Frame your questions around how the company supports work-life balance for employees. Look for values, employee benefits, or sections that point toward support for interests and needs beyond productivity. Any or all of these might mention the company’s support—or lack of it—for remote and flexible work.
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. Think of fun things you could do with your team over video conferences, like trivia contests, virtual happy hours, or simply taking a little time during meetings to chit chat about life. To help you assemble a well-stocked, organized toolbox, here’s a comprehensive list of tools for remote teams (and one for remote software developers). To land your dream position, you need to show that you are capable of being productive and committed to being remote permanently.
Do You Have Any Questions for Me?
Another way to discuss your experience working with remote teams is to highlight the relevant skills that you have developed or improved. These could include communication, collaboration, adaptability, cultural awareness, self-management, and problem-solving. For each skill, explain how you applied it in a remote context, and how it helped you overcome any challenges or achieve any goals. For example, you could explain how you used different communication tools and styles to suit the preferences and needs of your remote team members, and how it improved your rapport and trust.
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. Employers need to know that you can manage and remediate conflict with remote coworkers. Disagreements and misunderstandings are inevitable when working remotely, so knowing how to defuse a situation is an incredibly important skill for any remote worker. 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.
Start by Assessing the Company Culture
When answering this question you want to avoid mentioning you like the idea of sitting in pajamas all day. Explain that it’s the organization and opportunity that excites and interests you the most, the remote aspect is just a plus. You can talk about why remote work is your preference; no commute, flexible schedule, easier to care for the family, or maybe you just perform your job better working from home. Be sure to reiterate that your reasons why you like working remotely focus on the company and the job itself. With those answers, you can better understand how intentional the company is in creating a healthy workplace.
Maybe you’re more productive at home, where there are fewer distractions. Perhaps you live in a rural area where there aren’t many opportunities in your field, or you have to commute a long distance to get to them. Or, maybe it’s not the idea of working remotely that appeals to you—it’s the idea of working for that particular company that excites you. If you are a relative newcomer to the world of remote work, you might be wondering what types of work-from-home interview questions to expect. When you answer this, let the company know what remote working superpowers you’ll be wielding, or what amazing experience you have that will make you EXACTLY the person they need on their team.
Answering “Why Do You Want to Work Remotely?”
“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 work from home experience 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. When discussing your skills, look at how they particularly fit into the remote environment.
