Nate McGuire, one of our co-founders, knows a thing or two about remote working. He’s been running Mayven Studios, a remote-first agency since 2015 and has grown it from freelancer gigs to a million-dollar business that grows each year.
As more and more professionals and companies discover the perks of remote working, especially in a tricky year like 2020, we reached out to him to get some tips and tricks about interviewing or being interviewed for a remote position.
1. When you are hiring, what do you look for in a candidate?
- Written communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Responsiveness and clear communication/boundary setting
- General positive demeanor
2. Is there any particular skill that you think is usually ignored but when looking for a remote position they make all the difference?
Written communication is the most important soft skill needed to succeed in Remote
3. If you’ve never worked remotely, what would you say it’s a great exercise or a great way to “practice” and get into the remote mindset?
- Practice in your current role as we are all remote
- Take a few days a week to work from home, coffee shop, etc
- Ask your current employer to go work from somewhere for a month remotely
4. Be ready to answer questions like:
- Why do you want to work remotely?
- What’s your biggest concern about working remotely?
- How do you organize your day and priorities?
5. What would make you say no to a candidate without thinking twice?
- Slow to respond
- Terse language or poor grammar
- For video calls, a background that isn’t professional
- When you are interviewing a candidate on camera, what do you expect to see in the background?
- Keep it simple! If you don’t have a home office set up already that is professional just find a blank white wall behind you
- Any other feedback that you can provide?
- Keep it short and simple – don’t write a novel when you reply to job postings, save it for the interview
- Make your pitch — don’t think teams will be climbing all over to contact you, as a potential employee you should be making your pitch to the employer about why you are the right fit for the role
After you land your remote-dream-job, take a look at our pro-tips to get an even better routine working from home!
