How to Broach the Topic of Remote Work During a Job Interview

How to Broach the Topic of Remote Work During a Job InterviewHow to Broach the Topic of Remote Work During a Job Interview When it comes to job interviews , there are certain actions you want to avoid. For example, its usually a bad idea to bring up salary during an interview unless youre specifically asked to share your thoughts on the matter. Similarly, youll want to avoid badmouthing your former (or current) employer during an interview, as doing so will make you look petty and unprofessional.The topic of working remotely, however, is mora of a gray area. These days, a growing number of companies are embracing the notion of telecommuting in an attempt to offer workers more flexibility. And if youre looking for a job that will allow you to work remotely , it pays to figure out whether that option is on the table before you get too deep into the interview process. The question is When can you bring up telecommuting in an interview, and how do you do it?Usually, you can get a sense as to whether a company is open to remote work arrangements by doing some research ahead of time. Job sites like Glassdoor , for example, publish company reviews, and if you read enough of them, you might come upon mentions of things like flexibility and working from home.Of course, just because a company lets some workers do their jobs remotely doesnt mean youll get that option. If youre seeking a management role, for example, the company might insist that you do your job onsite, since itll involve overseeing other people. Still, it pays to go into the interview process with a basic sense of what the company might be open to.Its OK to ask about remote work arrangements in a job interview, but the key is to do so unobtrusively. A good way to broach the topic is to ask the question on a general basis, along the lines of Do most of your employees work full-time from the office, or is there a lot of telecommuting? Posing the question this way will make it sound like y oure asking from a place of curiosity rather than demand.If your interviewer responds by saying that remote work is largely supported, you might choose to leave things at that. After all, if most of the companys employees get to telecommute, why would you be the one exception?That said, if not being able to telecommute is a major deal-breaker for you, you might follow up that general question with a more loaded, Do you think the role Im applying for is conducive to a similar arrangement? Its not an outlandish question to ask, and with any luck, youll get the answer youre looking to hear. That said, you might choose to qualify your question by asking Do you think the role Im applying for is conducive to a similar arrangement once Im up to speed ? This way, youre making it clear that youre flexible, and that you dont necessarily expect to be given the same freedom that companys seasoned workers have earned.One final thing While an interviewer might be somewhat non-committal about remo te work during an initial meeting, once a job offer is presented to you, you have every right to ask that the company spell out the terms of its remote work policy as it will apply to you. This way, youll be in the best position to decide whether to accept that job or go after a role thats more flexible.