10 Tips to Level Up Your Remote Work Game

Sure, remote work isn’t always easy; the nuances of team culture, collaboration, and career progression as a remote worker take time and finesse to master. However, some of the fundamentals are easy, and with a few refinements and adjustments, you can take your remote game to the next level. Here are some tips that we think are useful.

1. Be Proactive About Questions and Praise: Without quick hallway conversations to clarify a detail or context, it can be easy to get lost. Great remote teammates ask questions fearlessly, early, and often. Similarly colleagues feed off of positive feedback when deserved. Give it to them!
2. Specify When Meetings Can Be Camera-Off: An endless deluge of meetings with camera on can be incredibly tiring, and not all meetings will benefit from the effect of having some ‘face time’ Be a pro, and specify when meetings can be camera optional.
3. Set Agendas and Goals for ALL Meetings: Make sure there’s a quick outline to guide the discussion, and to keep everybody on the same page. Starting a meeting with “Let’s come out of this with X and Y…” can make a huge difference.
4. Clean Your Camera Lens: Seems obvious, but it isn’t. You get finger prints and dust on your camera lens all the time. A microfiber cloth to keep it clean and clear will ensure you look also look clean and clear!
5. Hardwire Your Connection When Possible: Even the best WiFi connection can have a hiccup or two with processing clean audio and video signals. A direct ethernet connection to your router will ensure you have the best signal possible. Your colleagues will thank you.
6. Place Your Camera Correctly: Slightly above eye level, angled slightly down, head and shoulders in the frame, windows set up to be looking towards the camera. Makes a huge difference in how professional and polished you look!
7. Dress Your Background: No need to go all ‘Hollywood’, but a neat but minimally distracting background can go a long way to make you look more professional and organized. Easy way to improve your credibility! Bonus Tip: If you have a good conversation piece in the background, it can be an easy ice-breaker for things like sales calls or partner meetings!
8. Use A Microphone or Headphones With A Good Mic: Nobody wants to struggle to hear what you’re saying, or feel like they are taking a meeting with a McDonald’s Drive-Thru. Make sure you’re mic’d up in a way that makes your audio easy to hear.
9. MUTE YOURSELF When Not Talking: Should be obvious. Clearly isn’t. When you’re not talking, mute yourself. Not only does it remove annoying background noise, but it also serves as a great signal for when somebody wants to speak up or interject.
10. Light Yourself Properly: Make sure you don’t place a bright light or window behind you, otherwise you’ll look like a ‘True Crime’ interviewee. Assuming that’s not what you’re going for, try to light yourself from slightly above and from the front!

BONUS TIP: It can be distracting and make you self-conscious to be looking at yourself on Zoom all day. Click on the little dots in your video frame and click ‘Hide Self View’ to get rid of that! Game changer.

Have quick tips of your own? We’d love to hear them! Join us at www.RemoteRated.com where you can find the best (and worst) remote companies and careers.

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