Knowing I have that time with my family allows me to be much more productive because I am not worrying whether or not they forgot their lunch or arrived home safely. Some people thrive when telecommuting (or working remotely, as it’s also called), while others don’t. If you thrive in this kind of work environment then you need to get that message across. Employers need to ask these questions to make sure you can be productive in an unstructured work environment void of any direct supervision. Don’t be afraid to talk about all the tools and strategies you use to keep track of what you need to do, decide what takes precedence, plan how and when you’ll get it done, and follow through.

By paying attention to both the content and delivery of the answer, interviewers glean valuable insights into the candidate’s professionalism, priorities, and suitability for the role. For candidates, this question is a golden opportunity to set a positive tone for the rest of the interview by presenting a concise, relevant, and compelling overview of their professional journey. To hire remote workers who will be successful, it’s important to first attract top talent and ask the right questions. Asking the right questions of any applicant gives you insight into who they are as an employee. But asking remote-specific questions will help you figure out if they are the right remote employee for your team. There are right and wrong ways to communicate with a distributed team, and how an applicant got the answer will help you determine if that person understands the difference.

Remote Job Interview Questions and How to Prepare Your Answers

Whether you are a seasoned professional or a fresher stepping into the corporate world, mastering the art of answering this question can indeed give you a head start. Ask how applicants plan to manage their days, take appropriate breaks, and stop working when it’s quitting time. Just as you need them to focus on tasks during their work hours, you also need them to have balanced lives if you want to avoid employee burnout.

That means that you need to take responsibility for your own work and schedules. With much of the world still adjusting to the remote work model, employers want to know how you manage (or plan to manage) it all. Don’t forget to mention how you prioritize tasks and what you do when there are multiple things that need your attention at once. Make sure you explain what steps you take, how you triage things, and that you aren’t afraid to ask for help when you’re in over your head. Many remote Agile teams find that story points are better at measuring the difficulty, risk and uncertainty of a task, resulting in far more accurate estimates than using time or hours. The flexible hours allow me to be there for my kids in the mornings and get them off to school, and also be there for them when they come home.

If you had a problem when the rest of your remote team was offline, how would you go about solving it?

If you haven’t worked remotely before, share comparable experiences like when you worked from home a few days per week or any freelancing experience you have. It’s helpful to understand if asynchronous work is something your candidate is used to and experienced in. Because most communication describe your experience working remotely is done via Slack or video when working remotely, knowing how well candidates communicate virtually is important. In a remote team, you can’t just pop into your boss’s office to ask a question. People might be working from different countries, from completely different timezones.

• If you see people in person, there tends to be natural moments to resolve conflict, while those who work from home need to be more proactive.
• This helps you and them find points that will be challenging and come up with ways to fix it before it starts.
• Read full interview from Interview with Sarah about working remotely from an RV.
• If you have experience working remotely in the past, be prepared to detail when, where, and how you were able to succeed in that role.
• Get an idea of what tools and platforms your candidate is used to using to see if and how they’ve used them in another remote position.

Here’s a running list of every company (and the remote jobs they offer) that has announced that where you work will have no impact on what you are paid. Read through our list of the best questions to ask in an interview but keep in mind that your questions will need to be adapted to the specific company and interviewer. Prepare a few questions in advance as some questions will be covered throughout the interview. It’s easy to feel intimidated by this question but the best thing you can do is focus on your past successes and how they relate to the company and job you’re applying for. Answering this question is much easier if you’ve done your research on the company and the role, so be sure to thoroughly read the job description and company website.

How to Answer “Tell me about yourself” in Interviews

Let them know that you’ve put some effort into how you’ve organized your home office. Give a clear picture of how you will work and why it will be a quiet and productive space. “You have a lot of independence in how you manage your time when working remotely,” https://remotemode.net/ Taparia says. There’s no one sitting next to you to make sure you’re working on this or almost done with that. Ideally, you’ll weave in a few accomplishments and relevant past experience to highlight why you’re a perfect fit for the particular position.