Published on August 6th, 2020
Today, with Covid-19 affecting the entire country, more and more people are working from home. Some people are fortunate enough to have a job where they are able to work from home. Many people don’t have this luxury and have been laid off from their jobs.
With the pandemic still in full gear, many companies are only hiring remote employees. According to FlexJobs, 4.7 million workers in the United States are currently working from home.
Studies have shown that remote workers tend to be healthier, more satisfied with their jobs, and more productive.
If you plan to work from home because you have to or because you think it will be a better fit, you will need the necessary skills. Fortunately, there are remote job skills that you may already have.
1. Communication Skills
Hiring managers are always looking for candidates with excellent written and verbal skills. If you are applying for a remote position, it is even more important to showcase your communication skills.
The hiring manager will need to see that you can communicate with managers, coworkers, and clients effectively, even if you are not in the same place.
The key to excellent communication skills is listening. If you aren’t able to pay attention to what another person is saying, you won’t get much done.
Also, you won’t be able to show respect for them or know what is expected of you. It is essential that you practice your active listening techniques if you are going to work remotely.
Your interview is the best time to show off your communication skills. It is important that you prepare before the interview.
You can do this by researching the company, practicing your interview techniques, and preparing some answers for the most common interview questions.
2. Self-Motivated
If you are going to work remotely, you need to be self-motivated. Some remote employers keep a closer eye on what their employees are doing than others, but overall, you will be working on your own. You are going to need to meet your goals without much supervision.
If you are going to impress the hiring manager, you will need to show that you can get things done without being micromanaged.
During the interview, the hiring manager will ask if you are able to self-motivate and get things done on your own.
Obviously, you should say yes, but don’t end your answer there. It is essential that you come up with some examples of how you handled tasks on your own in the past. You can also discuss what keeps you self-motivated.
3. Be Willing To Ask For Help
Whether you are working on-site or remotely, it isn’t always easy to ask for help. For many people, asking for assistance, clarification, or additional support can be difficult.
If you are going to impress a hiring manager for a remote job, you will need to show that you can ask for help. The manager won’t want you to simply guess; they will want you to understand that task at hand.
A great way to show the hiring manager that you can ask for help is when they ask what your biggest work-related challenge has been thus far.
You can share a story of a time that you had to reach out to a manager or colleague for help while performing a task.
This will show them that you are self-motivated because you reached out. It will also show them that you are capable of asking for help when necessary.
If you have always struggled to ask for help, try lending a hand to coworkers when they need it. This will build a rapport between the two of you where asking for help feels safe.
4. Teamwork
Just because you aren’t working in the same physical location as your coworkers, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t a part of a team.
Each employee’s goal is to do the best job possible for the company. You will need to make collaboration and communication with your coworkers a top priority.
It is essential that you understand that you won’t always have the same point of view as some of your coworkers in every aspect.
If this is the case, you need to try and respect your coworkers and their opinions. The best teams are the ones that work together well and can also manage conflict.
During your interview, the hiring manager will ask questions to determine if you are a leader, a follower, or a mediator.
To prepare for the interview, you should practice answering these questions to show that you are flexible, emotionally intelligent, and able to collaborate with coworkers.
5. Problem-Solving Skills
Problem-solving skills are essential in any job, but if you are working remotely, they are even more critical.
When you are working from home, you won’t be able to lean over to your coworker’s desk to ask a quick question. You are going to need to solve the problem on your own.
Hiring managers are looking for people who can identify a problem and then analyze the problem and address it.
There is no shame in reaching out to a coworker via email or text, but you don’t want to be doing this all day. You are going to need to solve problems on your own.
During your interview, the hiring manager will want to know a bit about your problem-solving skills.
To show them that you have this quality, you can discuss a problem that you had at a previous job and how you handled it yourself.
It is best to try to use a number scenario. For example, you can explain how you solved the problem of raising sales or decreasing costs using numbers. This will go a long way during an interview.
