Remote work, whether temporary or permanent, requires a different skill set and type of experience than in-office jobs. 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.
The job descriptions for remote work can not be the same as those for in-house employees. It has to be as precise as possible while writing a job description. Beyond eligibility and required skills, you have to explain more things concretely including communication requirements, updating tasks, availability, and others or you will find the hired person completing the task in the wrong way. Not defining these is when the independence of a remote worker can backfire on you. Put your ideas clearly to spell your expectations and avoid misunderstandings.
Top 10 Questions to ask in a Remote Hiring Interview
1.Have You Worked Remotely in the Past?
2.Will You Be Able To Stay Motivated Without An In-person Supervisor?
3.What Will You Do If There’s A Time-sensitive Problem With A Project And The Rest Of Your Team Is Offline?
4.How do you keep your team engaged and connected -- and drive team collaboration -- under remote work conditions?
5.Give me an example of a time you had to work collaboratively to deliver on a deadline as part of a distributed project team.
6.What are five things you always have in your workspace and why?
7.What Is Your Approach to Maintaining Effective Communication and Collaboration With a Distributed Team?
8.Why Do You Want To Work Remotely For Our Company?
9.What’s the Key to Making Sure a Project Is Successful When Working Remotely?
10.Tell Me About a Time When You Had to Adapt to Change.
During a remote hiring interview, the number and type of questions the hiring manager asks is approximately the same as an in-office job interview, but they are different in context.
The in-house jobs did not require too much stress on Soft-skills, as HRs and leadership believed that person will imbibe them while being on the premise through osmosis. One of the mistakes HRs make while looking for a remote worker is that they do not even try to imagine what “type of person” they need to hire for remote work, and actually what are the main features of a person who are able to work efficiently at a distance.
Questions to remote workers are aimed at understanding how self-motivated they are, what is their main motivation, and how independent they are. One has to switch on their inner psychologist to feel the subtle difference between the intent to work at home and the intent (escaping from work) to stay at home. It is ideal to enquire about the work environment where they are the most productive, what planning approaches they would advise to cope with the tasks.
