The Best Interview Questions to Ask Remote Workers 2026
Jan 12, 2025
Most founders and biz owners know how important interviews are. It’s what allows them to know which people are going to take their company to the next level.
But, let’s be honest: for them, there’s rarely enough time in the day to run long, drawn-out conversations.
And when calendars are packed, spending a full hour per candidate just isn’t sustainable.
So let me ask you a simple question:
What if the same depth of clarity could be reached in 20 minutes instead of an hour?
After interviewing candidates for more than 20 years, this framework has never let us down.
Not only does it cut out the small talk, it surfaces the truth fast, and shows whether someone can actually know the ropes.
Below are 6 sets of questions that should trim out the fat on your interview time.
1) “What’s your situation and what are you looking for now?”
This is the fastest way to spot alignment and compatibility.
It reveals:
Whether the candidate is running towards something or away from something
Their urgency and expectations
Whether the role fits into their life as it is right now
A grounded candidate will likely give you a grounded answer.
2) “What does your company do?”
This question uncovers comprehension and context.
Candidates who understand their previous company's business model tend to understand yours faster. It also shows whether they’ve been close to the core operations or just orbiting tasks.
And, at its core, this question helps reveal how closely the applicant's previous company was structured and operated compared to yours, so you get a clearer sense of how quickly they can adapt.
3) “What exactly are you in charge of?”
Many resumes inflate responsibilities, but this question cuts right through that.
It surfaces:
Ownership level
Scope
Decision-making authority
Accountability
If someone struggles to articulate what they own, they probably didn’t own much, were coasting within the team, or were simply task doers working off checklists rather than driving key results.
Ultimately, the deeper purpose of this question is to understand how closely their actual scope of ownership aligns with what you need as an employer right now.
4) “Walk me through your end-to-end process - go step by step.”
The main reason to ask this is to see how closely an applicant’s day-to-day activities match how much you need. This question makes it easy to spot what’s already a fit and what’s missing.
It also tests how organized their thinking is: if someone cannot explain their process step by step, that will likely become a problem on the job.
People who really do the work can explain their workflow clearly, logically, and confidently, but people who only assist, observe, or partially engage cannot. You can’t fake gaps in knowledge - and this question will let you know whether they’re faking it or not.
5) “Give examples of important decisions you make daily, weekly, monthly.”
This is one of the strongest truth detectors in any interview.
Decision-making is what separates task-doers from operators. And for many hiring managers, this is one of the clearest truth detectors.
This question reveals:
• Pattern recognition
• Judgment under pressure
• Prioritization
• Strategic thinking
A great hire can map out their decision cadence without hesitation. And the reason this question matters so much is simple: for most high-performing talent, the biggest indicator of whether they’ll be great at their job comes down to the micro-decisions they make every single day.
Small decisions like:
• A client received bad news - do they share it now, or buy the team a bit of time to attempt a solution first?
• A project is drifting off-course - do they trigger a backup plan even if it compromises their current deliverables?
• They can’t get their manager’s attention on an urgent issue - do they call after hours, or send a detailed email to be read first thing in the morning?
These tiny choices do compound. They show one's intuition, thought process, and level of ownership put into a job.
