Tips for new fully remote job
January 5, 2022 6:16 PM Subscribe
In a couple of weeks, I will start a new job, fully remote. Do you have any advice?
I might never see any of my colleagues in person. The company has employees spread out across the United States. My boss will be two time zones to the east of me.
I am somewhat familiar with the work I will be doing, but a lot will be new to me, including some of the technologies. In my spare time, I have been introducing myself to SQL, which is one thing new to me that I will be using. I don’t have access to the other new stuff until I start the job.
In my current job, I have been working remotely since early in the pandemic, with short and rare forays into the office. But I had also been working there five years before the pandemic. I am comfortable working from home, just not sure about the best way to navigate life in a fully remote office.
What tips do you have for me as I start a job where all training will be remote, I’ll never have face-to-face contact with my supervisors or co-workers, and I will be expected to perform most of my duties with a high degree of independence?
I might never see any of my colleagues in person. The company has employees spread out across the United States. My boss will be two time zones to the east of me.
I am somewhat familiar with the work I will be doing, but a lot will be new to me, including some of the technologies. In my spare time, I have been introducing myself to SQL, which is one thing new to me that I will be using. I don’t have access to the other new stuff until I start the job.
In my current job, I have been working remotely since early in the pandemic, with short and rare forays into the office. But I had also been working there five years before the pandemic. I am comfortable working from home, just not sure about the best way to navigate life in a fully remote office.
What tips do you have for me as I start a job where all training will be remote, I’ll never have face-to-face contact with my supervisors or co-workers, and I will be expected to perform most of my duties with a high degree of independence?
I did this earlier in 2021, and am about to do it again in a week or so. I have been collecting tips and ideas for how to integrate effectively. Some resources:
Starting a new job remotely, from HBR
From the Women at Work podcast (but advice not relevant only to women!): Take Control of Your Onboarding
Some tips from my own experience and these and other resources:
Keep a daily diary or log to track issues and make notes about people, including both professional info and personal notes (like interests, family, events, etc.).
Set clear 30- and/or 90-day goals with your boss, and have a routine meeting cadence for check-ins.
Be intentional about meeting people, both on your team and key people outside of it. A virtual coffee or quick check in is great.
I think it is better if people use cameras at least some of the time - it is more difficult to connect with a disembodied voice. Either way, figure out how people are casually communicating with each other and be intentional about participating.
posted by jeoc at 6:49 PM on January 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
Starting a new job remotely, from HBR
From the Women at Work podcast (but advice not relevant only to women!): Take Control of Your Onboarding
Some tips from my own experience and these and other resources:
I think it is better if people use cameras at least some of the time - it is more difficult to connect with a disembodied voice. Either way, figure out how people are casually communicating with each other and be intentional about participating.
posted by jeoc at 6:49 PM on January 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
Make a schedule. Stick to it. Draw bounds around Work time, to not let it bleed onto Personal time. In your schedule include things (during the workday!) that are not Working. These are the equivalent to informal office chats, bullshitting in the break room, etc. Your brain will thank you. Other parts of your body will too.
Replace your morning commute time with “go outside and walk around the block before sitting my ass in the work chair”.
As above, make the habit of scheduling a regular checkin with colleagues. In lieu of Actual Work. As a Newb you will have wide latitude to ask “dumb” questions about the organization, your division, how stuff works, etc.
Lock the snack cabinet in your kitchen.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 7:27 PM on January 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Replace your morning commute time with “go outside and walk around the block before sitting my ass in the work chair”.
As above, make the habit of scheduling a regular checkin with colleagues. In lieu of Actual Work. As a Newb you will have wide latitude to ask “dumb” questions about the organization, your division, how stuff works, etc.
Lock the snack cabinet in your kitchen.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 7:27 PM on January 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
100% agree with the tips so far. I'm the onboarding buddy for two new hires this past year, also fully remote. My additions:
posted by tinydancer at 7:41 PM on January 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
- Among your team or buddy/ies, figure what each person can offer. One person could be a technical resource, someone else might be more of an administrative expert, another could be great at connecting folks socially.
- Once you've figured that out, tailor your check-in topics to what they can offer. The first person might help you with an actual work task, the second with how to fill out your timesheets, etc.
- Related to the virtual lunch idea, ask if you could do a self-intro at the next team meeting, and put together a one-slider with hobbies, family/pet photos, etc. Ideally your manager would take the lead on this, but if they don't, ask!
- Definitely be more annoying than you think you have a right to be. You're not actually being annoying, you're just learning :)
- Ask, "Who else can I talk to/learn from about this topic? Can you introduce me?"
- Get a feel for the culture - do they like memes? GIFs in Slack? Participate even if you feel awkward or like you're trying too hard.
- For my learning style, I like to ask, "Walk me through your thought process to arrive at this decision/take this action." YMMV
posted by tinydancer at 7:41 PM on January 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
If you ever do have a chance to meet your boss or anyone else you work closely with in person in the future, take it. Even if you make an excuse to go to their city and go on your own dime at some point. It's worth it. I've worked remotely for ~8 years at my current job. It would be okay if we'd never met in person, but my relationship with my own boss is far stronger because we've had drinks, had lunch, etc., and that makes everyday work easier. But yes, if that's not possible, chat people up on Slack. Do what you can to have some casual conversations and make friends, not just talk about work.
posted by pinochiette at 8:09 PM on January 5, 2022
posted by pinochiette at 8:09 PM on January 5, 2022
Ask more questions, more often. The #1 way I've seen remote new hires fail so far is they get stuck a lot on their work and they don't have strong enough relationships to ask questions they're uncomfortable about. Like, they think they should know the answer and don't want to appear like they're not prepared for the role. In person, team members are a lot more likely to notice, relationships form faster, and it's easier to clear these hurdles.
So being more shameless than feels comfortable is, IMO, a good practice. Plus being really active and intentional about relationship building with peers.
posted by heresiarch at 9:03 PM on January 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
So being more shameless than feels comfortable is, IMO, a good practice. Plus being really active and intentional about relationship building with peers.
posted by heresiarch at 9:03 PM on January 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
Another "one weird trick" I'll share is to observe who on your team has that "helping" gene. They jump in with answers on the team Slack. They're quick to volunteer and give advice on team calls. People say, "Oh, you know who helped me with that, is so-and-so!" Then glom on to that person because you can already see they do not mind helping other people out.
One of the things that held some new team members back, is when they formed a group of newbies and asked each other questions (and only each other). They did not form relationships with more senior members, so they did not get as much support that way. It feels safer to glom on to the other newbies, but you won't learn as much.
posted by tinydancer at 9:53 PM on January 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
One of the things that held some new team members back, is when they formed a group of newbies and asked each other questions (and only each other). They did not form relationships with more senior members, so they did not get as much support that way. It feels safer to glom on to the other newbies, but you won't learn as much.
posted by tinydancer at 9:53 PM on January 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Use a Zoom or Teams background. That way, if you are working elsewhere, it won’t generate conversation/suspicion from others.
posted by Juniper Toast at 12:03 AM on January 6, 2022
posted by Juniper Toast at 12:03 AM on January 6, 2022
Reframe how you think of video calls. The idea is to become as comfortable as you can with it so the calls aren't discrete annoying/anxiogenic events in your day, but just another way you keep in touch with colleagues. We did a lot of shadowing where I work to get the discomfort out of the way - having to work in parallel with someone on video for a couple hours really does help you get used to that mode of being present.
posted by Freyja at 9:39 AM on January 6, 2022
posted by Freyja at 9:39 AM on January 6, 2022
Remote work is SO MUCH BETTER in a workplace where everyone is remote, speaking as someone who has done both (pre-pandemic).
For getting to know your coworkers: set up short 1-1s with the people you'll be working directly with, within the first few weeks. If there are "social" Slack channels that interest you, join those and participate. Try to keep your video on as much as possible the first few weeks, even if there's a culture of lots of people having video off. Don't be afraid to reach out to people with small questions, or even just to tell them you agree with a point they made in a meeting, or if you find out you have something in common. That's how you build relationships on a remote team.
Do something at the end of the work day to mark that the work day is over. For me, it's taking the dog for a walk.
posted by lunasol at 10:51 AM on January 6, 2022
For getting to know your coworkers: set up short 1-1s with the people you'll be working directly with, within the first few weeks. If there are "social" Slack channels that interest you, join those and participate. Try to keep your video on as much as possible the first few weeks, even if there's a culture of lots of people having video off. Don't be afraid to reach out to people with small questions, or even just to tell them you agree with a point they made in a meeting, or if you find out you have something in common. That's how you build relationships on a remote team.
Do something at the end of the work day to mark that the work day is over. For me, it's taking the dog for a walk.
posted by lunasol at 10:51 AM on January 6, 2022
My workplace is all remote. We wrote a remote work guide that has a lot of info that might be useful to you! It's geared toward sharing best practices with organizational leaders making a transition to remote work, but a lot there can be broadly applicable to individuals as well.
We published a four-part series of excerpts from the guide as well, so you can find out more before checking out the full guide: 1, 2, 3, 4
posted by limeonaire at 1:00 PM on January 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
We published a four-part series of excerpts from the guide as well, so you can find out more before checking out the full guide: 1, 2, 3, 4
posted by limeonaire at 1:00 PM on January 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the good tips! I can see the value of making the effort to be outgoing.
posted by NotLost at 9:54 AM on January 8, 2022
posted by NotLost at 9:54 AM on January 8, 2022
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2. Be very active on Slack or the equivalent chat platform. Get on all the tangentially related channels and all social channels that interest you. Keep your camera on at all meetings, no matter how large, even if that's not the norm, so that your colleagues can put a face to a name.
3. If you're stuck, ask for help. Don't feel guilty or like you're imposing. It will aid you in forming personal connections since people like to help, and more importantly, being unblocked will give you momentum to be productive. Feeling stuck can lead to a vicious cycle, especially when remote.
4. Be disciplined about goofing off offline. Find what works for you -- website blockers, sitting it public places (if you can), imagining a coworker over your shoulder.
5. Take breaks. There's a temptation to work the full 8 hours non stop when you're remote. That's not how anyone works in the office. Take a reasonable lunch break. Chat here and there with people living in your house if possible. Some people recommend simulating a commute by taking a walk before you start the day.
Since you've been remote for a while, 4-5 are probably familiar to you, but I started a new job last year after being remote due to Covid at a familiar job too, and I found it more important to follow these than at the old job. Being new brings up anxieties and stress, which makes it all the more important to reduce procrastination (which is often caused by anxiety) and take care of your mental well being.
posted by redlines at 6:39 PM on January 5, 2022 [19 favorites]