Safely Navigating To Remote
Asking the Right Question to Make Sure the Job You're Interviewing for Is Permanently Remote
As employers and IT teams scramble to define their long-term work arrangements, you may encounter a lot of confusion in the job market. If you are looking for a permanently remote IT position you need to know the right question to ask in this environment.
I’ll share that question below, but first, to illustrate the danger, I have to tell you a quick story…
Navigating the Crossing
I love to hike. A few weeks back, as I perused the weather forecast, I could see that I better take advantage of some unseasonably cool, low-humidity days. I got my backpack ready, set the alarm for 5:00 AM, and headed off the grid for a day of contemplation in the big outdoors.
It was a gorgeous day, I was following a beautiful clear-water river, and all was well with the world. But soon the bank became a little too overgrown to push forward so I decided to cross the river to find an easier path.
I had kept my hiking shoes dry up to this point, so my plan was to find a route across the rocks.
This task was easier said than done. It seemed from a distance that hopping from rock to rock was going to be simple. I had good hiking shoes with excellent tread, and this area was known for its big, solid rocks. I could do this.
But as I began to traverse the water it became increasingly clear that getting across dry was going to be no small feat. After a particularly harrowing jump where I only narrowly held on, it suddenly hit me that this was a good metaphor for the move to fully remote work.
I had encountered three kinds of rocks, and it flashed in my mind how each represented what you can encounter as you search for a fully remote position:
The first was the solid rock. It might take a bit of a leap to get there, but once you landed it was just what you were hoping for. This represents a great opportunity that is permanently 100% remote. No surprises.
The second was a shifting rock. It looks solid, but as you step on it you realized it wasn’t securely buried in the riverbed, but perched in such a way that it could pivot. My first encounter with one of these left me flailing to rebalance, but I was able to stay upright. This represents the position that is currently 100% remote but the post-pandemic work arrangements are fuzzy or TBD, likely to alter.
The third rock was a slippery rock. It was this rock that finally sent me into the drink. This represents a position being presented as permanently remote when it is not. I’ve seen this multiple times when unscrupulous recruiters or bait-and-switch job-descriptions are used to get you into the interview process under false pretenses.
So how do you avoid the shifting or slippery rocks?
Ask the right question and ask it at each step in the process.
The Right Question
Most IT jobs are 100% remote under pandemic conditions. The key question is what will the work arrangement be long-term.
Here is the question to ask:
“After COVID restrictions are removed, will this position be 100% remote?”
This question is unambiguous and gets to the heart of the issue. It seems like an obvious question, but if it is not asked with this specific wording it can can allow for wriggle room that can lead to conflicts later.
When You Should Ask It
The second key to asking this question is to ask it at each step in the process. For example, if you are working with a recruiter, there may be hidden confusion about the permanent work arrangements. The recruiter may tell you it is 100% remote after COVID restrictions are removed, but they can be ill-informed or they may submit you to a position hoping the employer will change their policy. During the interview, it is a good idea to re-iterate this question simply to verify what you have been told.
Years ago, I tore my patella tendon in my knee playing sandlot football. When I went in to surgery, the first thing they did was to mark my right knee with a marker to make sure that I did not wake up with a rude surprise and someone telling me they worked on the wrong leg. Further, every nurse and the surgeon himself would ask at each encounter, “We’re working on your right knee today, is that correct?” No one took it for granted, even after I had a big black X marked across my kneecap. And you know what… I had no problem answering that question multiple times because I definitely wanted the right outcome.
The same principle applies. To make sure the position is 100% remote after COVID restrictions are removed, you need to make sure that this is explicitly understood by all parties involved.
Interpreting the Response
This question is a simple yes/no question, but you may be surprised at the less-than-simple answers you will get.
Next time we’ll look at why some employers are having trouble answering this question in a straightforward way, and how you should interpret the response.
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