Telecommuting jobs are very popular with many people today. The contractor avoids commuting in traffic twice a day, buying expensive clothing and dealing with office politics. The company avoids having to pay benefits and having to provide office space and supplies as they do for on-site workers. Common interview questions for telecommuting jobs tend to center around the issues of following directions, meeting deadlines, payment expectations and the worker's home environment.
Interview questions for telecommuting jobs that test the applicant's ability to follow directions are quite common. For example, the company posting an ad for telecommuting workers may ask for a certain phrase to be entered into the subject line of the respondents' emails. Anyone not following those directions is usually automatically eliminated from the pool of prospective applicants. Companies looking for telecommuting workers often do not have the resources to keep checking to make sure the work is being done correctly. Sometimes, an interviewer may ask outright "Can you follow directions well?" as one of the interview questions for telecommuting positions.
Meeting deadlines is another concern most companies that hire telecommuting workers has. The attendance of on-site workers can be monitored, but it is often impossible to do that with off-site workers. "Can you work well with minimum supervision?" and "Do you always meet deadlines?" are some interview questions for telecommuting jobs that companies may want to ask prospective telecommuters.
Freelance contractors such as writers are often asked "What are your rates?" and "How do you accept payment?" as part of the interview process for telecommuting jobs. Companies hiring other types of telecommuters may just tell the prospective worker how they will pay them rather than asking applicants their preference for payment in the interview questions for telecommuting positions. Most companies that hire telecommuters will pay either by check or through the PayPal payment service.
"Do you have a quiet place to work?" is another common interview question for telecommuting jobs that require the telecommuter to telephone clients. The company wants to ensure that noises of children or other noises will not be heard by clients as this sounds unprofessional. "Do you have broadband, or high speed, Internet?" or other questions about the applicant's computer equipment are other common interview questions for telecommuting jobs.