Tips for Conducting Effective Remote Interviews for Tech Workers

By their natural design, tech companies can ignore geographic boundaries when hiring workers. This ability can be beneficial in finding the industry’s top talent, but hiring people with technical skills through remote interviews presents its own set of challenges.

How can you ensure the candidates you’re interviewing genuinely know their stuff? The key is to start the interview long before your “face-to-face” meeting begins. These tips can ensure your screen time is used effectively, pulling out the vital data behind the tech worker’s communication to assess their abilities.

1. Prepare Ahead

Regardless of the position, you’ll want your candidates to demonstrate their ability to handle complex projects. Let them know ahead of the interview what this will include so they can ensure they are familiar with the required software or language and are prepared to demonstrate their knowledge. Sharing this information before the interview can eliminate candidates who aren’t right for the job and help the rest feel more comfortable going into the meeting.

Consider how long the demonstration will take, too. Some technical tests can take hours (or more). You may wish to have them begin and submit the work before the interview.

2. Adjust For Their Calendar

Another downside to hiring outside of your immediate area is the need to adjust your meetings and deadlines to coincide with their time zone. Be sure to use scheduling software that allows candidates to schedule interviews during your cleared space, but that shows up as their adjusted time. Consider potential holidays and religious or cultural observances that could also interfere with your interview schedule.

Since there are hundreds of reputable video and teleconferencing apps, don’t assume they’ll automatically have or be comfortable with the one you prefer. When the meeting is scheduled, include a link to the software they’ll need to download with the confirmation. Do your part to test your video and mic before the meeting starts, with enough time to troubleshoot any issues.

3. Prepare Your Questions (and the Ideal Answers)

Interviewing for tech positions means you’ll need a mix of hard and soft-skill questions. Plan these ahead so you can find the ideal answers. If you don’t have an expert on the team, consider using a rubric with the elements of a response that you can check off and review later when you’re finished with the interview. (An example of what to include in a technical rubric can be seen here.)

When you use the same questions and rubric for everyone, you reduce the potential for bias to creep up in your scoring. Unconscious prejudice is a common part of interviewing. This article by Obsidi® explains the types of bias that can affect the workplace and how to avoid inadvertently bringing them into your interview with strategic questioning techniques.

Team interviews are recommended when the job is as competitive and essential as a technical position. If you have others who know the job, ask them to join you during the meetings. Work together to decide which questions to ask that will dig into the candidate’s hard and soft qualities best. You want to know that they know the technical side while also ensuring they will fit in with the workplace culture.

Questions should include behavioral responses, such as those using the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result), in which candidates use problem-solving to address a situation. These are typical in any interview setting. However, since the interview is remote (and the job likely is, as well), include questions that assess the candidate’s ability to work remotely. What kind of experience do they have? How do they stay productive? Where is their “office,” and how do they keep their personal and professional boundaries from crossing?

Throughout the interview, use their responses and strategic questions to gauge soft skills like communication, flexibility, and overall personality. Will they fit in with your current team? Are they willing to learn and grow, or do they think they already know everything? Collaboration is a key component to successful technical project completion.

4. Clearly State Your Follow-Up Protocol

Every interviewee wants to know if they got the job or not. A lack of response can leave them on hold, wondering if they should keep waiting or if you hired someone else. Before you end the interview, let them know when they can expect to receive a response, whether it’s a yes or no.

If they don’t get the job, include constructive feedback that may help them improve their interviewing technique and leaves them with a positive perspective of your business. If you’re inviting them to the next step in the onboarding process, clearly explain what happens next.

Conclusion

Technical interviews must be thorough, which can be difficult when conducted remotely. However, with a mix of preparation and strategic questioning through these tips, you can gain insight into the candidate, which will show you their knowledge and let you assess their potential fit in your workplace culture.