Remote jobs are becoming increasingly popular all the time. Many professionals would prefer to work from home, or are skilled but not in the same geographic area as companies who need them. Companies are also realizing the power of remote workers. Remote work is the future.
Crafting the perfect remote job posting is therefore a critical part of the hiring process, and will increase in importance as time goes on. We have compiled four steps to creating a remote work posting that will clearly state the job you have available, and bring in the right applicants.
4 Steps to Create the Perfect Remote Work Posting
Research
To begin, ask yourself two questions:
- What position are you looking to fill?
- What do your competitors look for in that position?
Competitors can be an excellent source of information. By looking at what a competitor is looking for in a similar position, you can get an idea of the requirements they set and the words they use.
On platforms like LinkedIn, you can also see how many applicants they have had for a position, which can help you gauge how successful that job posting has been.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What skills are they looking for?
- How do they format and prioritize relevant information?
- What are the skills and requirements?
- How would you improve this example?
- How would you make this example fit your company culture?
- If you were the perfect candidate for this position, what would you want to see in this posting?
What Does Remote Mean Exactly?
Being specific and detailed is critical in a job posting. This saves both your time and the candidates. The assumption with remote work is often that it can be done from anywhere, but there are some positions where an occasional day in the office is necessary, or candidates need to be available at specific times of the day.
Ask yourself:
- Are there times they have to be onsite?
- Are there times they have to be available virtually?
- Do they need to be in a specific time zone?
- Are they able to travel while working?
It’s crucial to specify expectations from the beginning. This includes work schedules, hours, equipment required or provided by the company, time zone expectations, and what they can expect from the company. Setting expectations immediately safeguard against nasty surprises later, on both sides.
Involve the Team
There is no such thing as over-communicating in a remote work setting. If your team is completely remote, you probably already send lots of emails in a day and have weekly meetings.
Use this time to communicate with them about what they need from a new hire. The new hire will directly impact them; getting their opinion is essential.
Take these two steps to get team feedback:
1. Notify your team:
- Ask them what they would like to see in a job posting for another position.
- What qualifications would the perfect new hire have to help the team?
- If they were writing the job posting, what would they write?
2. Touch base with your team:
- Once you’ve drafted the posting, bring it back to the team.
- Review. Is there anything they would word differently?
- Is anything missing, or that should be removed?
By asking these questions and involving the team in the process, you’re able to get to the bottom of the real skills a new hire needs. It also fosters teamwork and a sense of ownership in the team.
Remember- You’re Writing for a Remote Position
Hiring for on-site workers is vastly different from hiring for remote workers. While a lot of the hard skills will be the same (customer service, writing, computer skills, etc.), there are soft skills that remote workers need to be successful (problem-solving skills, time management, and stellar communication skills are a few).
Make sure that the requirements and skills you’re listing in your posting are relevant to a remote work posting. You’ll need to remove on-site specific characteristics and add remote-only characteristics. This goes for any benefits of the job. Local discounts and perks aren’t as appetizing to workers who could be across the country. However, remote-based perks like memberships to online services could be a great benefit.
Hire Confidently
These four steps will help you confidently create a job posting for remote work that is clear, concise, and complete. By researching, detailing, reviewing, and specifying, you can attract the best candidate possible for your open position.
