For years, passive income was all the rage; income earned so effortlessly that money would pour into your bank account overnight, allowing you to live a life of freedom. It’s a lie.

I have traveled the world and come across many people spouting this nonsense. You’ll find them in cities where you can live like a king on what’s considered a meager living in the States. I found the densest population of these spouters in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It’s the ultimate big fish little pond setting. Can’t make it in New York? Go to Thailand. Start an Instagram account, post your vegan smoothie bowl, share how you’re living the ultimate lifestyle, record yoga videos, and sell how you do it all in three easy steps.

Thankfully, people have finally figured out a flaw in the passive income promise — there is nothing passive about passive income. It takes time, effort, and energy to provide value to people. Enough value that someone will give you their email address and click to buy your product or knowledge. Much like anything you do with intention, it becomes more valuable over time. The key is consistency.

In 2017, I traveled the world (16 countries in 12 months) — all while running my business. Every time I spoke to someone, they would tell me I was living the dream. The most common question asked of me was, How can I do what you do?

No one liked my response. When I revealed it involved actual work, it no longer seemed attractive. People expected me to tell them that I worked less than three hours a day. Boom! Clients would simply throw money at me while I slept, and each morning I would wake up to new money in the bank. When I would share my step-by-step plan (which isn’t hard but does require work), they didn’t want it. What they wanted was for me to give them three quick, easy steps to make their first $60,000 in three months.

Have some people been able to do this? Sure. Have most people been able to do this? Not even close.

However, the reason people kept handing their money over to someone else already benefitting from passive income was not just the idea of earning extra income. That was merely the bait. The dream they were buying into was freedom and flexibility. Doing what they wanted, when they wanted, with complete anonymity. Most of all, the ability to work remotely.

COVID’s impact on employers hit like a tidal wave

Employers didn’t see the storm ahead (or ignored it). Worse, employers turned their backs on what was being presented to them and stated their companies would never be impacted by remote work.

Never say never.

An employer’s job is to future-proof the business, which includes future-proofing their workforce. Instead of considering the consequences of defying change and the many predictions regarding the future of work (which has been a reality for years), it was business as usual until they were forced to change.

The first wave that hit employers was a tidal wave, and everything changed overnight. No one has fully recovered yet, and the second tidal wave is here. What we’re experiencing now is a king tide. Thanks to the COVID moon, the new high tide has rolled in. Unfortunately, as has been said many times, we are all in the same storm but not in the same boat.

Remote working works. Employees know it. They’ve experienced it. Still, the storm carried too much weight because the very thing employers were worried about backfired on them.

You see, the cry of employers for years when it comes to remote working has been, How do I know if my people are working? It’s a fundamentally flawed question. From the beginning of time, leaders have been working remotely. They just did so without technology. If you are leading and managing a team that only works when you are watching them, the problem is not your workers; it’s you.

What employers also refused to look past was their fears to read the case studies of remote workers. Remote workers have always been more productive, but with a caveat. Good remote companies have been and continuously put, systems, processes, and boundaries into practice on purpose. Productivity happens on purpose, not happenstance. It’s also to protect employees. Burnout from overworking is very real. As we’ve all seen now, remote employees are more likely to overwork — not work less.

Burnt out employees are jumping ship — swimming for freedom and flexibility and fewer working hours. The pendulum swung too far, knocked employees down, and now what we’re experiencing is an overcorrection.

On July 27th, 2021 H.R. 4728, was introduced to the House by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA41). The Thirty-Two-Hour Workweek Act would reduce the federal definition of the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours per week by kicking in overtime pay under federal law at the 33rd hour rather than the 41st.

You might think this is great, and companies should and can afford to pay for it. However, this doesn’t just apply to large corporations. This would have major implications on the millions of small business owners. Not to mention the inflation that has already hit. No one has correctly predicted when inflation will end yet. It was supposed to have been a flash in the pan, and now experts are pushing it out at least through the end of the year.

Who benefits from part-time as the new status symbol?

The workers who will ride high on this tide are those who can command part-time hours with full-time pay and benefits. These workers will also be able to advance the furthest.

Then there is the king tide. You can put your C-Suite, VPs, executives, and knowledge workers in the king tide category. These workers will become like royalty and untouchable. A new type of privilege and hierarchy to be born into.

While there is nothing wrong with freedom and flexibility, nothing bad about employees putting their feet down on the companies who cared nothing for them; not everyone will benefit. And thus, the Red Sea will part severely.

Those who will be blinded by a new moon and begin to drown in the low tide waters are the workers who were considered dispensable at one time or another. Workers who traditionally could only find part-time work will now be sought out for full-time work offered the minimum amount of benefits, and their status will be the lowest. Not to mention with inflation and the soaring housing market, their salary still won’t provide the same lifestyle or opportunities. This includes having the least amount of freedom and flexibility. Many workers won’t be simply facing a pay gap. We’ll see a new gap introduced — the time gap.

The rich may get richer but let’s not forget it’s more than monetary.

Freedom is the new wealth, and time is the new currency.

Enter in The Great Resignation, where workers are telling their employers; You can take this job and shove it. There is no scare of inflation or the consideration of not having another job lined up. It’s as much a privileged move as it is a power move.

Employees are no longer looking for security from their employers. Instead, employees are showing employers who is really the boss. For those who haven’t quit, it’s simply a matter of time because 65% of U.S. workers are looking for a new job.

Historically, those who worked 60+ hours a week were rewarded. Hard work was the name of the game. They were seen as important. Busyness was a badge of honor. Now those same workers are pitied. And where are the people who rewarded this work behavior? Well, they are leaving the workforce.

Or are they?

While Boomers can get a bad rap, don’t forget their great contribution to our workforce, economy, and the technology created. It’s for all these reasons and science they are sticking around longer. Heck, they are pioneering the new gray divorce showing 60 is the new 40. Not ready to retire in the traditional sense, Boomers are now entrepreneurs, board members, advisors, consultants. Watch for the Boomers to take their place in the king tide.

Generation X (my generation) sadly has never put up much of a fight in the workforce. Sure, we brought you grunge, experienced the golden age of hip hop, had teen movies with real depth, and catapulted MTV to its success but all as the forgotten middle child.

The changes GenXers made in the workforce were and are still not done in the same unified fashion as Boomers or Millennials. In our defense, we simply don’t have the same numbers. Not to mention we grew up alone as latch key kids in single-parent homes or homes with two working parents. We found a way to get what we wanted but grew up cynical for profound change. For all this, we are now most likely to face the biggest unemployment crisis. GenXers will have to learn to swim in the waters of the low tide.

Millennials have never considered they can’t have it all. They’ve been told their entire lives they could and are going to change the world. Yet, no one told them how they were going to do it. Call them entitled if you want but brand them as innovators trying to clean up the planet. These are now our leaders in the workforce, and they don’t just want work/life balance. They demand it. If anyone has forgotten, it is their guru, Tim Ferriss, who wrote the book on it, The 4-Hour Workweek.

How you receive this information will largely depend on the tide you find yourself in and how well you can swim.

Predictions only have a chance of being right, so many will read this and do nothing, hoping my predictions are wrong or won’t apply to them. Others will be thankful because, finally, someone is speaking up on their behalf.

Here’s what I do know for sure, chaos is the enemy of commitment. If you don’t have a commitment from your employees, you are in a state of chaos.

When people are jumping ship, it’s sink or swim time. It’s a demonstration they have already committed to something else. The likelihood of getting them back is slim to none. To steer your ship to calmer waters where thoughtful decisions can be made requires a commitment from everyone on the ship.

The best we can all do at this point is get employers and employees to the table and promise to commit to one another for a positive change.

With commitment, we will be able to close the new gap of part-time time as the new status symbol even before it begins.

Editor’s Note: This Medium Writers Challenge entry was added to Index on November 05, 2021.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location-independent. Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to effectively hire remotely and is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy.

She has since gained international recognition and has been featured in ABC News, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and The U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Part-Time Is the New Status Symbol was originally published in Index on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It’s been said that there are only two things certain in life and that is death and taxes. We dread and try to avoid them both. As certainties, I find it strange how many people are never prepared for either. Could it be that our preparations are too focused on risk and not the reward?

Living is a risk that we all must be willing to take. All of us at some point have not put as much effort into the risk of living because we can’t see the reward.

When it comes to death many people do whatever they can, consuming the latest information and implementing the latest strategies to see how they can prolong their life. If their life can’t be prolonged then they are doing whatever they can do to look young as far into the future as they can.

Yet, not everyone seeks to prolong their life. Some people don’t want to look too far into the future. Maybe it’s the lack of a strong vision. Or maybe it’s fear. An inability to imagine a future that will be better than today. Death would end the suffering associated with their life.

Even the thought of death can cause an imbalance in living. Our bodies are vessels we can’t escape. We associate death with pain, suffering, sadness, and loss. The mere thought of any of these feelings and emotions instinctively causes us to retreat. Forgetting to consider the possible reward. Also, forgetting that death doesn’t have to be awful.

In fairness, it’s easy to forget the biggest reward that comes when we die since we are not around to see it. It is our very life that is taking up the space which cannot allow anyone else to occupy as part of their life journey.

The most beautiful reward in death is the life that can now take its place in the Circle of Life.

The Lion King was released a few months before my son’s first birthday. It quickly and easily became his all-time favorite movie as evidenced by his Simba tattoo and Lion King toys, pillows, clothes, and anything he can get his hands on. He even played the theme love song at his recent wedding. It’s the movie he most identifies with and as such, it is the movie that we watch over and over again each year. It’s truly a wonderful movie on so many levels, but the life lesson it has taught us both about death is most incredible.

Very early on in the movie Mufasa (the king) teaches Young Simba (the prince) about the Circle of Life.

Mufasa:

Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.

Young Simba:

But dad, don’t we eat the antelope?

Mufasa:

Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.

Everything does exist together in a delicate balance. Part of finding our own Circle of Life is finding the right balance which allows us to live and die without breaking the Circle.

Dying is not what breaks the Circle. Dying is simply part of what keeps the circle in motion, in balance. If it never rained we would experience a drought. Too much rain and we experience a flood. However, in the right balance, we find joy in our rainbow. What breaks our Circle of Life is the absence of living.

Part of achieving the balance in life is knowing what will spring forth in our death. These are thoughts I had to seriously consider in my own life and work through on two very real occasions when the very last thing I wanted to do was live life to the fullest.

The first was after the suicide of my father. He was the greatest dad who ever lived. He loved me unconditionally in a way that no one else has ever loved me. He was my everything and my all. When he died there was a part of me that died. In time what rose up to spring forth life were the memories of him and how I could pass those memories on to my own children.

Mufasa: You have forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba, you are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.

The memories of my father are a constant reminder of who I am. I am David’s daughter. Each time I remember who he raised me to be I show respect for his life. His memories remind me that I have a place in life to take. A place, had my father been alive, I could not have walked into. It was my place alone to occupy and in the right balance.

Taking my place in the Circle of Life meant giving real thought, time, and dedication to not only how my children would mourn after I die, but as to what memories I would leave them with after I’m gone. Loving them enough in living so they would and could sustain that love for the rest of their lives.

I felt like I had taken my place and was finding balance until in the midst of everyday life — parenting, working, and surviving a recession — my husband committed suicide.

My life became a blur. I do remember thinking it was strange that a lot of people were really concerned about my welfare. Including people who I didn’t know very well. It’s understandable. No one had ever heard of someone who had a father and a husband commit suicide. (I still have not heard or met anyone else). They were concerned about how I would get through such a tragic experience. Yet, I felt like I had a head start. I was only concerned with my children. It’s a very surreal thing to have in common with your children — to both have fathers who committed suicide.

I took my next place in the Circle of Life. I knew that in my new place, there was no one better able to sympathize or empathize and love my children through a situation I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. The place I knew I would not be able to fill were all the monumental firsts my children would walkthrough with no father.

When my husband died yet another part of me died with him. I questioned the Circle of Life. Sympathizing, empathizing, and loving doesn’t necessarily mean you are living.

It seemed natural for my father to pass away. Parents are supposed to die first. The matter in which he died was not ever the issue. When you love someone that much it wouldn’t be better to watch them suffer through cancer. It would not have been better to deliver news to family and friends that he was killed by a drunk driver. I would have found no comfort in my father having been senselessly murdered or part of a freak accident. When you lose someone you love, the loss is a loss.

My husband’s death didn’t seem to be so clear. He was not my parent. He was supposed to be my partner. He left me holding the bag. He left me to pay the bills. He left me not knowing for sure if I would be able to begin again. Though he ended his own suffering, my suffering had just begun.

As that piece of my heart died it took a year before I was willing to even consider what it would be to live a life without daily suffering. Over the course of a year of not living daily, I was slowly dying. It was my sister who saw from across the country how I was beginning to wither away. First, it was the weight loss. Then it was my spirit. When I was no longer truly living and didn’t even know if I knew how any longer she intervened.

A year in the presence of my sister, her family, friends, and back in my hometown, I learned what it meant to start living again. It was a rollercoaster of ups and downs and many times I wanted off the ride. I remember on occasions going from laughter to tears and wondering what emotion I should be feeling. It’s a strange thing to be unsure if you even have the capability to be happy again. As though we are only given so much happiness in life and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

After another year had passed, I felt ready to plant my own seeds to live life again. I began to allow myself to envision what could spring forth in my death if I chose to live again.

Living was not always easy. It took commitment that required energy I didn’t seem to have. Living required laughter and mostly the ability to laugh at myself. When I found joy in living I was able to take my new place in life. As soon as I did my life felt like it had changed direction overnight.

Living consumed me to the point that I was more afraid of not living than anything else. In fact, I got over my lifelong fear of flying. The anxiety attacks that I suffered from for over 15 years disappeared. The more I lived the more I wanted to talk about death to ensure my children were as prepared as they could be. To provide them with an example of what life can sprout even after death.

I have now since traveled the world and taken my place in this new Circle of Life I could have never imagined. I’ve shown my children what can be done if you’re living a life worthy of risk-taking and the rewards that come with it. Like them, I’ve had monumental firsts and noticed who was missing from those moments.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak to many people about death. Many that believed the Circle of Life ends in death. Mourning is a real and necessary process. You can live and mourn at the same time. Sometimes living is fighting. Sometimes living is loving. All the time living is learning.

There was a time I feared death more than anything else. I no longer fear death and could truly be happy if it was all over tomorrow. The only fear that remains is the fear of not becoming who I am destined to become by refusing to take my place in the Circle of Life.

I have seen death. I understand the risk. I will forever be connected in the Circle of Life. Great is my reward.

Two years ago I wrote an article, Where are all the remote jobs people are talking about? for remote job seekers after receiving numerous inquiries from individuals who were not able to find legitimate remote work.

The tide has changed and now it’s companies seeking to find legitimate remote work resources they can trust.

As a remote work consultant, you would think I would take every client who contacts me. I don’t and it’s by design.

It has nothing to do with the number of daily inquiries I receive and everything to do with the services I offer. Being a remote work consultant doesn’t mean I consult on all areas pertaining to remote work. Beware of anyone who says they do.

In fact, beware of the majority of consultants who have suddenly popped as experts in remote work because they worked at a distributed company or were allowed to work remotely on a regular basis. That’s simply not enough.

To be consulting companies on what works, what doesn’t, what questions you need to be asking, identifying blind spots, as well as opportunities, and, most importantly how all this will impact your employees you need to have more than a singular experience and perspective.

There’s a difference between working remotely and making remote work actually work for your people and company.

Many of you know exactly what I mean when you read that statement. Sure, you’ve been remote but the duct tape is finally falling off. The hacks have come to a halt. Your employees can no longer keep fanning the flames and they are burned out.

What do you do now? You seek out the right remote work resources you can trust. People who will be the game changers in your company.

What are my motives for sharing my favorite remote work company resources? After numerous inquiries for my services as a remote work consultant, it became clear to me that this article is way overdue. Instead of sending out individual emails, I can now point people back to this article. (Yay!) My motive is to save myself time.

Here are the people and companies I have been referring inquiries to for years. These are resources you can trust and they were around and changing the game of traditional work pre-Covid. It’s important you understand that this is significant in terms of the experience and value they all bring to the clients and companies they work for.

Here are my go-to resources: (You’re welcome).

Problem — Company Culture, Leadership, Virtual Meetings

Solution — Chris Dyer — Tired of having another meeting about meetings? Of course, you are! Chris is the best in the business when it comes to virtual meetings. He regularly hosts free webinars on remote work leadership, management, and culture that you will certainly find helpful. He’s also very active on LinkedIn. When it comes to company culture he literally wrote the book, The Power of Company Culture. Chris consults CEOs and HR departments regularly.

Problem — Remote Employee Experience, Onboarding, Inclusion and Diversity, Internal Communications and Employee Engagement

Solution — Blend Me, Inc. helps startups and small businesses improve The Remote Employee Experience (TREE). Since 2013, they have provided fractional and interim people operations services to culture-driven organizations with an interest in either fully distributed / all-remote, Hybrid-remote, or telecommute work environments.

As active thought leaders, Blend Me’s leadership prioritizes opportunities to educate others. They have participated in speaking engagements for the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Their team has been featured in Harvard Business Review and named one of the top 15 Remote Work Advocates and Leaders by All-American Speakers Bureau.

Problem — Operations, Policies, Workforce Training, Creating Infrastructure, Data-Driven Strategy & Analysis

Solution — Distribute Consulting was founded by Laurel Farrer who is an international expert in remote working with 15 years of expertise. When it comes to fully distributed or hybrid teams Distribute has the experience you’re looking for. Working with Distribute your company will strengthen its virtual communications, streamline digital processes, and develop long-distance management strategies.

Problem — Ineffective Remote or Hybrid Team Practices

Solution — Workplaceless offers a variety of training and certification options to develop effective and sustainable remote work policies and processes. Whether it be foundational skills for optimal remote work or training successful leaders for virtual and hybrid teams, there are options available for you and your business. Additionally, Workplaceless hosts free monthly networking webinars to serve as continuing education, this is a great option for professional development. Even as a seasoned remote work leader, I enjoy the monthly events as they allow me to keep a very close eye on the current state of the remote workforce.

Problem — Your Company Needs A Complete Overhaul

Solution — Remote-how is the world’s leading platform for remote professionals powered by and for the community of 25,000+ people from 128 countries. They are strengthening the health and performance of remote and hybrid companies, with ready to implement consulting solutions, delivered by experienced leaders from remote-first companies like GitLab, Doist, or Buffer.

Remote-how is on a mission to help everyone achieve freedom of choice where and when they work. Think of it as an online campus, where your employees can upskill through one of their certification programs. You can connect with remote professionals from all around the world in their virtual coworking space. Have access to consultants from around the world, training for your HR department, an audit of your needs, and even enterprise solutions. Whether you need to solve issues with your remote company culture, or the CEO needs a coach, Remote-how has you covered.

Problem — Your Virtual Events Suck (there’s just no other way to put it)

Solution — Robbie Samuels is a Virtual Event Design Consultant and makes Zoom better than you ever imagined it could be. Don’t believe it’s possible? How’s this, he hosts a Friday evening #NoMoreBadZoom Virtual Happy Hour every week, and even at the end of a long work week 60+ people show up and have a great time! With Robbie, there is no such thing as Zoom fatigue.

Want to host your own Virtual Happy Hour? Read Robbie’s article in The Harvard Business Review for tips.

Now Robbie wasn’t always focused on virtual events but it’s like he was born for this. As a networking expert, conference planner, event host, and professional speaker, he knew how to work a room and taught participants how to leverage networking opportunities at conferences. He believes events are about content AND connection. Now that virtual events are synonymous with events he’s on a mission to rid the world of poorly designed and badly executed virtual events. He helps national and statewide advocacy organizations strategically bring their events online with less stress and greater participant engagement. He also helps presenters get confident with Zoom, online facilitation, and virtual event design so they host more engaging online experiences. Robbie saw the writing on the wall early and he’s a success story of 2020!

So what problem do I solve if I recommend my trusted remote work resources for all these problems?

I solve the remote hiring process for companies with 20 employees or less. I create a strategy to ensure the company is attracting the right employees, deterring the wrong applicants from applying, and fill the gaps in the entire hiring cycle to ensure not only a start date but a finished cycle date with no loose ends. Additionally, I serve as the master interviewer to ensure that potential candidates don’t remain in purgatory while the company scrambles to find time to interview.

If you have a problem I didn’t mention I would actually really love to hear what it could possibly be. I’m sure I know someone who would be great for you!

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location-independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business.

Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to effectively hire remotely and is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy.

She has since gained international recognition and has been featured in ABC News, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and The U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Remote Work Resources You Can Trust: Pre-Covid Game Changers was originally published in Melissa Smith on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The most dishonest statement you make in an interview is something most people don’t realize they’re doing. The moment you say it the very thing you hoped to happen, to have the interviewer trust you, goes out the window. It makes the interviewer think twice about everything you’re going to say and the more you state it during the interview the worse it gets for you.

That statement is, “I’ll be completely honest with you”.

It can also take other forms,

If I’m being honest.

In all honesty.

I have to tell you the honest truth.

The candidate’s thought process is that since you’re telling the person you’re being honest you are not lying. However, it has the exact opposite effect. If you have to tell the interviewer you’re being honest what about everything else you’ve said. For everything that you didn’t preface were you being completely honest? Were you partially honest? How often are you partially honest?

A good interviewer isn’t going to begin the interview by assuming you’re lying. A good interviewer isn’t starting the interview with a mindset to trap you in a lie or looking for you to point out how honest you are. A good interviewer knows their job is to find out if you are the best match for the company and the role and this is done through thoughtful questioning. Not through intellectual interrogation.

When it comes to remote work, candor, and even radical candor is what you should be conveying during the interview. Having the ability to convey your thoughts and feedback with your coworkers is essential. If you appear to be dishonest in an interview and clearly lack the ability to be candid you are not appearing to be a good fit for remote work.

Working with others on any level will inevitably force you to have difficult conversations. Remote work adds another layer to this because most of the communication is not face to face and that includes Zoom video chats. If you haven’t yet figured out how to communicate honestly and candidly it’s a bad culture fit for the company and for you.

What so many candidates fail to understand about remote work is that you have to be your biggest advocate while at the same time be the most dependable teammate. You have to candidly share your boundaries, your frustrations, your ideas, process improvements, and applaud your teammates for the same. It’s your job to take the guesswork out of working with you.

If you have trouble being honest in an interview and can’t answer what is deemed to be a question you should know the answer to, how can the interviewer trust that you’ll be able to have difficult conversations with your coworkers that are candid and yet thoughtful?

Prefacing all the “tough” questions with “in all honesty” also has the interviewer lacking your ability to communicate online. What kind of facade are you going to be putting up with your coworkers, supervisors, and direct reports? Will you know how to be honest and communicate your needs? Are you going to be capable and comfortable in a transparent environment?

These are all really important things to think about in order to hone your interviewing skills and show yourself as the right match for the company. So how do you take these statements out of your vocabulary? You must practice.

Start asking yourself the tough questions you feel that you need to be honest about. Research questions online and prepare yourself. Practice doesn’t count if you are only practicing in your head. You must say the words out loud. You need to hear for yourself how you sound and practice your natural response to questions. It’s best to do this while looking in the mirror to be able to view your facial expressions as well. Adding this to your morning routine is a great way to practice often.

During an interview let’s say you are asked what you love least about your current role. Instead of saying, in all honesty, I don’t like having sales goals flip the question around. Tell the interviewer, Great question. May I be candid with you? Now, no interviewer is going to refuse your request to be candid. However, asking permission to be candid is appreciated and sets the stage for the interviewer to be paying close attention which is exactly what you want.

It does not imply that you haven’t been telling the truth previously. What it does imply is that you are going to openly reveal something about yourself that could be viewed as either positive or negative. Think of it as though you are telling a secret and the interviewer knows you are going to be completely honest. Here is a better response, I’m not a salesperson. In my role, I have sales goals and while I understand it’s the metric that the company chooses to measure my performance on, I would prefer to be measured on how well I support the sales team to meet their goals. The pressure of having sales goals hinders my work and creates more stress.

What you’ve demonstrated with your response is what remote companies covet.

1. Ability to communicate;
2. Knowing yourself and how you work best;
3. An understanding that you, like the company, are looking for the best match and culture fit so much so that you are willing to be candid about what is not a good fit for you and what causes you stress.

Know when interviewing with remote companies that you are expected to be honest already. Instead of telling the interviewer you are being honest, understand and practice what is not expected of all candidates and demonstrate candor in your communication.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business. Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to work remotely, specializing in the remote hiring process. You can learn more about working with Melissa at melissasmith.io

Additionally, Melissa is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy, as well as the Founder & CEO of the Association of Virtual Assistants and The PVA. She is also the bestselling author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become A Successful Virtual Assistant.

Melissa has since gained international recognition and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

When applying for a remote job, you will no doubt be asked to provide references at some point during the interview process. While references aren’t typically contacted until you are being seriously considered, they may be requested upfront to save time. Providing references is not a casual document to throw together. You want to be very thoughtful about the process of compiling who your references will be and how your references will be able to support your claim of being able to work remotely.

A recruiter is going to ask straightforward questions to your references. Some version of the question could be:

• What is your working style?
• How have you demonstrated the ability to work independently?
• When have you been able to meet or exceed deadlines?
• How well do you communicate and collaborate within a team?
• Do they believe you are a good fit for this role?

An even better recruiter is going to ask questions that don’t necessarily lead to what may be viewed as a positive or negative response. They are looking for the truth about you to determine if you fit in with their company culture. Miranda Nicholson, VP of HR at Formstack, likes to ask the following questions of references:

• What did you learn from them?
• What did you talk about when you weren’t talking about work?
• What was the best piece of advice they gave you?
• What did you have in common?

Miranda also said, “I try to fashion the questions around what the potential red or yellow flags are vs softball questions. I will also ask a ‘would you rather’ question, ‘Do you think they’d rather be wrong, late, or disliked?’ They’re never going to say “disliked” but the other two will give you insight into the candidate’s humility and punctuality.”

Another common type of remote work reference check Formstack, along with many other companies, likes to conduct is called a back-channel reference. This is when the company goes to any one of your social media profiles to find out if you have any mutual connections. The company (typically without letting you know first) will reach out to these people, let them know they are thinking about hiring you, and ask for their thoughts. Be prepared.

One of the biggest red flags is when a reference is being taken and the person giving the reference has nothing constructive to say about you. The person paints you as a perfect employee. For instance, you can’t excel at working head’s down on your projects and be the best project manager. Have you truly exceeded every deadline? Does everyone on the team truly think you’re the best and you’ve never had a disagreement with anyone?

Most companies aren’t looking for perfection and perfect employees. This is particularly harmful if you are applying to a company with a culture of celebrating past failures and resiliency. No matter what the culture, a healthy company is not looking for the perfect employee, they are looking for the perfect match in alignment with their company culture. The recruiter can’t make the decision if you are the right candidate if they don’t feel they have true and honest information.

Remote companies value honesty and candor in a way that may seem unusual if you have never worked remotely. This is because you will be expected to communicate honestly and candidly. You will be expected to guard your boundaries, push back on ideas, and provide positive and constructive feedback openly and transparently. No more meekly knocking on your boss’s door to ask for five minutes of their time to complain about your co-worker. The whole point of hiring the right person for the culture is to avoid the need for this in the first place.

Of course, you don’t want a bad reference. If you don’t have a conversation and prep your references ahead of time when searching for examples to provide the recruiter a reference can often remember an isolated incident. You don’t want an isolated incident to be a focal point of any conversation. A reference shouldn’t be bringing up your worst isolated incident that came out of a high-stress situation, that time you weren’t given a full deck of cards to play with, or when there was a particular personal situation affecting your life.

The question then becomes, how do you ensure that your reference provides honest feedback to help you get hired by the right remote company? You have to have a conversation and prep your references. Let them know about the job, the company, why you think you are a good fit, and, most importantly, how you have demonstrated the ability to work remotely. Ask them for honest thoughts and feedback. Share details about the role.

What about the role is exciting to you?

What is challenging?

How do you plan to grow in this role?

Are there areas where you are looking forward to using skills not previously utilized?

Is there an opportunity for professional development as part of your daily role?

As a master interviewer, one of the questions I enjoy asking is, In what area could this candidate benefit from professional development? Often the response is, there isn’t an area for the candidate to improve. Wow. Is that really true? The reference believes they’re giving me a good answer but it’s not. It’s probably one of the worst answers they could provide.

Think of it this way, the best companies to work for are spending tens of thousands of dollars (much more depending on the size of the company) to continually be coached in areas where more professional development is needed, as well as areas they already excel in to ensure they stay at the top of their game. This would also include those in the C-suite. If the highest level of leadership can still benefit from professional development and you can’t you’re not a good fit for this company.

Talking about these opportunities with your references is crucial. Remind them you’re not expected to be perfect. You are expected to have an opportunity to improve and grow. One of the most common answers to why a candidate is looking for a new role and what they want in the new role is an opportunity to grow. But if there is no professional development where are you growing? You’ve just created a huge disconnect that someone else, a recruiter, is left to try and piece together.

Remote references are and should be treated differently. An in-person job reference and remote job reference aren’t the same. Make sure your references know the difference as well.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business. Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to work remotely, specializing in the remote hiring process. You can learn more about working with Melissa at melissasmith.io

Additionally, Melissa is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy, as well as the Founder & CEO of the Association of Virtual Assistants and The PVA. She is also the bestselling author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become A Successful Virtual Assistant.

Melissa has since gained international recognition and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

What Makes A Good Reference For Your Remote Job? was originally published in Melissa Smith on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Crafting your career story is an important part of the interview process because it makes you memorable for all the right reasons. If you make being a great (or even good) storyteller your first job, you’ll find that writing your resume and interviewing becomes much easier. A well-crafted career story will increase your opportunities and allow you to naturally stand out in the crowd because it is easy for a recruiter to remember.

It’s imperative to be easily remembered because there are hundreds of people applying for one job. You are likely to be applying and possibly interviewing alongside 20–30 very strong candidates. Don’t rely on the company’s hiring process or an impressive resume alone. Instead, craft a career story that makes it impossible for anyone to forget you.

Wondering if the work it takes to craft your career story is worth it? If it is worth your future employer’s time then it is worth yours. In this Forbes article, How To Use Storytelling To Build Stronger Remote Teams In The New Normal, by Darren Menabney he explains why. Note in the very first paragraph the benefit to the company’s current and future employees.

“By telling stories with our remote teams, we can build trust and psychological safety and support employees who feel isolated.”

Fortunately, Menabney also shares, “We are all natural storytellers and stories grab our attention.” Remember, this is your story. Not fiction. This makes you the best person to share and tell your story in the manner only you can.

In a survey done by FYI, while 96% of remote workers would recommend remote working. The number one challenge remains the same — communication. Storytelling won’t only make it possible to interview better and land the job you want, it communicates to your future employer your ability to work well on a remote team. Your ability to communicate through storytelling is an essential skill employers are looking for.

Key Elements of Your Story

Values

Think about your story and how it is driven by what you value. At an early age, what started your path even though it seems random? You want to show this is not something you are simply doing right now. This is part of your DNA and who you are which is shaped by your core values. Were there values in your life that pushed you towards something or was it how you challenged society’s values that forced you to find value on your own?

Education Progression

Education can be one of the most boring parts of the interview process. Particularly when recruiters are interviewing super achievers. Having the interviewee simply restate all their accolades and reiterate everything that is already on paper is the equivalent of holding a meeting that could have been an email. What doesn’t the recruiter know? What can’t they see on paper that they should? How did your values show up in your schooling? Did you ever fail and, if so, what did you learn from it? Share college experiences and extra-curricular activities, passions projects, volunteerism that aren’t simply meant to score you points but that are in line with your values and the company’s.

Past Work Experiences

Only in hindsight, do most people realize that different life and work experiences play off one another to form strengths. Imagine reading the resume of someone whom you’ve never heard of, with line items of their work history alone. This is what is taking place every time you submit your resume. Will it catch the eye of the recruiter and be memorable?

If you have been in different industries and have held had different roles that don’t seem to match up there can be a disconnect. While in this new era of changing employers every few years is no longer a red flag, it’s still your job as the candidate to show how this next role is naturally part of your career trajectory.

Now imagine reading a resume and feel like you are being told a story in a way that makes each line item unfold. Painting a picture that shows how all your work experiences easily connect to one another. Storytelling helps you create a resume this strong. Your story of frequent job and/or industry changes should be able to paint the story that you are not choosing to jump ship, rather you are daring to do something different.

Steve Jobs is famed for his very different skills and abilities. For marrying art and science. Before him, technology was bulky, square, not sexy, and not fun. Because of his interests, abilities, and talents, in a wide variety of areas, he was able to “naturally” bring them all together. Show how your unique life experiences make you uniquely qualified for the role.

If you have been at the same company for many years and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of change and challenge it’s time to rewrite your story.

Don’t list one title for 20 plus years and leave it at that. Show where you started and write your rise to where you are now. Share your story of the things that people often forget are challenging when you’ve been at a company for a long time.

• Share the memories of when you had to work under new management and adapt to change in leadership.
• Write and tell the story of how you navigated employee turnover or a multigenerational office successfully.
• Let the reader know the numerous software and implementation changes that have no doubt taken place over the years and your role in the process.

Cultural changes and technology advancements tell the story of how dedicated and committed you were and how many times you saw something through from the beginning, possibly conception, to implementation. You remained around long enough to see what worked and then what no longer worked and then again started a new cycle of change.

Story Framing

One of the easiest stories to craft is one that starts at the beginning. It’s a story about the progression of your career. It’s also one of the easiest stories to remember.

If you chose to work backward in your career, the place where you are now and your rise to this position, then you have to create a narrative that is extremely compelling because the recruiter will naturally assume the end based on where you are today. It’s not biased, it’s an assumption and everyone makes assumptions. Be prepared to share a plot twist in your narrative.

Crafting your own story, even if you find yourself to be a natural storyteller, can pose challenges. We simply don’t have an outsider’s perspective. Asking your friends, family, and co-workers about your work habits and life experiences is an excellent place to start crafting your career story.

The best book I can recommend for crafting any story is Steven Pressfield’s book, “Nobody Wants To Read Your Sh*T: Why That Is and What You Can Do About It”. No matter what kind of story or narrative you are crafting, this book has the framework to assist.

At the end of every story is a really strong summary. The boy gets the girl. The girl gets the job. The underdog wins against all odds. People are reunited. Love wins all. At the end of your interview, what story are you telling when someone asks if you have any further questions? What are you leaving the interviewer with?

Don’t end with great, I look forward to hearing from you soon. Everyone says that. Don’t wait to put something in an email. Summarize what you are going to say in the end. When you are done watching a great movie or reading an incredible book the first thing you are likely to do is share it. Your story should leave the interviewer feeling the same way, wanting to share your career story with the team.

Remember, everyone has a story to tell, and your story matters.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business. Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to work remotely, specializing in the remote hiring process. You can learn more about working with Melissa at melissasmith.io

Additionally, Melissa is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy, as well as the Founder & CEO of the Association of Virtual Assistants and The PVA. She is also the bestselling author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become A Successful Virtual Assistant.

Melissa has since gained international recognition and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

Interviewing? Why Your First Job Is To Be A Great Storyteller was originally published in Melissa Smith on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Feeling overqualified for the job you’re applying for but need money to keep the lights on? I’ve been there.

In the 2008 recession, my family was hit hard. I had three jobs to help keep the lights on. One was my day job as an executive assistant that I was well qualified for. It was a great job, challenging in the right ways, and I loved what I did. My other two jobs, waiting on tables.

I had grown up in the restaurant business and began waiting tables when I was 13 years old. I was a long way from thirteen when I applied for the server roles during the recession and the managers would ask me why I wanted to do this job. Hadn’t I outgrown it? I was clearly “overqualified”. My competition, local college students, seemed like a much better fit.

My response was that I was a career executive assistant who started as a server when I was thirteen. Clearly my life’s calling is to serve others. I wasn’t overqualified. I was well suited for the job and had a lot to offer my potential co-workers who were half my age and I looked forward to what they could teach me as well.

Just over a decade after the Great Recession and millions of people are out of work again. Now I’m on the opposite side of the table and consulting with and constantly interviewing potential hires. A question that commonly comes up is what to do when you are overqualified for many of the roles you are seeking.

First, start by reframing your thoughts on being an overqualified applicant.

Miranda Nicholson, VP of HR at Formstack, recommends selling yourself as a Subject Matter Experts (SME) to be more appealing to recruiters.

Miranda says, “They may be overqualified but it cuts down on ramp-up periods and training costs. Sometimes people want to be really, really good at what they do so they can teach others. Others have had a taste of management (which is often the growth path after mastery of skills) and they’d prefer to be individual contributors. It doesn’t make them desperate or lazy. It makes them self-aware and emotionally intelligent.”

This is excellent advice and as a professional interviewer, I want to know the candidate realizes this as well.

Reframing your thoughts and perspective is one highly important step to take. Below, I share practical tips and the next steps of what you should and should not during the interview process if you are feeling overqualified.

Don’t “dumb down” your skills or abilities.

You can’t sell yourself as an SME and an average knowledge worker. Not to mention, employers don’t hire dumb people. Dumbing down also insults the interviewer’s intelligence. Ultimately, if you do get hired it hurts your career path in the long run.

Never tell a recruiter you’re overqualified.

This includes saying you could do the job in your sleep. Hiring you, as an overqualified job seeker, would be detrimental to the company culture, as well as a disservice to your wellbeing. Employee engagement is directly linked to how positively challenged an employee is. If the employer can’t challenge you they can’t engage you. Recruiters, hiring managers, and employers are looking for people who think the work is exciting and challenging. Telling a recruiter you’re overqualified is like saying you are done learning and growing. Essentially, you’ve labeled yourself as a know it all.

Avoid telling a recruiter everything you know.

This isn’t because you shouldn’t be highlighting your skills. It’s for the purpose of learning everything you don’t know about the role. The interview process is about you and the role. Sharing your life’s work history and bio in the interview is one of the most common ways interviewees run out of time and the interviewer doesn’t get to share about the role which means you don’t get to discuss it either. The interviewer walks away knowing your life story, believing you are overqualified, and not necessarily interested in the role since all you did was talk about yourself.

How To Interview As An SME

Share your expertise and let the interviewer know what you are still excited to learn.

How is your role being reskilled for the future and how does your expertise help put the company ahead? According to the Mercer Global Talent Trends 2020 Report, one of the biggest challenges employers are facing is reskilling their current workforce. Placing yourself ahead of the curve is a great benefit to the company.

Let the recruiter know what you could learn that will pair well with your current strengths.

This is extremely important when you are applying to a different industry. Show you can bring together two seemingly opposite skills for an outcome that benefits the company and the team. For instance, a recruiter may never have been able to see how calligraphy and personal computers go together. However, once Steve Jobs said it it made perfect sense.

“If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class…And personal computers might not have the wonderful typography they do today.” — Steve Jobs

Highlight your ability to work on a lean team.

When recruiters mention working on a lean team it is often code for, you are going to do more than your title implies. You may have to do things you haven’t done for yourself in years. In a more pure sense, a lean team is a group of individuals empowered to make quick decisions and take actions that benefit their company. It’s much easier for an employer to empower an SME to make decisions and act on the company’s behalf.

Reimagining yourself as a subject matter expert opens up doors while being overqualified can feel like you are beating down doors that never open. Paint a picture of the future. Rather than concentrate on your life’s work, focus on the fact that your life is not over and your bio is still being written. Describe how this role could be the next chapter.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business.

Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to work remotely, specializing in the remote hiring process. You can learn more about working with Melissa at melissasmith.io

Additionally, Melissa and is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy, as well as the Founder & CEO of the Association of Virtual Assistants and The PVA. She is also the bestselling author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become A Successful Virtual Assistant.

Melissa has since gained international recognition and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

Are You An Overqualified Job Seeker? How to Interview and Get the Offer was originally published in Melissa Smith on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In what seems like overnight, many employers are shifting from competing in talent wars to having potential new hires beating down their virtual doors looking for work. While many companies have been conducting online interviews for years if this is your first time interviewing online here is what you need to do to prepare for your interview.

1. Know the Online Address Directions

There are a number of platforms that a potential employer could interview you on. Much like you find the directions to an in-person interview, adjust for traffic, parking, and arriving just early enough to show you are punctual the same is true for online interviews.

Download the proper software well in advance. If you are not given the link to the interview immediately, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for the platform. Test it out and make sure you understand how to use all of the software components. Showing up to an interview unprepared and late because you’ve never used the software before is not an acceptable response and will not get you hired.

2. Do A Test Run

From an early age, I have been notorious for getting lost. However, through the years I’ve learned to use it to my advantage and better prepare myself. Whenever possible I used to do a test run to make sure I knew exactly where I was going, what the parking situation was, make sure there were no surprises like construction or street closures to deal with. (This was pre-internet times). This is still the best online practice.

Not all software you download will automatically sync with your computer setup. Additionally, if you are using a public computer you won’t be allowed to use many software applications for privacy reasons.

Don’t just download the software needed to do a full test. Have a friend or colleague join you online and ensure the person on the other end can hear and see you clearly. Be sure to check the sound quality and echo with and without headphones.

3. Present Yourself In A Positive Light

This is both metaphorical and literal. When you go to an in-person interview you take the time to present yourself in the best way possible and one suited for the role you’ll be applying for. Interviewing online takes the same kind of attention to detail. Make sure you’re set up in such a way that the lighting doesn’t block you out. Check your background. Don’t allow for anything that will cause the interviewer to be distracted from you.

Be aware of the noise level. Let others know you’ll be interviewing and to keep the noise down. Outside factors interrupting the interview will not have the interviewer leaving with a positive memory of you. Interviewing in a public space is not recommended.

4. Clean Up Your Desk(top)

Be prepared and ready to share your screen should the interviewer ask. Act as if the interviewer is sitting at your desk with you. What is on your desktop? Is it clean? Do you have several tabs open that are not beneficial to your interview? Close all your tabs and disable all alerts that could possibly distract from your interview.

5. Have Your Interview Questions Ready

Make sure that you have questions ready to be asked even before the interview begins. There is never a reason not to have questions after you’ve been interviewed. It is most often perceived as a lack of interest. Stating that you don’t have any questions because the interviewer answered them all is not acceptable. A good rule of thumb is to make sure your questions are more company-related than position related. In the event that the interviewer did answer your questions related to the position you still have relevant questions.

Interviewing in-person or online can make anyone nervous. Preparedness is what enables you to put your best foot forward, allows you to shine and stand out from the competition during the interview process.

I’ll be writing more articles on how to interview online but without proper preparation, your first impression could be a poor impression. In this new market, you can’t afford to make a poor impression.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business.

Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to work remotely, specializing in the remote hiring process. You can learn more about working with Melissa at melissasmith.io

Additionally, Melissa and is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy, as well as the Founder & CEO of the Association of Virtual Assistants and The PVA. She is also the bestselling author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become A Successful Virtual Assistant.

Melissa has since gained international recognition and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

Preparing For Your Online Interview: What You Need To Know was originally published in Melissa Smith on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Back in 2015 (well before Covid-19) Software Advice conducted a survey and found that more than 60 percent of hiring managers and recruiters were using video for their remote job interviewing needs. Almost half of the respondents with prior video interview experience preferred this format.

Online interviewing is not a new concept. However, what do you do if you have no prior experience?

In my last article, Preparing Your Online Interview, I shared how to prepare for an online interview. Preparedness is what enables you to put your best foot forward, allows you to shine and stand out from the competition during the interview process.

Acing the interview gets you the job offer.

Here are five things you need to know in order to ace your online interview. The best part is that this is simple and anyone, including you, can ace an interview even if it’s not in person and you don’t have prior experience.

• SMILE

Introverts are commonly concerned that extroverts will overshadow them during the interview process. In many instances, online interviews level the playing field. Being an introvert is not an excuse not to smile.

Whether you identify as an introvert or extrovert, your smile shows you are happy to be speaking with the interviewer. The job is a source of excitement. Extroverts tend to show their excitement and interest through body language and speaking. If you are an introvert and not as boisterous with your body language and tone, smile and show your excitement by doing your research. What do you know about the company? Whom have you researched and what do you have in common with the other successful employees?

2. PRACTICE EMPATHY

You may be more prepared and more skilled in interviewing than the person interviewing you. Don’t fault them for it. Instead, be the candidate that helps them grow, learn, and ultimately makes their job easier.

The interviewer could be overworked, tired, and you could be their last interview of the day. Don’t be swayed by the interviewer. Most certainly, don’t take your interview down a notch because the interviewer was out of steam. Instead, make yourself memorable by practicing empathy. Empathize with the interviewer by letting him/her know they have a difficult job and thank them for their time.

3. FOLLOW-UP WITH SPECIFICS AND BOUNDARIES

Following up is a commendable trait until it becomes an irritating email. Send an appropriate thank you follow-up email. Ask before your interview ends about the timeline and when an appropriate time to follow-up would be. Make sure your follow-up is valuable. Don’t send email to simply “check-in”. Follow-up with something of value, something you learned about the company, something you think could be of value to the recruiter. Under no circumstances give the recruiter more work to do.

4. LOOK INTO THE CAMERA NOT YOUR SCREEN

It can be very awkward to look into the camera. However, when there is no eye contact made during the interview, many recruiters believe it shows a lack of confidence or worse you have something to hide. Don’t worry if you can’t see what the interviewer is doing. Look into the camera and smile. Additionally, share what you’re doing while on camera. I’ve heard numerous stories of candidates who were interviewing and taking notes but thought to be playing on their phones or not paying attention. Share what you’re doing. Don’t give anyone the opportunity to make assumptions.

5. SUM UP YOUR INTERVIEW STORY

You may have answered a lot of questions. You may have asked your own questions and had meaningful dialogue as well. End the interview by being able to sum up your story. Leave the interviewer wanting to learn more about your story.

Acing your online interview is easy when you know what to do.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013. In 2017, she became location independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business.

Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to work remotely, specializing in the hiring process. You can learn more about working with Melissa at melissasmith.io

Additionally, Melissa and is an author and mentor for the first global, online education remote individual certification program with Remote-how Academy, as well as the Founder & CEO of the Association of Virtual Assistants and The PVA. She is also the bestselling author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become A Successful Virtual Assistant.

Melissa has since gained international recognition and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

Acing Your Online Interview: What You Need To Know was originally published in Melissa Smith on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Communication. Communication. Communication. When working remotely you cannot over-communicate. You can communicate poorly. Without an effective communication strategy, you can certainly think you are communicating well. However, it’s not effective if your message isn’t received.

This means tasks and assignments won’t be executed on even by your senior leadership. With all the “communication” swirling around there will be organized chaos that you and your team are confusing with communication.

There must be a strategy for the way you communicate if you want the message to be received. It’s your job as the leader to make sure you not only deliver the message effectively but that it can also be received appropriately. This is the strategy everyone working remotely must be willing to adhere to.

I suggest having no more than four strategies of communication. Each one with a very specific intended purpose. It’s imperative that everyone knows how and when to communicate in every situation.

1. For your immediate needs and quick response times. (within the company)

Slack or Instant Messaging (IM) — You’re more likely to overlap via email when attempting to share short, quick bursts of information. Additionally, on Slack or IM, you can remove the formalities that you’ll need to implement over email.

There is a caveat, the conversations should be in open channels so others can have a birdseye view. In a team or group, one person can be responding, and the entire team can view the exchange. This is a great way to make sure everyone is on the same page. If not, it’s the perfect time for a team member to speak up and ask for clarification.

Why I don’t like WhatsApp or Text — These are not open channels. We still want others to view conversations in the channels or appropriate groups. It’s also imperative that work is done using work devices whenever possible. If done over personal phones you are adding another layer of non-compliance.

2. Communicating when a longer response time is appropriate. (in and outside the company)

Email — No matter how long you’ve been using email, chances are you are probably using it incorrectly. Don’t worry. You’re not alone! Emails were never intended to be the novellas that we have made them into. However, no matter if your emails or short or on their way to be the next instruction manual they should all have the same thing in common — the overuse of the words, “please”, “thank you”, and “you’re welcome”.

You don’t have the same interaction remotely as you do in the office. There is no body language and the person receiving the email cannot hear the tone in your voice. You are now one another’s first client. Is your email fit to send to an outside client? If not, rephrase it.

3. Collaborations & Projects

Asana — I default to Asana. Always. There are other platforms you can use such as Trello, Basecamp, and Teamwork. Everyone gets assigned work, has deadlines, and can easily share files. There are a number of ways to make sure multiple people are not only communicating within the project but that everyone can see what progress is being made.

The biggest mistake made in these platforms. You still need someone to manage the project. The software tools are meant to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Only the project manager can make sure to orchestrate the project seamlessly and keep people moving along before the project gets behind.

4. Phone & Conference Call/Video Chats

Knowing when to take meetings offline and speak 1:1 is imperative. Anyone on the team should be able to call a meeting of this nature and invite the appropriate people. It could be after a few messages are not providing clarity, when the back and forth emails seem to be getting heated, or when team members have become unresponsive.

No-fault calls. Setting up a no-fault call policy might be in order. Remember no matter how clear you believe you are if the person you want to receive your message is unclear it is your job to help provide clarity. Don’t fault the person for wanting to clarify over the phone or video chat.

You could be using all these platforms now, but you could also be using all of them wrong. A strategy ensures you’re using them to communicate effectively. Remember the goal of the strategy is for every team member and employee to not simply deliver a message but to make sure the message is received.

Melissa Smith has been working remotely since 2013 when she became the first employee at her company to do so. Only a few short years later, in 2017, she became location independent. During that time she traveled to 16 countries in 12 months while running her business. Now Melissa teaches and consults others on how to make remote working work. Additionally, Melissa is one of the authors for the first online, globally recognized remote work individual certification through Remote-how Academy.

Melissa is frequently sought after for her knowledge and expertise on remote working. She has since gained international recognition and has been featured in Forbes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. News & World Report, as well as many other publications. You can learn more about Melissa at https://melissasmith.io/.

A Succesful Remote Team Needs An Effective Communication Strategy was originally published in Melissa Smith on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.