How to Ace Your Remote Job Interview, According to a Hiring Manager

How to Ace Your Remote Job Interview, According to a Hiring ManagerHow to Ace Your Remote Job Interview, According to a Hiring ManagerLanding a remote job can be the opportunity of a lifetime. It can mean more flexibility in your work life, greater independence, and the highly sought-after luxury of being able to work from the comforts of your own home. But first, youve got to nail your remote job interview.To do that, its important to get inside the mind of your interviewer. Fortunately, as an experienced hiring manager, I can provide you with that insider insight.Heres what you need to know to set yourself up as the perfect candidate during your remote job interview1. Show that you understand the company and position.The relationship between an employer and a remote employee is one thats founded on trust and understanding. Employers want to know that youre someone who really gets their company- from what the firms overarching goals are to the exact details of how it conducts busine ss.By learning as much as you can about the company and job that youre interviewing for beforehand, you can present yourself as someone who truly understands what the position entails, as well as whats expected of you. This builds trust, and shows that you will be an independent and reliable employee who can be counted on.2. Create a home office and show it.Its important to present yourself as the true professional that you are. Having an area in your home dedicated to work will create the impression that youll be serious about your job, and that youre someone who wont be easily distracted by random temptations like watching TV. If your home office looks professional enough, I recommend giving the interviewer a quick tour with your webcam. Its a great way of making your interview a bit more memorable that most candidates wont think of doing.3. Make it abundantly clear why you want to work remotely.Is she just after this job so that she can slack off from home? Its easy for hiring ma nagers to assume the worst when they dont understand what draws you to a remote job. Instead of avoiding the elephant in the room like many do, you should tackle it head-on. Maybe its because you want to be able to drop off and pick up your kids from school, or perhaps its because youre the type of person who produces your best work when free from office distractions. These are both good reasons that your hiring manager will be able to relate to and sympathize with.4. Market yourself as the most accessible and responsive candidate there is.As an employer who offers resume writing services, the number one concern I have when hiring remote resume writers is whether I can count on them when duty calls. If the business suddenly gets an influx of customers, can I rely on my remote team of writers to handle the extra work? If the company website goes down, how easy will it be for me to reach my remote web technician?These are all scary scenarios that employers have to worry about when off ering flextime to their employees. As a candidate, the key is to market yourself as someone who understands, better than anyone else, that dependability and reliability are king. During business hours, show that youre someone whos available on Skype or someone whos readily available by phone and replies to text messages almost instantaneously.5. Show that youre self-motivated.If you arent motivated and inspired by what you do, it will be human nature to slack off- especially when you can get away with it working remotely. With that in mind, its crucial that you show employers that this isnt what youre all about. Give examples of some of the things youve accomplished that didnt require anyone elses support or supervision, and be sure to emphasize them on your resume as well.6. Use a high-quality webcam and microphone.This might have little to do with how qualified you are for the job, but these types of things matter more than you may think. Having a low-quality mic or webcam during a remote job interview immediately hurts your chances for the job. Just imagine how it would feel if you interviewed a candidate you could barely hear for the entire duration of the Skype call.Similarly, a lousy webcam gives the impression that youre just not on the top of your game. Interviewers want to see your face clearly, not choppy blurred-out frames that they can barely make out. If you have shoddy equipment, employers will also worry that theyll have to deal with these poor conditions on an ongoing basis if they hire you.Peter Yang is a human resources professional and has played an integral role in the recruiting process for many large firms. Hes also the cofounder of ResumeGo, a resume and cv writing service that employs professional resume writers who aid job seekers in their quest for a dream job.