How do I ask for 2-3 days per week remote work in a job interview?

Question

I will soon be applying for jobs. I'm still a junior developer with some but not too much experience under my belt. One thing I'd love from a new job would be the possibility to work remotely for 2-3 days a week. How would I best go about asking this?

I don't want to come across as too demanding, and I also don't know how to properly justify it. I don't want to sound just lazy. Which I really am not. What would be some convincing arguments here?

Part of the reason I want to work remotely is because this way I can work from a co-working space with my friends who are also working there. The atmosphere is pretty great there and I've worked there before and got a lot of work done while having a good time. Another reason is that I feel like I will get more work done if I can sit down by myself and figure things out, or also just work from home sometimes. However, I feel like the latter could easily sound anti-social, while the former might sound I want to just have a blast with my friends and not integrate into the new company. Both seem like red flags to future employers.

How do I increase my chances here?

Answer 1

In the interview, simply ask what their flexible working policy is and indicate that you've found remote working to be productive in the past.

Then see what their policy/approach is and work from there. You'll probably find out here at what point you'll be allowed to work remotely (e.g. after the probation period has elapsed).

You need not make a big deal of this - it is common these days for people to work from home (or have the flexible option to do so).

Answer 2

In a similar vein to Snow's answer, you're free to ask about how flexible their work policies are. It will likely come up in an interview, depending on the questions they ask, and you can seamlessly talk about your successes in that remote work environment without having to awkwardly bring it up out of context.

However, since you are relatively inexperienced in the work force, be prepared for them to say no. Most employers will want you in an office environment to get a gauge on how you fit with their culture, how you work, and the results you provide. This is not to say you will permanently be stuck working in this office environment, but be prepared for it nonetheless. Remote working tends to be a privilege that is earned, in my experience.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

You might consider negotiating your offer outside of the interview. Keep the interview to demonstrating your capabilities and asking questions that will help you decide if an opportunity with the company would be exciting.

Instead of asking for remote work in an interview, express you desire for remote days to the recruiter. He or she can help you understand what you can expect in the roles they are working to fill. You can also negotiate to have remote work promises included in your offer, but you should wait to do this until you have an offer in hand.

Focus on getting an offer first, and negotiate the offer if it doesn't match your expectations about the role.

Answer 4

If flexibility is important for you, you may want to consider picking job offers from companies which advertise flexible hours or remote work. It is now widely understood that flexible working conditions constitute an advantage, so companies which are able to offer such flexibility to you usually advertise it. Interviewing with the right companies from the start saves a lot of time.

Even if a company is unable to offer home office to a junior employee, if you're hired by a company which offers home office to seniors there's a good chance that you get this privilege once you prove yourself.

Answer 5

I've found that it's always best to do the ramp up in person, for all seniorities I've worked with. You being a junior means your ramp up will probably be a bit longer.

If I were in the company, I'd prefer that you work on site all days at least for the first month, for this reason. I suggest you straight up offer this to the company, so they can see you're committed to learning the ropes there (every company has different ropes, independently of your seniority). Once you're at a productive level and once people know you and how you work (and once you've learned how to make your productivity visible), I don't see a reason why they would deny your work from home request.

However, let me be clear just in case, don't wait a month or so to request working from home. Do it in the interview (as you were planning to), just don't ask to start working from home right away. One month, as I mentioned, is just a general number. Perhaps you can leave it to your team leader's discretion, but if that's the case I'd be clear in the interview that it would be once the ramp up is done and you're at full speed, not just whenever some other person pleases.

Answer 6

Your instincts are correct, you need to address this before getting an offer/starting. If you try to negotiate after then you may well seem demanding and might end up fighting the company culture (in which case you are unlikely to get the result you want).

Many companies offer remote work, some jobs are almost exclusively remote. For development it's pretty normal, so don't worry about justifying it or seeming lazy, if that is their response (unlikely) then just take it as a sign that's not the job/company for you.

So just ask; either at interview or when applying. Make your requirements clear upfront: in the covering letter or on the 'phone. If you have got to interview without asking then definitely sound them out. If they say it's a possibility then make your general feelings known. Don't wait until after an offer and surprise them, that's a rookie error an would probably annoy them. This isn't being pushy but being clear. It does mean you won't get some interviews, but only ones for companies that don't meet your requirements.

Broadly, most companies will fall into one of the following categories: Remote as standard, occasional (e.g. need to stay home for a plumber/builder/parcel etc.) or never; you need to be clear what you are looking for and willing to accept.

If you decide you must have some/all remote (which is reasonable) then you need to find suitable jobs and discount unsuitable ones without wasting too much time, so the earlier you ask the better. If they have a policy absolutely ruling it out you don't want to waste your time interviewing there (well unless you need interview experience 😉).

If, after a while (how long depends on how desperate you are) you aren't getting enough interviews/offers then you may have to reassess the feasibility of your requirements, but this will depend on your local job market (you haven't indicated where you are). Of course, you could go fully remote and get a job anywhere.

Make sure you make it clear to any recruiters you are speaking to that it's a requirement. This will rule out some jobs but rule in others.

Answer 7

First, I would not discuss this concern until you have an offer in hand.

Second, in the shops I work in, developers have frequent collaborative meetings, and while remote participation is possible, it is normally more awkward.

I want my employees to be happy with their work, but the quality and quantity of the work, and their integration with the team is extremely important to me.