BOSTON - BostonChron -- Lynn Bentley, President of Knobull announced, "If you're a job seeker, here's a piece of advice you likely won't hear from anyone else: Never ever ask an employer questions similar to what their remote work policy is during the first job interview."

Before you say, "OK, boomer. Times have changed!", know that I'm actually a firm believer in hybrid and remote work. It removes much of the pointless face time and unnecessary friction of office life. Plus, people who have more activities in their lives are much happier.

"I've learned a lot about dealing with uncertainty. After acceptance, the second rule of crisis management is survival — and landing a job in this soon-to-be cutthroat job market will require some finessing and compromising."

A recent survey from GoodHire found that 78% of managers thought some in-person work was preferred. And 51% said their companies would "definitely consider" pay cuts for employees that refused to return to the office.

Inevitably, many leaders and CEOs, like me believe the pendulum has swung too far in favor of remote work, and that performance is suffering as a result.

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It doesn't matter how exceptional you are

Whether it's fair or not, some managers will perceive initial interview questions about remote work as telegraphing the wrong priorities. Even for me, it's an immediate red flag.

Imagine this scenario: You close your interview with a question about remote work and get a chilly reception. The next day, the hiring manager meets another candidate who says they could be in the office bright and early the next Monday morning.

Sure, you may be more qualified. But there is a real chance that the other job seeker will be perceived as more committed. This might hold true even for managers at companies that have very robust remote work policies.

Wait until you're called back

What if a non-remote job is a deal breaker for you? First, do your own sleuthing. There are endless resources online to look behind the curtain.

You already put in the work to interview, you might as well defer the question until you are invited back to a second round. Why? Managers are inflexible in the abstract, but will bend over backwards once they are smitten with a candidate.

Basically, make a solid first impression when the stakes are high might have created some leverage to fit within a company exception.

Bentley concluded, "And who knows, you may end up working from Bali after all. Want to be smarter and more successful with your learning and career success, sign up for the weekly newsletter at the Knobull Contact page and/or tap Fast Company edX, JobStars at the Knobull homepage!"