Remote work & hiring glossary
Plain-language definitions of the remote-work, pay, and hiring terms you meet while job hunting — written for Indonesians applying to global and remote roles.
Remote work
5 termsRemote work
Remote work is any job you do from outside a traditional office — usually from home — communicating with your team over the internet instead of in person.
Work from home (WFH)
Work from home (WFH) means doing your job from your residence instead of commuting to an office, using a computer and internet connection.
Hybrid work
Hybrid work is a mix of remote and in-office work, where employees split their week between home and the company's premises.
Digital nomad
A digital nomad is someone who works remotely while traveling, using the location independence of an online job to live in different places.
Asynchronous work
Asynchronous (async) work is a way of collaborating where people do not have to be online at the same time — you leave written updates that teammates read and respond to on their own schedule.
Pay & compensation
4 termsGross vs net salary
Gross salary is your total pay before any deductions; net salary is what actually reaches your account after tax and other deductions are taken out.
USD salary
A USD salary is pay denominated in US dollars, common for remote roles at foreign companies — valuable in Indonesia because global pay meets local cost of living.
Take-home pay
Take-home pay is the amount of money you actually receive after all deductions — it is the same as net salary.
Equity & RSUs
Equity is a share of ownership in a company offered as part of pay; RSUs (restricted stock units) are a common form where you receive company shares that vest over time.
Hiring process
13 termsApplicant tracking system (ATS)
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software companies use to collect, sort, and filter job applications — it often screens resumes for keywords before a human reads them.
Technical interview
A technical interview is a hiring stage that tests your job-specific skills directly — for example coding a solution, reviewing a design, or solving a domain problem live.
Take-home assignment
A take-home assignment is a task an employer gives you to complete on your own time during hiring, so they can judge your real work rather than only an interview.
Probation period
A probation period is a trial phase at the start of a job — commonly three months — during which either side can end the employment more easily while they confirm it is a good fit.
Notice period
A notice period is the advance warning you must give before leaving a job — often 30 days — so your employer has time to plan for your departure.
Asynchronous interview
An asynchronous interview is a hiring step where you record video or written answers to set questions on your own time, instead of talking live with an interviewer.
Timezone overlap
Timezone overlap is the number of hours in a day when your working hours and a remote team's working hours coincide, used to check whether real-time collaboration is practical.
Screening call
A screening call is a short early-stage interview, usually with a recruiter, that checks basic fit — role expectations, salary range, availability — before deeper interview rounds.
Panel interview
A panel interview is an interview stage where two or more interviewers question you at the same time, often representing different teams or levels of seniority.
Reference check
A reference check is when an employer contacts people you previously worked with to verify your role, performance, and reliability before finalizing a job offer.
Background check
A background check is a verification step an employer runs before or after an offer to confirm details like your identity, employment history, or education.
Offer letter
An offer letter is the formal document an employer sends confirming your role, compensation, start date, and key terms once they decide to hire you.
Onboarding
Onboarding is the process of setting up a new hire with the tools, accounts, information, and introductions needed to start real work, typically covering the first days or weeks of a job.
Employment type
6 termsContract vs permanent (PKWT vs PKWTT)
A permanent job (PKWTT) has no end date and fuller protections; a contract job (PKWT) runs for a fixed term and ends on an agreed date unless renewed.
Internship
An internship is a temporary, often entry-level position designed to give you practical experience in a field, sometimes paid and sometimes for course credit.
Freelance
Freelance work means being self-employed and taking on projects for one or more clients, rather than being an employee of a single company.
Independent contractor
An independent contractor is a self-employed person providing services to a client under an agreement, rather than being that company's employee — responsible for their own taxes and benefits.
PKWT vs remote contractor
PKWT is a fixed-term contract under Indonesian labor law with a local entity; a remote contractor agreement is a foreign-client service contract not governed by Indonesian employment law.
Employer of Record (EOR)
An Employer of Record (EOR) is a third-party company that legally employs you on behalf of a foreign business, handling local payroll and tax so the business needs no local entity.
Application documents
5 termsResume vs CV
A resume is a short, one-to-two-page summary of your relevant experience tailored to a job; a CV (curriculum vitae) is a longer, complete record of your academic and professional history.
Cover letter
A cover letter is a short message accompanying your resume that explains why you want the role and why you are a strong fit, in your own voice.
Portfolio
A portfolio is a curated collection of your actual work — projects, designs, writing, or code — that proves your skills more directly than a resume can.
Invoice
An invoice is a document a freelancer or contractor sends a client to request payment for completed work, listing the services, amount, and payment details.
Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a contract where you agree not to share a company's confidential information, often signed before an interview take-home task or on your first day of work.
Payments & payroll
7 termsWise (formerly TransferWise)
Wise is an international money-transfer platform that lets you receive foreign-currency payments and convert them to rupiah using the real mid-market exchange rate.
Payoneer
Payoneer is a payment platform that gives freelancers and remote workers a virtual USD or other-currency receiving account for foreign-client payments, withdrawn as rupiah.
PayPal fees
PayPal fees are the charges PayPal deducts for receiving an international payment and converting it to rupiah, typically a percentage of the transaction plus a currency-conversion margin.
SWIFT transfer
A SWIFT transfer is an international bank wire routed through the SWIFT global messaging network, commonly used to send larger payments directly between bank accounts across countries.
Wire transfer
A wire transfer is a direct electronic payment sent from one bank account to another, often used for one-off or large international payments to freelancers and employees.
Remittance
A remittance is money sent from one person to another across borders — the same rails (Wise, Payoneer, bank wire) also carry foreign freelance or salary income.
Exchange rate risk
Exchange rate risk is the chance that the value of your USD income changes when converted to rupiah, because the IDR/USD rate moves between the day you are paid and the day you convert it.
Tax & legal basics
5 termsAnnual tax return (SPT Tahunan)
SPT Tahunan is Indonesia's annual personal income tax return, filed each year by Indonesian tax residents — including remote workers with foreign income — to report income and pay tax due.
NPWP for freelancers
NPWP (Nomor Pokok Wajib Pajak) is Indonesia's taxpayer ID; freelancers and remote contractors earning foreign income generally need one to register and file an annual return.
Tax on foreign-sourced income
Foreign-sourced income tax is Indonesian personal income tax owed on pay received from outside Indonesia — including USD salaries and freelance income — by any Indonesian tax resident.
PPh 21 (employee income tax withholding)
PPh 21 is the Indonesian income tax withheld directly from an employee's salary each month by their employer and remitted to the tax office on their behalf.
EFIN (Electronic Filing Identification Number)
An EFIN is the identification number Indonesia's tax office issues so you can file your SPT Tahunan online through e-Filing instead of submitting it on paper.