Seven personality traits organisations look for when hiring remotely

Want to land a remote working role? Here are the seven personality traits organisations will be looking for.

Hiring the right people is a crucial step for the overall growth and success of any organisation. But when hiring for a remote or distributed role, employers are not just looking for someone who checks off all the boxes in the job description. 

With more people looking for flexible roles than ever before, the competition for remote jobs can be fierce. And with competition comes the need to stand out – not just through a flashy resume or personal brand, but through your remote-ready skill sets. 

Seven personality traits you need when working remotely

So what exactly are these “remote-ready” skills that can help you stand out from all the other applicants? 

Working with a globally distributed team isn’t easy. With technical hiccups, cultural barriers, and the need for extensive written communication, it’s easy to see why not everyone can thrive in a remote environment.

So, when applying for a remote job, you will be evaluated on multiple soft skills, as well as the actual skills required to do the job. Demonstrating these skills and personality traits during your interview can help you stand out from the pack and land the job of your dreams.

With this in mind, here are seven personality traits organisations look for when trying to hire remotely.

1) Responsiveness 

Your colleagues won’t be able to walk down the hall to you when they need something, so it’s important for an employer to know how quickly you address requests and communicate with others. 

Promptly returning emails and phone calls is a good way to show that you have the discipline to be present for the team. 

2) Self-starter

As remote worker you won’t be in the same office as your manager and team. You may not even be in the same timezone! So they’ll need to trust that you can self-manage your work and stay productive and focused throughout the day. You’ll also need to manage your time well and prioritise tasks.

Your ability to solve problems and make decisions on your own to maintain workflow is essential when working in a remote environment.

3) Decisiveness

When you can’t rely on someone being in the same office or even country as you, there will be occasions when you’ll need to make decisions with imperfect information, especially if the right person isn’t around at the moment to make the decision themselves. 

So you’ll need to be able to confidently make decisions (even if they are temporary) and keep working forward.

4) Communication Skills

Good communication skills can go a long way when applying for a remote job. With no daily face-to-face contact, you’ll need to be able to communicate quickly and clearly with your team members.

And you’ll want to demonstrate that you’re capable of this during your interview. Listening actively, summarising points, and asking thoughtful questions are good ways to demonstrate your communication skills while interviewing. 

5) Integrity 

Building trust is essential for any remote team. The entire team is dependent on each member for meeting deadlines and completing projects. An employee who lacks integrity is likely to take the entire team down with them. 

If you tell your team that a particular task will be ready by 1:00pm and it’s not, the entire team (and project) will be impacted because of you.

6) Collaboration

Distributed workforces are no place for people who only look out for themselves. For efficiently working in a remote environment, you need to work well with the entire team in order to achieve common goals.

You can demonstrate this during an interview by mentioning times you worked as part of the team in the past, and highlighting your contributions.

7) Cultural fit

Culture is important for every remote organisation, as it is the root of efficient collaboration. You might not fit in with every organisation’s cultural values, but it’s important for you to present your personality virtually for your employer to assess whether or not you’re right for the organisation.

Courtney Seiter (Director of People at Buffer) says that company culture is very important for Buffer and mostly all remote organisations. Every company has a pre-defined hiring process and understanding the culture increases your chances of getting hired.

Photo by Brooke Cagle