5 Steps to Getting a Free Work At Home Job

I get email daily from people struggling to find and get hired to a work at home job. They complain that they can’t find legitimate work and/or they don’t have the money to get started. The reality is, there are thousands of work-at-home jobs available right now, if you look for the right jobs, in the right places, in the right way. And they’re all free!

If you’re looking for free work at home jobs, here’s what you need to know and do!

1. Understand that work at home jobs are like traditional jobs.

Let me say it again…work-at-home jobs are like traditional jobs. That means, you can’t simply sign up and get paid to type or lick envelopes or any of the other scams and deceptive schemes you find online. In legitimate work-at-home jobs, employers are looking to hire people who have the skills and experience to do specific job. That means you need to do a work-at-home job search the same way you’d do a traditional job search:

1. Start with the skills, experiences and interests you have.
2. Search for jobs that need the skills and experience you offer.
3. Learn how to decipher the legitimate jobs from the scams.

2. Learn about and avoid job scams.

That sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t take the time to do this. Instead, they go to Google and type “work at home jobs,” and more often than not, end up being shown scams or work-at-home opportunities that might be legitimate, but aren’t jobs. Protect yourself and save time by learning how to decipher the legitimate jobs from the scams. It doesn’t take long and can save you time, money and grief.

Stay away from any “job” that says it’s envelope stuffing, email processing, mailing, payment processing, rebate processing, repackaging agent, assembly work, and any job that asks you to use your personal bank account to help it do business.

Be suspicious of “typing” and “data entry” jobs, as many are scams. Occasionally you may find a typing (usually listed as transcription) or data entry work, especially on freelance job sites, but usually they’re one-time projects, not an on-going job.

Finally, if you get to the end of the job announcement and don’t know what the job really involves, that’s likely a scam too.

3. Never pay money to get hired.

Any work-at-home job that asks you to send in money to get started isn’t a job. The only acception is if the money is for a criminal background check. But any other requests for money is a sign that it’s not a job. If you think about traditional jobs you’ve ever held, when did the employer ever charge you to hire you? Never. Neither do they ask you to pay to add you to payroll or cover the cost of paperclips (supplies) as many scam jobs will try to convince you you need to pay.

It is okay to spend money on services that can help you get a work-at-home job, such as hiring someone to help with your resume or accessing a good telecommuting job database, but you never want to pay money to get hired. Legitimate employers never charge to hire people.

4) Go where the jobs are posted.

Don’t use Google to search for work-at-home jobs. Instead, use sites that list jobs. Free options include Indeed Telecommuting Jobs,
Monster.com, Beyond.com and of course, the WAHS Telecommuting Job Board. You do have to watch out for scams and business opportunities on the free job sites, but if you focus on your skills and follow the rules in the previous steps, you can weed out the non-jobs. There are also reputable work-at-home sites that frequently post screened work-at-home jobs.

If you’d like to not worry about screening jobs, consider using a telecommuting database such as FlexJobs. You do have to pay for these services, but they take the hassle out of weeding through the listings to find the legitimate jobs. You can see WAHS’s review of FlexJobs for details on how it can speed up your work-at-home job search.

5) Tailor your resume to the job. 

The truth is, finding jobs is easy. It’s getting hired that’s hard. Too many people shoot themselves in the foot by not taking time to submit the best resume possible. You can’t write one resume and send it to every job. Instead, you need to tailor your resume so that it highlights all the skills and experiences you have that make you a perfect fit for the job. Remember, employers are looking for people to do specific work. Your resume should match what the employer needs (without lying or embellishing).

Note that while employers might be sympathetic about your poor health or finances, they won’t hire you because of it, so you don’t need to give them your sob story. A great resume is all about focusing on showing what you have to offer an employer.

Today, the opportunities to get hired to work from home are endless and continue to grow. But if you’re to get hired, you need to understand what work-at-home jobs are, why companies offer them, and how you can position yourself to get hired. By understanding the five telecommuting rules outlined here, you will find legitimate jobs faster and improve your chances of getting hired.

Check out WAHS’ complete resources for work-at-home jobs which includes over 400 resources for work-at-home jobs!

Available in print and Kindle at Amazon or print and Nook at Barnes and Noble

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