Get Hired to Work from Home
One of the most popular career related questions I am asked is, "How can I find an employer to hire me to work from home?" You would think for as many times as I’ve been asked this question, I could rattle off a reply in record time. But, every time I’m asked, I hesitate a bit, because it’s one of those questions that has a lot of “ifs”, “ands” or “buts” connected to the answer. Let me explain…
IF your idea of working from home involves a true employer-employee relationship, complete with steady paychecks, benefits, invitations to company picnics and the like, my answer is that you’re going to have a really, really tough time finding a work from home job as a new employee. Think about this from the employer’s viewpoint and it’s easy to understand why this is true. Most employers offering legitimate work-from-home schedules are understandably reluctant to give remote jobs to new employees – preferring instead to offer these arrangements to seasoned employees. Furthermore, because working from home is so attractive to most people, it’s usually easy to find an eager work from home volunteer within the company.
Of course, there are exceptions to all situations, and if you’re somebody with proven experience, strong industry knowledge and well-honed skills in telecommuting friendly occupations (such as a copyediting, programming, graphic design or medical transcription) you might be able to use your connections to land a great work from home situation. But, for the average person, the odds of finding an employer to hire you for home-based work as a new employee are not too encouraging.
AND, even if you manage to convince an employer to let you work from home, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will get to be home five days a week. Many work from home jobs entail some degree of travel – either to spend a few days each week in the office or to visit client sites. Unless you get lucky (which does sometimes happen) and you find a company where all the employees work from remote locations, expect to spend at least some of your work hours on the road.
BUT, if you’re absolutely determined to find somebody to hire you from home, and you're willing to put in the effort, here are my top five tips for success:
1. Repackage Your Resume - Think about ways to revamp your resume so companies might consider you for home-based employment. Certain job duties are more telecommuting friendly than others, so you’ll want to highlight those on your resume and in your cover letter. For example, if you used to be a corporate recruiter, you might be able to convince an employer to hire you to do home-based resume screening and preliminary telephone interviews. Or, if you used to work in corporate public relations, you might interest an employer in hiring you to create marketing materials. Give more space on your resume to telecommuting friendly skills (writing, research, proofreading, etc.) and put less emphasis on “face-time” duties like customer relationship management or supervisory responsibilities.
2. Look at The Job Boards - Every once in a while, you can find work from home jobs listed on the job boards. In general, I am not a big fan of job boards that specialize in work from home jobs as most of the listings are for very low-level positions. That said, in recent years, more companies have warmed up to this idea and I think you’ll see an increase in these types of jobs being advertised. Three sites with good listings are www.jobsandmoms.com, www.teleworkrecruiting.com and www.tjobs.com
3. Pursue Project-Work - Although this is not technically an employment situation (because you'll be considered an independent contractor) people can make a reasonable living from project work. Here are sites where you can find listings for project assignments:
Aquent
CyberTemp.com
eLance.com
eWork Exchange
Guru.com
HireAbility.Com
Workaholics For Hire
4. Think Small - Home based entrepreneurs often have a need for help, but they don't have the room to house extra employees. Keep your ears open for information about successful home-based entrepreneurs who might be willing to hire you on a work from home basis.
5. Create Your Own Job - If you have skills that are easily used in home-based work, contact suitable companies directly. For example, if you are fluent in Spanish and have excellent proofreading skills, a publishing company that specializes in the Hispanic market might be receptive to hiring you as a home-based proofreader/translator. If you go into the interview with a solid resume and a well thought-out plan on how you intend to accomplish your work from home, the company might be impressed enough to hire you (or at least try you out on a freelance basis).
Remember, finding at-home opportunities involves part luck, part creativity and a large dose of persistence. It’s not easy, but if you assume a methodic and proactive approach, you will slowly uncover quality options to help you secure a work-at-home job.
© Nancy Collamer, www.jobsandmoms.com, 2006
