Before any job interview, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the basic interview questions. You can almost guarantee an interviewer to ask you questions like, “Can you walk me through your resume?” or “What achievement are you most proud of?” But with remote work opportunities on the rise, there are a few more questions you should be prepared to answer. Here are three work-from-home interview questions you can expect to answer in your next interview.
What does your work from home setup look like?
If you are interviewing for a remote opportunity, your interviewer will likely ask what your work-from-home setup looks like. Most of us worked from home at some point, thanks to the pandemic. However, if you will be working from home permanently, your prospective employer will likely inquire about your remote setup to ensure you have a good workstation. Now, you don’t necessarily have to have a home office, but the interviewer will want to hear that you have a designated area to work from home. Whether that’s a desk in your guest room or your dining room table, your interviewers will want to hear that you have an area that is devoted to your workday. Basically, they want to ensure that you are not working on the floor in your living room while the tv is blaring in the background to distract you.
How do you collaborate with your team in a remote work environment?
Good communication and collaboration are essential in any work environment. However, when you’re not working in person with your colleagues or manager, it can be more challenging to work together. Thus, an interviewer will likely ask how you collaborate with your team while working from home. When answering this question, you want to share how you take the initiative to work with your team on projects and other tasks successfully. You can share what tools you use to communicate with your team and the types of meetings you have.
For example, you can share that you frequently chat with your teammates using Microsoft Teams and you meet once a week for a video chat to strategize about tackling your ongoing projects. As long as you can express to your interviewers that you can successfully collaborate with your team virtually, you will be in good shape.
What were some of the challenges you’ve faced while working from home?
This question is similar to an interviewer asking about overcoming conflict or difficult situations in the workplace. Working from home brings unique challenges, and interviewers will want to know how you have overcome them in the past. When answering this question, provide an example and details on how you overcame the situation. Focus your response on the solution rather than the problem itself. Whether that be work-life balance, isolation, or obtaining information vital to your role; the hiring manager will want to understand the steps you took to conquer this issue. The problem itself is not essential, but the resolution is because you will face obstacles in any remote work environment, and it’s vital to prove that you are capable of triumphing through those hurdles.
So, those are the three work-from-home interview questions you must be able to answer. If you are looking for more interview advice, take a look at our blog! We have tons of helpful interview tips and tricks to help you secure your next remote job!
