4 Skills You Need to Succeed as a Remote Developer

The post-pandemic period has become challenging for many companies, as in 2020 they were forced to adapt to new Covid reality and build their remote processes, mostly from scratch. Of course, employees needed to adapt to the new remote schedule too, which has now totally transformed the way workers see remote opportunities and plan their time. 

In the IT industry, many companies decided to keep the work-from-home possibility even after restrictions softened. As the pandemic has not fully ended yet, many corporations now offer employees to choose whether they want to work from the office or home today or implement part-time options. But even besides the pandemics, people realized the advantages of remote working and do not plan to get back to old standards.

App and web development specialists were among those who assessed all the pros and cons of working from home: the market offered remote opportunities at a similar salary level as full-time ones. Entrepreneurs considered various web development business ideas and constantly needed specialists.  The well-written proposal can help app and web development specialists in their remote work. It should not only convince potential clients but also demonstrate how you will meet all of the company's needs with ease, efficiency, and quality so they don't have any reason to look elsewhere for these services.

Now, developers are only limited by certain country regulations and their skill set.

Remote vacancies give specialists more freedom in planning their working time, they are not tied to a particular city or country, so such specialists are happy to travel with their families, keeping the well-known work-life balance. Companies also noticed the benefits of hiring remote workers, as they were able to significantly reduce administrative and other related costs connected with onboarding and adaptation, office maintenance, etc.

Statistics shows that the trend is only growing, remote web developer jobs are being posted daily, and the number of remote programmers will only increase:

However, the option of being a remote software engineer has its own challenges.

Without face-to-face contact in real life, it may be difficult for both parties - an employer and a remote worker - to keep the communication the most effective and pleasant. It is a bit harder for recruiters to evaluate a remote candidate right at the Job interview, as it is usually held via Zoom or Skype. In addition to technical interview questions and standard soft skill related ones, hiring managers may give candidates tricky tasks in order to see their reaction. Recruiters have been trying different instruments for searching and interviewing remote candidates so you never know what their next question could be.

These two years have shown hiring companies that the candidate’s effectiveness cannot be based only on technical skills, although they certainly have a very important role. Some personal qualities eventually become a decisive factor for the company’s CEO..

In this article, we will talk about 4 main qualities great remote web developers should have to succeed in their field and give developers advice on how to boost and represent their best qualities during the job interview.

Even a few years ago, companies did not pay so much attention to developers’ soft skills, primarily expecting software engineers to write code and develop applications only. Nowadays, the required remote developer skills have broadened to include extensive soft skills, including exceptional communication skills too.

In a multi international team working on the same project simultaneously, it is vital to understand not only the client, but also colleagues. Especially, if you are working remotely and do not have an opportunity to meet people in person and connect with them in real life. You will have to build bridges online, so colleagues could quickly understand you and rely on your development expertise in order to give the collective final result on time. 

For a remote web developer jobs, strong communication skills are vital not only for handling all project stages, but also for working in a company in general. Web developers should be able to convey their ideas, set goals and deal with any issues, especially those who work remotely and do not interact with their colleagues from different countries and cultures on a daily basis.

When looking for new candidates, recruiters and HR managers usually pay attention to various communication tools to evaluate the candidate from all sides: during the initial chat on the job site or in the messenger, during the phone call, a Zoom interview, etc., paying attention to the candidate’s overall communication style, his tone of voice, intonation, if the conversation is easy, fast and efficient.

Also, hiring managers may track your experience of interacting with other team members through additional tools, such as Slack, Skype or Project Management Systems.

Tips to boost strong communication skills:

There are totally some trends in the skills employers value the most in remote workers. For example, most employers value self-discipline and understanding (and applying!) the basics of time management.

It is true, some specialists work more effectively if they work in the office, under the constant supervision of their manager or team leader. However, for many workers, it is enough to understand tasks and know the deadlines to complete their work efficiently and on time. The Covid pandemic has shown that web developers are able to work independently and can plan their work schedule, following all project estimates. Home atmosphere did not transform specialists into unproductive home-sitters some employers had been afraid of.

The truth is those candidates who could not adapt to the new reality, get less attractive income options or working conditions in general.

Tips to boost this skill:

Make your accomplishments known! Before the pandemic, almost all of us worked in the office and it was easier for team leaders to see our efforts and successes, which means the salary and bonuses revision was faster and more accurate. If your company has a clear scheme for moving to the next income level, you are lucky. If a manager approves your promotion based on achievements and work results, then, as a remote employee, you will need to figure everything out. You are already doing a good job, the main thing is to remind yourself and others about your successes.

Tips to boost this skill:

At the interview stage, you should have a list of achievements from previous places instead of a pretty standard list of responsibilities (it is mostly similar for web developers).

Do you already have your programming portfolio? Create one!

What about your current work? Write every achievement down not to forget them eventually, and then remind your team leader about them. They do not see you in the office daile and may simply forget or not pay attention to your results!

The first and most critical thing that companies and recruiters check is the candidate’s technology knowledge (or multiple technologies if required). This works both for fulltime and remote web developers. Companies are obviously looking for a candidate who is already familiar with their technologies. Your portfolio, LinkedIn, CV, etc., should describe your tech expertise, years of experience, completed projects description if possible.

In addition to relevant programming expertise (for example, if they are specifically searching for Wordpress remote developers) or knowledge of the newest programming tool, recruiters are also looking at career development - where the candidate previously worked. If you've been working remotely recently and have been constantly changing jobs, this might be suspicious. In the recruiters eye, you may be an unreliable candidate.

Therefore, choose companies you work for carefully.

Tips to improve technical skills:

A few years ago, it was widely believed that remote work was an unpopular option for introverts. Even more, no one knew how to start an app development company consisting of mostly remote workers. But, as recent years have shown, remote developers perfectly cooperate with other team members, bringing corporations lots of money. To succeed in their area, web developers need to have qualities that employers look for.

You need good communication skills whether you want to negotiate with clients or work on the same product with your team. Such skills are often indicated in a CV for the usual full time work format. So, when it comes to remote job opportunities, focus on remote communication skills specifically. If companies plan to hire remote developers, they will pay attention to this point.

The ability to meet deadlines and self-discipline are very important for completing tasks on time. There is a risk of losing balance between work and personal life, when you are constantly working from home, so take time to rest properly, avoid burnouts.

It is more difficult for remote workers to show their achievements, so remind your team manager the results you brought working for a particular project, and also ask how you could improve your programming skills.

Develop professionally. Technical expertise and hard skills are crucial for the IT candidate, but sometimes a final decision can be made based on personal qualities.

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