Darker colors typically work best, whereas bright, bold colors or patterns tend to not translate as well through the computer. Whether your interview is taking place over Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, or another platform, it’s important to make sure you feel comfortable using it. If you need, have your spouse, friend, or family member call you for a test run. Aside from this, I believe the other concerns folks have about remote work can be mitigated, either by customizing your work environment, or finding a company with the right kinds of remote policies for you. If you work for a fully-distributed company, this isn’t a problem, since everyone’s on their own laptop.

• There are other cheap and easy ways to improve your home office, too.
• Whatever you choose, be prepared to lead with a specific example.
• One of the most sought after qualities in a remote worker is that of independence, being able to thrive without face to face interaction.
• Working remotely is not necessarily for everyone and some people find the experience to be very isolating.
• We also look for those who have an extreme focus on customer care and attention and are organized and disciplined.
• If the cover letter or CV are badly worded, your chances to move forward in the hiring process decrease a lot.
• With all the modern comforts of home beckoning our attention, it would be understandable if employers saw a productivity dip in remote workers.

We lean towards candidates that have a good sense of humor, ideally have worked remotely in the past, and have a passion about what they do while enjoying being flexible enough to work remotely. We have a strong bias for people who have proven remote collaboration experience (if not full-time work then even as freelancers, participating in international communities, whatnot). And also we have bias for people who have lived in multiple countries and cities. This way you can at least know they can appreciate basic things like timezones and long-distance communication tricks.

The people most affected by the tech layoffs

Your company might even forget to add you to its online training courses. It can be tempting to regard this as a dodged bullet, but you might be missing out on an opportunity to learn something useful. For those unexpectedly working from home who are also trying to reduce face-to-face contact, set up a video call with your colleagues or manager once a week to check in.

Our dedicated team provides the highest class of service in every country where we operate. That means your employees receive a superior experience, both by the standards of their country and by your standards as a people-first organization. After the onboarding process, Remote continues to ensure your team members feel like full and respected members of your team. We treat your employees with the highest levels of care and respect, no matter where they live, because your people deserve the best. That may be an acceptable bargain for some leaders in some industries.

Leslie Truex, Author, and Founder of a website on remote work

To stay on schedule, segment what you’ll do and when for the day. If you have an online calendar, create personal events and reminders that tell you when to shift gears and start on new tasks. However, surveys found that over two-thirds of employers reported increased productivity among remote workers. The practice began at a small scale in the 1970s, when technology was developed that linked satellite offices to downtown mainframes through dumb terminals using telephone lines as a network bridge. It became more common in the 1990s and 2000s, facilitated by internet technologies such as collaborative software on cloud computing and conference calling via videotelephony. In 2020, workplace hazard controls for COVID-19 catalyzed a rapid transition to remote work for white-collar workers around the world, which largely persisted even after restrictions were lifted.

Even though you’re being asked why you want to work remotely, you can still branch out to mention other aspects that don’t directly deal with working from home. This also happens to be an excellent opportunity to learn more about the company culture so that you can determine whether a prospective employer is going to be the right fit for you. Without the constant distractions of an office, I am able to stay focused on my work and complete tasks quickly and effectively. This question is less about learning if you have the skills necessary for the job, and more about learning if you will do well in this particular work setting. How to see if you’re a fit, and learn about the company and culture.

Remote Job Interview Questions You’ve Got to Be Ready to Answer

Some experience of having worked remotely, or from home before is important. You don’t really know until you’ve done it, if you will be happy. It can take some time to find the right balance working remotely. One of the biggest is a candidate has to describe your experience working remotely have worked remotely before, preferably for at least 2 years. Bonus points for working previously for a completely remote team. If someone has thrived in that environment before, that’s a good sign they can join TaxJar and contribute right away.

While that’s normal, it’s important that you can demonstrate that you know how to self-educate or ask for additional help where needed. When you’re not in the same physical space, you need to be proactive and find the information you need. Similar to appreciating the company’s culture, it’s a good idea to mention how much you believe in the company’s mission. Maybe one of its goals is to always donate a percentage of its profits to a humanitarian cause. Spend time before the interview researching the company thoroughly, and then use that information to highlight why you’re excited to work for them.

— Mention the Company’s Culture

Prior remote work experience certainly helps, but it’s sometimes just the way a candidate describes what they’re looking for, or what they liked or disliked about a past experience that tips you off. Emotional maturity, strong written communication skills, time management, self-direction, appreciation of animated gifs and virtual high-fives. Before remote, we could sit a newbie down with an expert and have them learn as much as possible.

These are three skills that are absolutely necessary among any distributed team member. Most of our communication happens over chat so we look critically at their ability to explain complicated things clearly in writing. Also, if they have not worked remotely before, I pay careful attention to the questions they have about remote work. Yes; there are some traits we look for in remotees that are even more important in remote employees. We are looking for people who can work independently as we are not micromanaging people.