An employee may be a great fit for the job position you’re offering, but not remotely. Tailor these remote interview questions to ensure they’re a good fit for both. An ideal remote employee knows how to work autonomously without being reclusive.
When hiring an in-office employee, you must assess their personality type to ensure they’ll be pleasant to be around, fit in with the team, and bring new ideas. However, when hiring remote employees, a few of the most essential characteristics you want to look for include:
- Organization
- Flexibility
- Reliability
- Initiative and independence
- Communication
- Ability to solve problems
A study by SHRM shows that hiring an employee costs $4,700 on average but is likely much higher. Firing an employee is a whole other headache and financial burden.
By asking the proper remote interview questions and having a great onboarding process, you’ll be able to avoid the seemingly constant cycle of hiring and firing that many companies have trouble escaping.
1. Have you worked remotely in the past?
According to the Census Bureau, approximately 27.6 million people worked remotely in 2021. Instead of continuing after a quick “yes” or “no” answer, ask them more detailed questions, like “What was the most difficult aspect of working remotely, and what did you most like about it?”
If they have never worked from home, ask why they want to now and what they expect to be easy and difficult.
Aside from measuring their experience, their answer to this question will indicate their understanding of working remotely and the challenges that come along with it. Working from your couch in comfortable clothing isn’t as ideal as it may sound to someone who has never worked from home for an extended period.
2. Did you work in an office previously? What were the pros and cons?
Ask this question to learn more about their personality, especially if this will be their first time working remotely. If they valued the social aspect of working in an office, a remote career may not be ideal for them.
3. How do you deal with the challenges of working from home?
If they don’t think there are any challenges (meaning that they may not have thoroughly thought this through yet), ask more specific questions, like how they handle family or roommates interrupting them, feelings of isolation, time management, and tech issues.
4. What types of distributed teams software or messaging apps are you familiar with?
Remote teams rely on tools such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom, Monday, Asana, etc. to streamline workflow and communication. If the candidate has used multiple tools, ask which one they prefer and why. This will give an insight into how comfortable they feel with these apps and how they prefer to connect.
If they’re not fluent in any of these apps, that’s fine–these things can be learned. Instead, ask them about their preferred communication style.
5. How do you stay engaged with long-distance coworkers?
Remote companies have the same, if not more, company culture as in-office companies. Interacting with your team is a great way to build trust and excitement in the workplace.
They might enjoy virtual chat rooms, reacting with emojis to messages, chatting about non-work related interests in Slack channels, or discussing project ideas with their coworkers.
6. How do you schedule your workday? Where do you prefer to work from?
The answer to this question will show you how prepared they are and how much experience they have with autonomy and remote working. How do they stay motivated and productive throughout the day without the boss’s eyes on them? Do they use a specific time-management technique? Do they work from home or in a co-working space? Do they have a quiet place with a reliable internet connection?
If the position you’re considering them for has specific working hours, you’ll want to ensure they can commit to them, no matter which time zone they’re logging in from.
7. How do you separate work and life when working remotely? Is it easy for you to disconnect?
An experienced remote worker knows the danger of work-from-home burnout. Finding ways to stay on task yet integrate mental health breaks into your day is vital. At the end of the day, it’s essential that the candidate will be able to close their computer, relax, and disconnect from work (despite what Elon Musk and Martha Stewart may say).
8. How do you handle conflicts with co-workers?
Remote conflict can arise without intention. Because remote workers rely heavily on written communication, it’s not uncommon for someone to read and interpret something in a way that wasn’t intended.
Knowing how to handle this, as the “instigator” or the offended, is essential.
9. How can you ensure a project’s success when a team is geographically distributed?
Communication will likely be the main idea of their answer.
You’ll also be able to judge their ability to plan. Take note if they view themselves as a leader who will create timelines or if they expect someone else to organize the group. Will they take the initiative to suggest a weekly call or help coworkers, or do they prefer to work independently on their tasks?
10. Are you adaptable? Would your previous employer agree?
New technologies are constantly emerging in the remote world. An adaptable employee will be open to learning new operating systems. Adaptability is also ideal for working on various projects, working in groups, and being understanding of issues that arise.
Asking if their previous employer would agree helps keep the candidate honest, especially considering you might contact them.
11. What do you do when you are unsure how to approach a task?
The candidate’s answer to this question will show their aptitude to solve problems independently. Depending on the task, they may look at previous examples, re-read the instructions, consult a guidebook, or ask a co-worker.
A remote worker who doesn’t take charge may put the task off, be scared to ask questions, or complete it incorrectly.
12. Are you tech-savvy?
The candidate doesn’t have to be overly tech-savvy unless you offer an IT job. However, as a remote worker, they should know how to troubleshoot minor issues.
Do they have a backup plan if the wifi or electricity goes out? Do they know how to scan documents for viruses before attaching them to an email? Will they properly guard company data?
13. What’s your work style?
The four main work styles are logical, supportive, idea-oriented, and detail-oriented. Work styles aren’t something I would expect each candidate to know on the spot. If you want to ask this question, tell them to research it before your interview. This small pre-interview task is also a great way to ensure they read the entire email and adequately prepared for the interview.
