10 Questions to Ask Yourself When Determining Fit

Working as a virtual professional, it’s tempting and easy to look at your workload and want to fill every minute with clients. When the offer comes, you may be hesitant to turn it down. You want to build a reputation and reputation means client base.

However, it’s important to remember that despite being virtual, you are still joining a work environment. Companies hiring full-time staff often go through multiple rounds with a candidate. Those rounds include in-depth conversations with colleagues from across departments. While the interview process certainly seeks to identify your skills, and how you might perform in the job, there are other nuances at play. How a candidate interacts with the team plays a significant role. Despite new paradigms that have been introduced to the market as of late, hires often boil down to a tipping point called culture.

The virtual sphere offers a range of environments and work styles to choose from and sometimes, it’s okay to turn something down that does not feel authentic to you.

Long before you start interviewing with a new client, consider these questions:

1. What kind of manager do I do best with – someone who is hands-on or hands-off? How much micromanagement am I comfortable with?
2. How much communication do I need with my manager and the team? What forms of communication do I use best?
3. Honestly, how comfortable am I working in an industry in which I have no prior experience or expertise? What industries do I prefer to work in? Which do I prefer to avoid?
4. Am I more task-driven or more of a big picture type?
5. How much formality and protocol do I prefer or dislike?
6. Do I like environments that use analytics and predictive index tests to inform fit and productivity or a more organic philosophy?
7. Do I prefer a conservative, traditional work environment or extreme modernity like that of a start-up or millennial incubator?
8. What does my ideal interaction look like with members of the team? What’s my nightmare?
9. What are 10-20 skills that I confidently bring to the table and what skills do I know I do not possess?
10. How many uncommitted hours do I realistically have each week and how many clients can I realistically serve?

In the interview and on the job, you may identify even more questions to ask yourself, your prospects, and your clients. But having a sense of your professional self ahead of time improves your chances of success and fulfillment from the work you do.

 Submitted by Darcie