A couple of years back, if you go for a job interview, you will probably ask questions such as; What professional and personal development opportunities are available here? What are your company cultures? What are the expectations for this role? Etc.

But, with more and more remote job opportunities popping up, and more companies asking a bulk of their workforce to work from home, there is a need to make some additions to the standard questions you would ask an interviewer.

This is not to say that those questions you would ask for a non-remote job are no longer valid, but because remote jobs have different working operations and conditions of their own, there are some key questions you have to ask before accepting any remote job.

We are experts at all things remote jobs, so we have compiled a list of five important questions you need to ask before accepting a remote job.

1. What are the hours like?

One of the key advantages of working remotely is that they have flexible hours. This means that if you are assigned a task and given a deadline, it doesn’t matter to your employer if you work on it every day till the deadline, or you work on it for a full day, as long as you deliver on the due date. 

You want to be sure that you can have flexible work hours, and even if they don’t operate that way, you still want to know so that you have all the information you need before deciding to accept or reject a remote job.

In cases of different time zones, you also want to know what arrangements will be made for you to ensure a seamless work experience.

2. Will work tools be provided or do I need to get my own?

If you are going to work remotely successfully, you need to ensure that you have the right work tools, because as far as working remotely go, those tools make up your office. They include- a strong internet connection and a good computer.

The kind of computer you require will depend on the kind of job you intend to do. For example, a web developer will probably require a computer with higher specs than a social media manager.

Since you will be working remotely, you need to stay in touch with your bosses and co-workers, and the platforms that will make that possible- zoom, google meet, skype, etc will require that you have a strong internet connection. It really sucks when you’re the one always saying “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” during a zoom meeting because you have a terrible internet connection.

Ask if the company intends to provide the things you need, and if they are not going to, make arrangements on your end for them- as long you are sure the pay is worth it!

3. How is payment handled?

We don’t know about you, but that money is important, and since you don’t share the same physical space with the company’s finance officer or HR, you need to know how and when they pay.

In addition, if it is a foreign country, it is important that you know how they pay their foreign remote workers so that you can make plans accordingly. For example, if they pay via PayPal and you don’t have an account, you need to make arrangements for this.

4. Is this role a freelance role, a contract role, or a full-time position?

Even in remote jobs, these three things are not the same thing and it is important that you know which category you fall into so as to manage your expectations accordingly. 

In a freelance role, you consider them as clients and you are in full control of your time, as long as you meet your KPIs and you will be mostly paid per hour, while in contract roles, you are hired to work on a particular project for a set period of time, after which you will be let go of. 

A full-time position is standard- you get full employee benefits ( health insurance, pension, paid leave, etc.) and payment is mostly monthly based.

5. What challenges has this company faced with remote working?

A number of companies are just making the transition to working remotely, so it is normal that they still have some things to fix.

Ask them about the challenges they have faced so far and what they are doing to fix them. Knowing all these will help you decide if the company can provide a safe working environment for you. 

All these are questions you absolutely need to ask before you accept a remote job. They will prevent you from going in blindly. You are welcome!

To get you started, check out some of these opportunities.