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Written by: Justyna Cichocka (Employer Branding Specialist)
How does remote recruitment differ from face to face recruiting? All of us could probably list a number of aspects, but the most important is the human one. Body language plays a lesser role, it is easier to hide some imperfections or stress, but the common factor of remote and face to face recruitment is that during both of them we have to present ourselves to the best of our abilities. How to do it? It is not as difficult as it may seem.
It is not at all coincidental that I use military-related vocabulary. Conducting a recruitment interview from home can sometimes be a battle with the world around us at the given time, so it makes sense to anticipate certain moves. Make sure you secure the kids and pets, prepare a neutral area (keep in mind what is behind you!), dress in something other than your PJs, and voila, the first stage is done! All that’s left to do is to charge your laptop, check your camera, mute your phone and find your headsets.
I suggest a glass of water – useful and neutral at the same time, if you suddenly feel the urge to look away, sway in your chair or if simply the stress takes over – that will be your life-saver.
This should really be the first and most important point of this list. We assume that during the interview it is the candidate who is questioned and the one who is supposed to make the best impression. Wrong! Both sides care just the same – the candidate in order to get the job, and the recruiter to get a new employee. And yes, we get stressed too. We have better and worse days, more or less favourable conditions, and we also want to make the best impression on you – in a professional and friendly manner. Even though we don’t see each other in person, shake hands or show you around the office, this conversation is just as important.
Some people like spontaneity. I respect that a lot, but a recruitment interview is a pretty unfortunate time to practice spontaneity. You have the right to demand from a recruiter that they know who they meet with, study your resume, and familiarize themselves with your expectations – it’s a two-way street, a recruiter wants to know a few things as well. These are not very demanding points, but let’s mention a few: what position you applied for, what made you apply, whether you had heard about Solwit before, what you read or found out about us. If you want to know what the process looks like internally – take a look here – you will find there more specific information on our recruitment path. It is worth recalling the content of the ad which you applied for – there are often hidden hints as to what would the subject of the technical part of the meeting be. You will get some extra points for familiarizing yourself with our website or social media profiles. Prepare questions to the manager or recruiter – it is important that after the meeting you have a full overview of the situation and in case we call you with an offer of cooperation
By that I mean the position and salary you expect. If you know that you don’t want to develop in a certain direction – say so. If you’re not into frontend, but in your previous job you had to do it – let us know. The point is that after the meeting we know what we can offer you – without harming you, your health or our time. When it comes to salary, think about it beforehand. Calculate absolute minimum you need – we all have commitments and bills to pay. Talk about it openly. Also, think about a potential form of agreement – programmers or testers often consider B2B contracts. Read about it, ask your friends if you haven’t had a chance to work on such terms.
It’s a pretty worn out phrase, but there’s no better way to say what I mean. We want to get to know you – if you don’t know something, tell us, if you want to ask something, ask us, and if you’re stressed and it is stress that is taking over your skills – let us know. You don’t have to know everything, if there is something you don’t know, that’s ok too.
This is a bit off topic, but also very important: we always provide feedback, but see point 3. If you don’t hear from us within two weeks, let us know – sometimes things may slip our minds during the hectic day-to-day activities.
So now you know how the recruitment process works. Maybe it is time to give it a try? You can find the latest job offers here.
