Ways to Position Yourself as a Great Remote Candidate
Remote work isn’t a new concept. People in all kinds of professions have been doing it for an extensive period of time. However, with the ongoing state of the Coronavirus pandemic in the US, most companies are looking at hiring remote candidates since business operations have largely moved online.
Upwork’s Future Workforce Report, which explored hiring behaviors of over 1,000 hiring managers based in the U.S, predicted that 73% of all teams will have remote workers by 2028. This data clearly points out that remote work is here to stay.
Therefore, if you are someone who is looking for remote work opportunities, there’s going to be no better time to start exploring. With a few simple tips, you can easily position yourself as a great remote candidate:
1) Highlight your Expertise in a Strong Resume
If you want to bag that remote work opportunity, you need to display a few essential qualities that will assure the hiring manager you’re the best fit for the position. One way to rise above the competition is to ensure that your resume is packed with achievements.
Some of the essential attributes hiring managers may be on a look out for in your resume include:
- Communication skills: Candidates who are looking to work remotely, especially for the first time, must include examples of how they are good at communicating with the team to complete the designated tasks in time. Try to think beforehand about how you can go out of your way to skirt any digital misunderstandings and ensure clarity.
- The ability to remain self-motivated: In a remote work environment, where nobody will be physically present to supervise and ensure work gets done, you have to be able to keep yourself self-motivated. Taking the initiative is important. Highlight a bias toward action in both your interview and cover letter.
- Leadership: Even though you’re not going to work from the office, it’s extremely important to be visible at all times and ask for work by yourself. Whether it’s about collaborating with different teams and team members, taking on new projects, or drawing attention into the value your work generates for the business; consider stressing on examples of when you’ve raised your hand in the past to volunteer for an added responsibility – especially if you’ve done so in a remote work environment.
You also need to ensure that your resume is grammatically sound since such errors usually indicate carelessness and a lack of attention to detail on the part of a candidate.
2) Enhance your Virtual Interviewing Skills
Good grades or a distinct past work experience are no longer enough when it comes to nailing an interview. Companies looking at hiring remote candidates may come with their own set of interview questions – ones you might have never heard of before.
Hiring managers may focus on topics that test candidates’ drive to attain optimal results, their ability to collaborate, and remain self-motivated. Virtual interviews can, at times, be very different from face-to-face rounds. Therefore, as a remote candidate, you need to be just as proactive with virtual interviews and work on enhancing your skills there too.
It is also important that remote candidates follow a proper corporate code of conduct and practice basic professional etiquette when appearing for a virtual interview. Looking into small details like these can take you a long way in becoming the ideal candidate for a remote position.
3) Do your Research
The best remote candidates, no matter where they’re located, know the importance of comprehending their potential employer’s brand. Before a virtual interview, always try to read up online as much about the organization as you can.
Prepare for different interview styles. Speak to people who’ve appeared for remote work interviews earlier, if you know of any. Tapping into your network can help provide you with an edge over other candidates.
Do your research, so you’ll leave a better impression on the hiring manager and easily prove why you’d be the best fit for the organization. You need to leave a positive, memorable impression on the interviewer within the few minutes you get to speak with them. So try to be well-informed about the organization and its recent happenings.
4) Always Try to Look Confident in What You Say and Do
Jason Pockrandt, a well-known author and motivational speaker of our generation, once said,” Anything is possible once you believe you are worthy of achieving it.” If this doesn’t resonate with you, nothing will!
Being interviewed for a potential job opening can make you nervous, scared, and even doubtful of your own abilities at times. Being self-confident is a very vital proficiency mandatory to landing any job. You must have to keep belief and confidence in yourself so that the employer can place their trust in you.
Even if you’ve prepped for an interview for hours, it’s common to suddenly feel like you don’t know anything a few minutes before. At any given point in time, you can start panicking about all of the things that you should have researched but didn’t.
When something like this happens, take a deep breath. Remind yourself that you do know stuff, it’s just the nerves talking. Once you settle into the interview and feel more relaxed, you’ll remember that you’re highly prepared.
Lastly, go into the interview with a smile and position yourself in the best possible way, but remember to be your authentic self. If you’re trying too hard to fit into the company’s culture when you don’t, it’ll show. And even if it doesn’t show and you get hired, you’ll have a miserable time once you start working there. Some people just don’t click and if that’s the case with you and your interviewer, don’t stress. Be happy knowing that you gave it your all by being the best version of yourself that you could be.
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Written by Rahul Varshneya, co-founder of Arkenea.
Rahul has been featured as a technology thought leader in numerous media channels such as Bloomberg TV, Forbes, HuffPost, Inc, among others.
