to appear physically a couple of times a year, which can be challenging depending on your geographic location.
What opportunities are there for growth in the role?
This is a question that everyone should be asking whether a position is remote or not. However, it is highly important to ask for remote roles, as some companies have specifically stated that they have limited promotion opportunities for remote workers. You want to make sure the role you are applying for today can take you to where you want to be in your future career.
Preparing for Remote Work
As remote work becomes more common, being able to show potential employers that you have the skills and experience to work remotely and as part of a distributed team is essential. This is something that job seekers should be thinking about and preparing for.
