For the past seven years, I’ve worked in the software consultancy industry, the last couple of them remotely. When I first started looking for remote job opportunities about three years ago, there were fewer companies offering them, but it seems like the overall experience was a lot better back then.
When I recently returned to the old jobhunt, I saw that the trend had picked up steam in startups and product companies, but unfortunately the actual hiring process across the board seems to have stalled and become mired in delays and lack of communication.
Here are five of the biggest issues I came across in my search for remote work, and three ideas for how to keep your sanity when finding your own.
1. Request a lot; offer no feedback
We all recognise this one. Time and again, candidates are asked to fill out long, time-consuming answers to questions for each job application, including cliches like “Tell us what makes you unique. Try to be creative and say something that will catch our eye!”, the classic “Tell us why you want to work with us!” and the maddening, “What’s your greatest weakness?”
And when you do spend precious time answering these questions (often after doing detailed research about the company to truly stand out), you’re often met with a wall of silence. The more you follow up on it, the more you feel like you’re harming your chances of actually being contacted, too.
The irony is that when I take the bold step of leaving a simple “.” in the form fields asking for these long-winded answers of original prose, I actually get more responses, and I even got an interview once!
2. 30 day interviews? Wut?
The founder and “CEO” of a company posted a job in AngelList offering a reasonable salary for a full-time remote engineer. He scheduled a meeting with me on Skype but didn’t show up. I sent him an email asking if he wanted to reschedule. After a few days without a response, I sent another email just to confirm they were not moving forward with my application. To my surprise, the following email exchange then took place:
CEO: We are willing to allow you to participate in our 30-day recruitment process — we will work together and review your code in that time. If that’s something you’re interested in moving forward with, let me know.
Me: I’m currently employed, so would part-time 15–20h/week starting 3pm (Chicago time) work for you?
CEO: Yes, that works.
Me: And how will payment work?
CEO: No, this is an interview. We would need you to interview with us ASAP.
Me: You mentioned that you wanted me to be part of your team for 30 days, so I can’t see this as an interview. A working day (8 hours) is all I can dedicate on an interview process without getting paid. Let me know if that works for you.
CEO: No, I’m sorry. Our interview is the hardest around. Take care.
I know Brazil took its sweet time abolishing slavery in 1888, but I have no intention of being an indentured servant in the 21st Century. No one should accept this; employers need to learn to value talent in a candidate-driven market.
3. Remote, but not really
I recently applied to an “always remote” position and received a response saying that they were looking for on-site employees. Um… I replied stating the obvious and was told that, actually, only occasional remote working was allowed. This isn’t just an occasional perk, ladies and gentleman. Lack of clarity about your actual policy, if not outright lies, on a job posting that represents your company is going to waste a lot of people’s time, and create negative word of mouth.
4. Remote jobs… within a close range
Again, it helps to be super clear about any restrictions on remote working arrangements before investing any serious time in applying. Same-country (for contractual purposes) and timezone restrictions (for time-sensitive collaborative working) will often apply, but aren’t always listed, so it’s worth double-checking with the hiring managers on these details.
5. The Russian Roulette of CV formatting
You know all that lovingly-crafted formatting and typesetting you did over countless hours on the PDF version of your CV? Yeah, well, get ready to upload .doc versions or plain-text scans of it that lose all of that hard work on its way through the guts of large job sites. Shameless shoutout to Landing.jobs for its simple forms + maintaining file formats of our CV uploads!
A happy ending
After navigating the above with a strong CV, custom cover letters, several interviews and a number of code challenges, it all all worked out in the end. In fact, the most difficult step was to choose between two very similar opportunities that were offered to me.
Looking back, I’d say there are three key things to keep yourself sane in your own hunt for remote work:
1. Be patient
The first company to make an offer to me took 43 days to reply to my initial application; the second, 39 days. Although the hiring process thereafter was quite quick (around 2 weeks), the top of the funnel for consideration for any role seems to take 5–6 weeks. Frustrating? Yes. Inefficient? Surely. But for now, the way it is.
2. Be curious
Take notes, ask questions, adapt your techniques and CV as you go through the process with a number of different companies. You’ll not only stand out as an inquisitive mind along the way, you’ll better your game and improve your chances of getting an even better job in future.
3. Be yourself
Both final offers I received came with feedback about my personality. Loving what you do and treating colleagues with respect is essential to being a part of a successful team. It’s not just your friends who care about you being a good person; it’s increasingly your employers too.
That’s all, folks! Best of luck in your journey!
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