At Hawke Media and Cameo, helpfulness and proactivity are the essential traits for success — and that hasn’t changed during the era of remote work.
Both characteristics were exemplified by employees on a regular basis before the transition to remote, but now recruiters specifically look for them when bringing on new talent.
“Being proactive was an important trait for our employees to have before the pandemic began,” Cameo Technical Recruiting Manager Mara Romanelli said. “However, now that we are a fully remote operation, it’s necessary for success.
To gain a better understanding of why these traits (and others) are vital to remote success, Built In LA connected with Romanelli and Lizzie Maher, senior talent acquisition partner at Hawke Media.
The employees who thrived over the last year at Hawke Media were the ones that went out of their way to be friendly, helpful and inclusive. Maher said that she personally witnessed employees who were not in management positions step up without being asked to help train new hires — which even led to a few promotions.
What’s one key trait you look for in a new remote employee?
Almost everyone had the chance to work remotely in 2020. It was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully!) journey that we all went on together. I frequently have to remind myself that I don’t know what it’s like to start working at a company where I’ve never met a single soul in person. I was fortunate to have had an entire year in our gorgeous office space where I was able to really get to know the people around me. We’re approaching the one-year mark of working from home, and I can tell you that the people who really “thrived and survived” were the employees who went out of their way to be friendly, helpful and inclusive.
The employees who have thrived remotely are the ones who went out of their way to be friendly, helpful and inclusive.”
Why is this trait so important for remote work success?
We hired 95 people last year. That’s 95 people who didn’t necessarily ask for a fully-remote position. That’s 95 people who had to try quite a bit harder to learn new concepts, platforms and processes — and learning and teaching via screen share is harder than it looks! When you are helpful to those around you, you will ultimately be the one who succeeds. I witnessed employees who were not in management positions step up without being asked to help train our new hires, which ultimately led to a few promotions.
Because Cameo is a fully-remote operation that spans 23 states, it’s important for employees, new and existing, to be proactive with everything they do, Romanelli said. The company looks for employees who seek opportunities to get work done and are capable of initiating action without requiring the help or approval of others.
What’s one key trait you look for in a new remote employee?
To be a successful employee at Cameo, you need to be proactive. It was an important trait for our employees to have before the pandemic began. However, now that we are a fully remote operation, it’s necessary for success.
Our core value ‘Run Through Walls’ means that we don’t wait for someone else to handle a problem or remove a blocker — we each take the initiative ourselves.”
Why is this trait so important for remote work success?
Successful employees at Cameo have the ability to recognize something that the organization should be doing, take the initiative themselves and run with it. One of our company’s core values is to “Run Through Walls,” which means that we don’t wait for someone else to handle a problem or remove a blocker — we each take the initiative ourselves.
Every one of our employees should be acting proactively in advance of a future situation and making things happen! Now more than ever, being fully distributed across 23 states and fully remote, we look for proactive employees who seek opportunities to get work done, whether it was asked of them or not, and who are capable of initiating action without requiring the help or approval of others.
