Getting A Remote Job Faster By Knowing Your Communication Style
A Company's Remote Communication Methods Can Make Or Break Your Experience
If I could, I would communicate at work 100% through Loom. If you’ve never heard of Loom, I’d encourage you to check it out. It’s a video recording app that lets you send your short videos with a single link, and lets you comment on others’ videos. You can sign up and use it for free.
Why would I use Loom?
1st, I communicate well in speaking. My thoughts flow very naturally, and I’m able to easily articulate my thinking, particularly with complex ideas.
2nd, I can use many different supplements with video, such as diagrams, wireframes, and presentations. This gives me a range of tools to make my communication interactive and engaging.
3rd, with video I am able to communicate asynchronously. I don’t need to have meetings to get my ideas across, and I can work fully when it’s convenient for me, including communication.
4th, a Loom video lives forever. My colleagues and I can comment on it, come back to it, and reference it in perpetuity.
Of course this is not how I communicate at work… but it’s a lot closer to my communication style now than in my old job.
For many people, whether they work remotely or in the office, the norm is meetings.
Meetings every day, sometimes impromptu when someone just has a question, and sometimes planned.
But like so many other things with remote work, there are considerable variations in how communication is conducted. And it’s incredibly important to think carefully about what kind of communication style you want to have, because:
remote work is 70% communication
and 30% doing your job
So in this letter, we’ll look at the different dimensions of communication so you can consider what the ideal remote communication style would be for you, and search for companies accordingly.
Asynchronous vs Synchronous
The most important dimension of remote communication is time. Because we are not in the office, it is not essential for us to work, or communicate about our work, at a fixed time (usually). As a result, some companies have adopted a model of communication where employees need to only send text or video to update each other and make plans. This is known as asynchronous communication
Conversely, many, if not most, companies still prefer to hold many meetings to discuss different topics. Meetings and even chatting with each other over instant messaging software are referred to as synchronous communication. This is the norm of the office, and has come to dominate remote work communication as well.
It’s difficult to say which form of communication is better, but a more interesting question is which style you personally prefer.
If your preference is synchronous, you’ll want determine this during the interview process, and you can assume by default that most companies will use primarily synchronous communication. It’s still the norm.
If you prefer asynchronous communication, you’ll need to be much more intentional in your job search. Building out your network, speaking openly with people at the company about how they communicate there, and looking through a company’s website can tell you a lot. The fact is many companies that prefer asynchronous communication are very public about it.
Written vs Spoken
As I stated earlier, I prefer spoken communication. Speaking something out loud, even to myself, helps me confirm whether or not it makes sense. It forces me to imagine I’m sharing the information with the other person. And ultimately, this makes sure I get my best ideas across.
You may prefer to write your ideas out. That’s completely fine! But it’s absolutely essential for you to determine what style of communication is best, and to investigate at the companies where you are considering working what they prefer.
I’ve found most companies that prefer asynchronous communication also prefer writing, but this may start changing. Spoken and video communication may make headway as technology continues to develop.
As with asynchronous communication, you’ll need to do so research to determine communication styles. I highly recommend reaching out to 3-5 people in the company to ask how communication there works.
Spontaneous vs Planned
This is perhaps the most important and most underrated consideration around remote communication.
Even if communication is asynchronous, it may still well be spontaneous. I am personally a spontaneous communicator: I will drop a message or video whenever an idea comes up.
By contrast, I’ve found some particularly systematic individuals prefer very structured communication where there is a clear expectation on format and timing for sending messages.
These styles do not tend to work well together.
It’s very difficult to find out how spontaneous or planned a company’s remote communication is, but one reliable method I’ve found is to check the age of their leaders and the type of company.
Start ups and companies at any stage with younger leaders tend to be more spontaneous in their communication.
Older, more established companies and older leaders may well prefer more planned communication.
Action Item
Consider what communication style suits you best.
Consider the following questions:
Do you prefer asynchronous or synchronous communication?
Do you prefer written or spoken/video communication?
Are you a spontaneous communicator, or do you prefer to plan communication patterns carefully?
Answering these questions will help you make the best choice about what remote jobs to go after. In general, if you don’t like ansychronous communication or written communication, you should consider avoiding companies that prefer it. There are a ton of companies out there that prefer synchronous communication, so a job where this is the norm should be easier to find.
If anachronous communication does sound good, your search will be harder, but you’ll be much happier in your job.
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