Hiring Remotely: 4 Tips to Get it Right

As many have moved to working remotely, companies are doing there best to keep things running smoothly. For now, hiring managers are having to adjust their hiring process to accommodate these times. If you are finding it difficult adjusting your hiring process, use these tips to make remote hiring work for you.

Defining the “ideal candidate” is important in any search, whether it’s in-office or a remote role. When you are hiring remotely, it’s vital to know exactly what kind of candidate you are looking for. This applies to experience, skills, and culture fit. Think about what you really want and the characteristics of the candidate that will enable them to excel working for you. As many of these candidates will start working remotely, here are some key characteristics to look out for:

• Self-motivation
• Discipline
• Responsibility
• Strong Communication Skills
• Highly Responsive
• Tech-Savy

Once you have defined what you are looking for in a candidate, make that known in the job ad. This will help the potential applicants know if they are a good fit or not right off the bat and will save you time. Another useful tool you can also use is a personality test. After you have defined the traits you want in your “ideal candidate”, make a personality test that will reflect the traits of a perfect candidate.

Once you know what you are looking for, it’s time to start your search. Go where the talent is. It’s important to not just make the job opening known on job boards and other websites, but also places like LinkedIn where the professionals you are looking for regularly frequent.

If you are having a tough time getting the right kind of candidates applying, consider using a recruiting firm. Recruiting firms dedicate all of their time finding qualified candidates for your specific search. During these difficult times, a recruiting firm can source the best talent around to make sure your team is a strong as possible.

There are many ways to conduct virtual interviews. If you are hiring remotely, you can do interviews via email, phone, or video calls. Use all three methods. Each method can give you different insights about the candidate. An email can show you their ability to write and clearly communicate. A phone call demonstrates the candidate’s verbal ability. A video call, through Zoom or Skype, gives you insight into the candidate’s personality and whether they will be a good culture fit.

The more methods you use, the more opportunities to have to know the candidate, the more likely you are to make the right hiring decision.

A great way to get ensure you got the right candidate is to do a paid work trial. This can function as a “tryout” to see how good a fit they would be at your company. It provides you the chance to see if they truly can handle the work, if they can adapt and learn, and how they fit in with the culture.

If you are finding it difficult to source the perfect candidate or need more insights on how to adapt your hiring process, please reach out to us and we would love to help.