My experience working remotely for a company in the US

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work remotely for a company in another country? In this article, I explain my experience after a year working for a company in the United States.

The other source I use to access interesting job offers is to subscribe to some websites, such as Remote.OK, Remotive or We Work Remotely . Even if I'm not looking for anything at the moment, I save the companies that interest me in a Notion document to apply to during the periods when I'm actively searching.

Another interesting resource is Glassdoor, not only to find good offers but to see the evaluations of the company's employees, former employees, and candidates, giving some clues about what the selection process is like.

Did you adapt your CV to apply to a company in the United States?

I always adapt my CV to make it relevant to the job I'm applying for. I have several versions, one in Spanish and one in English. I usually use the English version, because that's the language they usually ask for it in both Spain and the rest of the world, but I have come across some companies that have asked me for it in Spanish.

When I talk about adapting my CV, I don't mean lying or adding things I don't know how to do. I do mean eliminating skills and experiences that aren't relevant to the position, adapting the introduction and emphasizing projects that may be more related to the position I'm applying for.

I also adapt my cover letter , or the text I send with my CV when I apply for the job. In it I explain my motivations, why I think I fit the position and why I find the company interesting. This way I show that I have informed myself about the company and that I have prepared myself for the process. I think these are details that make the difference.

Finally, you can use a service to review your CV, such as TopResume. If you send them your CV, they will give you a first feedback for free. Afterwards, they will write you some spam to hire a professional review, but just with the comments from the free review you will already have many ideas to improve and optimize your CV. One of the things I learned when I used it was that most companies use software that automatically analyzes the CV looking for keywords that fit the position. That is why it is important to adapt it to each offer and make it relevant.

Did they give you a contract or are you self-employed?

As far as I know, there are three ways to work remotely for a company abroad. If you are more experienced than me and read this and know of any more, please correct me.

The first is to become self-employed in Spain, or in the country where you live and pay taxes. But I strongly recommend that you look for a consulting firm that can help you with the first steps and invoices. The second is that the company is prepared to hire globally and already has a registered office in your country to be able to make contracts there. For example: the company has its headquarters in Australia, but they hire all over the world. To avoid problems, they have a registered office in Paris, London, Madrid and other cities, but without an office. Simply to make a contract for you according to the laws in force in each country. This will allow you to have a payroll and not worry about paperwork, if that is what interests you.

The third option is to use an intermediary. The company does not have headquarters around the world, but they use a third party that does offer this service, such as Remote.com, which is becoming very popular lately. In this case, you will still have a payroll, but the contract and salaries will be made through the intermediary.

In any case, it is something I recommend you ask in your first interview with the HR person who calls you for the first interview. No option is worse than the others, it will depend on your preferences and priorities.

How much vacation do you have?

When I told someone at my company that I was thinking of taking three weeks of vacation in August, he thought I was joking until he saw on the team calendar that I had taken three weeks.

When I applied for them, they didn't give me any problems, but it is a bit of a culture shock. Someone explained to me that for them, taking vacations (called Paid Time Off, or PTO) is taking a day off coinciding with a long weekend or a bank holiday and disconnecting for three or four days. But the typical month of vacation that we take in Spain is very unusual. The normal thing is to take a week or ten days and spread the vacations out over the year.

This doesn't mean that it's the same for all companies in the United States. Write down the question and don't assume anything. Ask if you can take Spanish or US holidays, since they are different. And how many days off you can take per year, not just the total but how many in a row or at what time. Keep in mind that what is a very flexible vacation policy for one country may be close to the legal minimum for us. And it's nothing more than a difference in culture.

To what extent does knowing or not knowing how to speak English represent a barrier?

We come to the main topic: language. Let's not kid ourselves, to work in a foreign company you need to know how to speak and be understood in English. But the same is true for many of the technology companies in Spain, as it is increasingly common for them to look for talent abroad and the official language for internal communications is English.

In the face of this, I can only recommend that you practice. There is no other option. Put on your favorite movies and series in English with subtitles and get used to listening to it. Listening to podcasts, videos on YouTube, etc. can also help, but you don't progress that fast. I am a person who has always gotten good grades in English, but until I was working at Typeform and speaking to everyone in English, I didn't learn.

First of all, don't be afraid . Language can be a barrier, but you don't have to be fluent in Cambridge English. You just have to understand what they say and make yourself understood. Bear in mind that you're going to be speaking with people whose native language is English. And no matter how badly you speak, it's always going to be easy for them to understand someone who makes an effort to speak their language. Exposing yourself to that experience can be hard for the first two or three months, but you'll soon notice how you adapt.

I had a lot of impostor syndrome with this, because I thought I was pronouncing things wrong or I often couldn't get the words I was looking for. But with practice it gets better and the technical vocabulary used is more limited. If you're worried about whether they'll understand you... Go ahead, do the process and let them discard you if they do!

How do you manage the time difference?

If you work for a company where your colleagues are in different time zones, it can be a barrier. Two things can happen here: the company has a remote work culture that is well adapted to working asynchronously... or not so much. Depending on where they fall on the spectrum, they may ask you to be available for a minimum number of hours with them or not.

Get used to the fact that working in the US is a minimum of 6 hours time difference from the East Coast and the number increases as you go west. You may have to have meetings at 6pm or even 9pm. In exchange, you will have free mornings and no interruptions, with more flexibility to manage your own time. In any case, it is something you will have to adapt to.

Ask in your interviews about the minimum overlap time they expect and how communications work during the hours when you are not available.

Did you need to travel?

I didn't have to travel to complete the selection process or sign the contract, although I did travel a couple of times. The first time I was invited to meet the team in person, see the offices and pick up my laptop. The laptop was to take advantage of the trip, since other colleagues had theirs sent to their home without any problems. But I wanted to get to know the company and the city.

Then I traveled a second time to spend a week with the team and to go to the Christmas party.

What is the selection process for working for a company in the United States?

The selection process at any technology company in the world is very similar. Each company implements its tests and variations, but, commonly, you go through different phases in which the company discards candidates that it thinks do not fit the profile. The fact that you work for a company in the US does not make it any different. You can expect a technical test, solve some algorithm, and at some point someone wants to see how you program and solve problems.

In my experience, I have to say that the selection processes I have done for companies in other countries are simpler than those carried out by some companies in Barcelona. So don't be afraid.

If you want to prepare for a technical interview, I recommend the book Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. You can also book a session with me, as it is part of the service I offer as a professional mentor.