What qualities do you look for in a remote job?
I'm looking to create a remote job boards with the ability to filter companies by qualities/values.
What's some values you look for looking for a remote job?
Examples:
Meeting style
Pace of work
Perks
Etc.
Hi JJ,
Being a remote worker for more than 6 years now and hiring remote for 8 I can give you some feedback:
These are just some of the things I check.
But basically you would want to look for people that do not seem to just be online, but actually will respond to you in a timely manner if you search for them.
A big part in hiring remote means you have to trust the resources you are hiring, you need to be clear on what you expect from them and what the company uses for work metrics (eg. goal / task oriented)
I also feel that if a person is not self sufficient and always needs someone to assign them work than the whole ecosystem will fall apart eventually, some people are just not hard wired for remote work as they need a manager babysitting them all day.
Thanks for the feedback!
Can you expand on what values you would look for in a company when remote job seeking vs hiring?
The job board would focus on the values remote job seekers find important.
Cheers
I think it's important to check if the management has experience dealing with remote workers. It can be isolating to be the single person working remote, so definitely this would be a plus.
Also what kind of metrics is the business using for evaluating employee performance. Are they looking at:
Is the company used to evaluating remote workers and addressing their needs?
Do they provide both technical and human resources to deal with the different needs a remote worker has? Do they assist the remote worker establish themselves (eg. laptop, co-paying a better internet connection, other devices needed for the job)
Your mileage may vary, but nowadays with more and more people looking for remote opportunities companies should make the effort to be very clear on what do they expect the worker to do and how will they measure it, how will they evaluate success and what can the worker expect as both benefits and needs to be delivered.
Valuable stuff.
Would you mind if I shoot you an email to help me drill this down a bit more? Would be greatly appreciated :)
No problem :) feel free, glad to help a fellow entrepreneur.
I've only worked remotely once and it was for a company that didn't have many other technical remote employees. I had worked for them for a year before I moved across the state and started working remotely. That first year with them was great, but once I was remote I felt like an outsider.
I think part of it was a pretty small company (<150 employees) and almost all of them worked in the same office with the exception of a few sales people and a couple of other technical people that were in different silos than me.
If I work remotely for a company again, I'm going to make sure they've got lots of other remote employees.
Admittedly, I had just gotten married and moved to a new city where my wife and I only knew each other. I am curious about how different my experience would be now.
Interesting. This need for others to be working remotely as well, is that because it was lonley being the only remote worker?
Pretty much, yes. Since I was the only remote worker it felt like I was constantly struggling to remind people I was around during meetings, etc. I feel like it would be better at a highly remote company.
Gotcha. Seems like an important value to have.
Were there other remote related pet peeves you'd like to look out before submitting a resume?
That's the biggest one for me. Everything else lines up with things I'd look for in an on-premise job. Compensation, autonomy, etc.
Right. Thanks!
Good question! I've been working fully remotely for over 10 years now (freelance) and the first thing I look for is the option to choose my own hours, within reason. Of course, it depends on how the client works with their current team, whether or not it is a 100% percent remote company, etc. Also, if I'm leading a team then there's more of a need to be available during office hours.
So, some flexibility with regards to the hours that I need to be available each day is something that really helps me with productivity.
Flexibility with hours. Gonna add to the list! Thanks
Would you you know of any forums where remote workers hang out? Trying to find more qualities people find important.