Remote Hiring Guide: How to Ace a Remote Hiring Process?

Virtual job interviews let you apply for positions from the comfort of your home. But that doesn’t eliminate the stress of the interview process, and you still need to prepare before you enter the virtual room. Of course, you also want to determine whether the company is a good fit for you.

Although nearly all managers have participated in online meetings of some sort, not all managers know how to conduct a remote interview. Even if you’re company is accustomed to performing interviews by phone, hiring managers are advised to adopt video conferencing technology when performing remote interviews. Video interviews afford you the perfect opportunity to establish rapport and accurately convey your company’s mission and values to potential hires. And when you’re competing for elite global talent, you must present the best case for your company. Of course, whether the candidate feels at ease during the conversation largely depends on the personality and behavior of the person conducting the job interview.

Build buffers into the interview schedule

In the present business climate, online assessments are more important than ever. When conducted correctly, online assessments enable businesses to quickly narrow down their remote interview process candidate pool. If you’re unable to formally meet candidates in person, it’s pivotal to assess potential hires for the skills and competencies they need in a remote setting.

Another asynchronous interview option — one that’s sometimes only a portion of the process — written assessments ask you for text-based responses. Questions may be multiple choice, short answer, or extended responses that relate to the position you’re applying for. It isn’t a quiz, but it’s a chance to tell a potential employer about you and show your skills and experience through writing. Like a working interview, the goal is to gauge the real work you can do. Although plenty of traditional job-hunting advice holds up, this new context calls interview etiquette into question. You don’t have to worry about your handshake, but you do have to think of Zoom etiquette guidelines.

Do You Have Any Questions for Me?

This means that, at any given moment of the interview process, the candidate should know what the next steps are so that they can prepare. And just as for an in-person interview, the conversation shouldn’t drag on for ages. Instead, recruiters should set a clear timeframe for the interview, usually not longer than 30 to 60 minutes. Hiring managers should be mindful to share practical details about how the remote interview will be conducted, which relieves any uncertainty around the interview process. When you start with your remote hiring process, you need to make sure that the job ad you’re writing explains clearly what the position is about and what are the skills required. Also, explain shortly what your company does and believes (without making an entire testament).

Further, companies must consider how their benefits plans facilitate BIDE. Do leaders set the right example for their teams in taking advantage of their benefits? Employees from traditionally marginalized groups often feel pressure to perform at an outstanding level to be treated as equals. By making BIDE a priority not only in hiring, but also in leadership and culture, companies can realize the incredible benefits of a global and diverse workforce.

Getting the Interview

Did you know that onboarding increases your retention and productivity rate? According to Glassdoor, organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by 70%. At DistantJob, as expert recruiters, we are also expert IT headhunters. If you haven’t heard this term before, don’t be scared, we are not going to take your head off. According to the Cambridge dictionary, headhunting means ‘’To persuade someone to leave their job by offering that person another job with more pay and a higher position’’.

If you or the candidate are working from home, a common issue that can arise is bandwidth. If multiple people are online in a house at the same time, this can occasionally cause delays with video conferencing tools. To address such issues, you can opt to disable the video function on the application you’re using during the interview. This way you’ll still be able to maintain a conversation with the candidate, albeit without the visuals. Alternatively, you can reschedule the remote interview at a time when fewer people are online. First of all, the position is most likely a remote one, which means that, in addition to everything else, the HR department needs to find out if the candidate is remote ready.

Tidy up, make space for notes or a pen and paper, and find a discreet fidget toy if it helps you concentrate. A survey from the Harvard Business Review found that 60% of people have preferences about the background of a speaker on a video call. Rated on metrics of authenticity, expertise, innovation, and trustworthiness, respondents generally preferred an actual room to a solid-color wall. If you’ve never used the employer’s preferred platform before, familiarize yourself with it first. Make sure you know where the mute button is and how to tell when it’s activated.

For example, if your interview was on video, you could pivot to a phone call. Since you’re already making use of technology to conduct the interview, consider using technology to schedule it as well. By using a calendar scheduling app, you can circumvent the back and forth by letting the candidate choose their own time slot.

Introduce and share your company culture

This can give the company more assurance that you’re the right person for the job and that you’ll perform in a remote working environment. We hire all over the world, with hundreds of employees in dozens of countries. Add 10 minutes into your calendar after your interviews to give you time to fill out a scorecard or write notes about the interview. If you don’t have back-to-back meetings, you should be able to handle this task within the hour. Even if you need to wait a bit, set a minimum agreement internally that feedback is documented the same day as the interview. One of the reasons that a connection may be lost could be as simple as a battery dying on a smartphone or computer.

• Like many aspects of work these days, the hiring process has moved online for most companies.
• Without the right tools and a strong internet connection, you can’t conduct the interview at all.
• This way, candidates can book the interview slot that works best for them.
• Check out your intended employer on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, or even social media.