5 Ways to Find & Interview Remote Candidates

Post on Many Platforms

The first step in finding the best remote candidate is posting a specific job description on as many applicable online platforms as possible. With completely remote teams, you can discover the best people in the industry for your team, no matter where they live. This means you might need to branch out where you post your job listings.

You may have had success on certain platforms in the past, but with an expanded talent pool, you might find valuable hires in places you don’t usually look, so think beyond your typical outlets.

Use Pre-Employment Testing

With a wider pool of talent applying, you may become overwhelmed with applications. Filter them quickly with pre-employment screenings and tests relevant to the skills your new hire will need to do the job. Whether you need a writing sample or coding test, many hiring platforms have the assessments built right into the application process.

Be prepared with “ideal” answers to each question in the test, so you have a standard for the results. The tests will only add time to the hiring timeline if you don’t know what you’re looking to glean from the results.

Infuse Culture into the Hiring Process

Culture is key even for remote teams. When working from a distance, employees can feel disconnected. It’s more important than ever that you communicate your organization’s management style and personality up front and screen candidates to find those who can easily assimilate to your company culture. Here are a few ways to manage expectations and showcase culture up front.

Does the role have seasonal expectations?

Every industry has a busy season, and the candidate may need to plan for more work during those times of the year (like an accountant during tax season!). Explaining the cycle of work in the role not only demonstrates the company’s transparency but also helps the candidate feel valued with your honesty.

Make a company culture video

Since everything happens online now, make a company culture video that can be easily sent out to potential candidates with videos from in-person events, description of online/offline times, and interviews with current employees describing their experience.

Ask good questions

One way to gauge if a candidate will fit in well with your culture is simply by asking good questions, like these:

• Explain a time where you worked collaboratively with your teammates.
• Tell us about a time where you worked on a project primarily through email or other online communication.
• How do you stay on top of changes in the industry?
• What does work/life balance mean to you?
• What are your favorite work-related apps and communication tools?

Some companies ask the same set of questions to all candidates and look for specific answers in order to determine if the candidate will be a good fit.

Provide a Realistic Job Preview

During the screening process, the candidate should be interviewing with their future manager. This conversation would be a good time to detail the day-to-day workload and how the team works together online. The manager should explain any check-in meetings they expect and how much of the job will be done collaboratively.

Sometimes job descriptions can make the position sound more exciting than the day-to-day reality. The manager can provide specifics about the role, such as the amount of data entry required or possible training on new platforms necessary.

Move Fast

Want to stand out from the crowded hiring marketplace? Move rapidly. Find ways to work around the typical month-long process and send an offer quickly. With the right testing and interviews in place, you should be able to fill positions faster than ever.

As always, you need to know what you’re looking for in a candidate and make them feel valued, so they accept your offer immediately.

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