Ask HN: What worries you when selecting a remote worker?

[fcanela]

In order to increase my chances to get my ideal remote job I am trying to anticipate and solve the common concerns the employer may have. I have listed some like "Is the timezone compatible?", "Does this person have a history of working remotely successfully?". Which others concerns/screeners am I missing?

[byoung2]

I just went through a remote-only job search and the most common question was "have you worked remotely before?" (I have, for the past 3 years). Know the challenges of working remote (schedule, communication, distractions, etc.) and how to address them. Get familiar with the various videoconference apps (gotomeeting, zoom, hangouts, etc.) and have them installed and tested before any interviews. It makes you look more experienced if you can say "sure let's jump on a zoom/gtm right now" versus "hang on I don't have the plugin installed".

Another thing to be aware of is that there are different kinds of remote jobs. One is a central office with a few remote workers, and the other is a distributed team. The first kind will ask you things like what hours can you overlap with the office and if you're nearby, can you come to the office occasionally. I avoided these companies. The second kind is where everyone is remote. These have more flexible hours generally, especially if the team is international.

[fcanela]

Thanks for your answer, byoung2. I have been working remotely a similar number of years so I hope I can sort that filter.

Thanks too for the tip as I have not considered it. I did not know about gotomeeting. I am going to install and test after I click the reply button.

I share the "being a remote-first company" screener too and I expect to dodge that "bullet" :). I have the concept of what kind of company I want to join very clear... what really worries me is passing their filters. I have no problem with the initial screening in my country... but this is the first time that I face global competition!

[cimmanom]

Good at working independently and managing their own time.

Excellent communication skills, especially via text-based media.

Proactive about communicating status, progress, and blockers; and about reaching out when they need clarification on goals and requirements.

Takes ownership of a project instead of acting as a contractor who requires a detailed spec and will implement it without thinking it through.

Easy to get hold of and diligent about indicating when they won’t be available.

Able to collaborate effectively without physical proximity.

For overseas workers there are also concerns about language barriers and cultural barriers.

Edited to add: these qualities are also important in people who work face to face in an office. But people who are in-office, if they’re missing a couple of these qualities, can be still be highly effective with a bit more supervision. Remotely, any one of them can spiral into a major problem much more quickly.

[fcanela]

Thanks, cimmanom, this list is definitely helpful. I noticed that you mentioned communication twice! I will work harder on improving my communication skills meanwhile.

[anotheryou]

Do you think being "under german law" complicates things? Workers rights and social taxes are both quite strong here and I think a foreign company has to obey these terms to hire me when I live here (right?).

(btw: I'm looking for a remote product manager job, maybe someone of you knows something)

[seekingcharlie]

They only have to “obey” if you are an actual employee. In my experience, it is more likely that you will be a contractor and need to be self-employed in Germany and pay your own taxes.

I’m an Australian living in Germany and working for US companies for 6 years.

[muratk]

When we hire I am worried about these things, in no particular order:

1) Can't communicate.

Particularly in written form. Should be easy to show/confirm, but still.

Why it matters? In an office I can walk over and communication will be much easier. We do video calls instantly—but located together you can still compensate for a bigger gap.

What you can do: Make it a point to communicate well (precisely, concisely, verifying your assumptions).

2) Ego

Not open to feedback. Or assuming that other are evil, or stupid or both. Or not interest in changing. It takes many forms, but at the heart it destroys communication and improvement. Let's say I give feedback, calmly and fact-based, add some humor, really work hard and show it that I mean no evil—and the other person gets all emotional and then jumps of the call and doesn't react anymore. Or, a colleague writes a mail, which could be read as sarcastic (or not), and someone else jumps at it.

Why it matters? When located together, there is no running away. (Technically there is, but then it's quite bad.) You also bump into each other, which helps in casually addressing things. When remote, communication is never happening by accident, only intentional. Again, when co-located the wiggle room for immaturity is bigger.

What you can do: depends on your ego ;)

3) No drive / ownership / bias to action

Why it matters? No social pressure from office mates to keep you going during the day. If you're going to surf FB half the day at home, you're quite free to do so. You're also not going to get anything done.

What you can do: First, know yourself. If it's a problem, first make it a point to find the /times/ when you're super productive and protect them against everyone and everything. Second, prioritization, goal setting, read up. Third, if you need social pressure, that's fine—but then it's your job to get it. For example, make it a point to grab a work buddy for a few afternoons.

4) Can't get organized

Things get overwhelming, your own life, work todos. And _then_ there is a stressful day. Some people then turn into headless chicken.

Why it matters? When remote it's both harder for me (as team lead) to notice a headless chicken—some people are very good at maintaining an “all's alright” image—and even when I do it's way harder to reassure someone.

You'll be aware how you fare on those topics after a while—that's why employers prefer experience. To be sure, the above concerns can be addressed with talking, and that's simply harder remote—or more precisely most people are not yet used to or skilled at communicating remotely. An eagerness to communicate, particularly for problems will help you make a success out of your remote work.

Here's not a worry, but might be something to consider for you: For a professional first impression and only _IF_ you're not used to doing video calls I'd recommend you becoming aware of how you are perceived over video. Do a call with someone elsewhere and have them record it.

* Audio: Is your hamster wheel in the background being picked up—you never thought that would be a problem? Is the street way louder than you thought, your microphone much less crisp than advertised?

* Video: Where is the camera? (Are people staring up your nose?) What are your video habits? (Is your face constantly disappearing?)

Long blah blah—but I hope it helps you. Let me know in the remote case (pun intended) that you have any questions. Good luck, have fun! :)

edit: formatting