Each week I find hundreds of work-at-home job announcements from companies looking for qualified employees to hire. Despite the abundance of work-at-home jobs, millions of people who want a work-at-home job continue to fall victim to scams and deceptive schemes. If you have been struggling to work at home, here are the three steps you must follow to be successful.
Step One: What can you do?
You wouldn’t use a search engine and sign up for the first thing that sounded good in a traditional job search; yet, so many people take this approach to finding a work-at-home job. One of the most important ideas you need to understand is that work-at-home job searches are just like traditional job searches. Employers are looking for people with specific skills and experience to fill specific jobs. You won’t simply sign up for a work-at-home job. Instead you’ll need a professional resume or application that sets you apart from the competition. All this starts by listing your skills and experiences. Don’t limit this list just to job skills. Also include volunteer experience, hobbies, and interests. Note the duties and activities your “jobs” involved and the things you’ve learned from your experiences.
Step Two: Look for jobs
Most people get in trouble in their work-at-home job search because they look for the wrong jobs in the wrong places. In Step One you learned that work-at-home jobs are no different from traditional jobs and as a result you’ve made a list of all your skills and experiences. In Step Two you need to search where employers post jobs. You can find work-at-home job announcements on job sites such as Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com by using “work at home ” (with quotes) or “telecommute” as your keyword. You still need to watch out for deceptive job ads and scams on general job search sites. The best way to avoid them is to remember two rules: 1) never pay money to get hired and 2) never give or use your personal bank to help a company do business.
If you’re serious about finding a work-at-home job, consider using a work-at-home job database. These services are not free (you’re not paying to get hired, you’re paying for the service of having someone else screen work-at-home jobs and allowing you to access their database), but they make finding jobs fast and easy.
(See a list of my favorite job search sites below.)
Step Three: Apply, Apply, Apply
A successful job search requires creating a stellar resume or application. Remember, you’re competing against hundreds, maybe even thousands of other applicants. You’re resume or application needs to set you apart from all of them. You do that by tailoring your resume to the specific skills and experiences the employer is looking for. If the ad is for a transcriptionist to help a public speaker, share how fast you type, whether or not you have transcribed for other speakers or in the topic area the speaker specializes in. Indicate specific equipment or software you have experience with. Fit the resume to the job and you’ll be showing the employer you’re the exact person he’s looking for.
Also, do as the application says, no more, no less. A common complaint with employers is that the applicants don’t follow the directions. Don’t try to be cute or creative. Use strong, active verbs to outline your skills instead of crazy font or gimmicks.
Finally be ready to apply to many jobs over time. Work-at-home employers are notorious for not getting back to applicants about their submissions, so you need to keep applying, following-up, finding more jobs and applying some more. Successful home-based employees find their jobs by never giving up the search.
With hundreds of employers looking for qualified home-based workers, the would-be telecommuter has many opportunities to find a job. However, like traditional jobs, work-at-home jobs are earned by showcasing skills and experiences.
Work-At-Home Job Search Sites I use:
Telecommuting Job Databases (fee required to access these services)
FlexJobs – Has tons of work-at-home and flexible job options plus a personalized login system that will identify jobs that fit your criteria, ability to have multiple resume profiles, job search tips and checklists, and much more! For the number of jobs and added service, its a must use for the serious work-at-home job hunter.
HomeJobStop has over 100 jobs in clerical, and more in customer service, writing, transcription, miscellaneous plus 100’s of others. Very affordable.
Telecommute Jobs on Indeed.com
Freelance Job Sites (these are free)
ODesk – Variety of jobs including virtual support, writing, customer service and more.
Elance– Variety of jobs including virtual support, writing, customer service and more.
Free job search sites (you need to search by keyword to find work-at-home jobs on these sites. Screen for scams and schemes. Visit the Scam Alert page for tips on how to avoid scams.).
Thank you so much for the information that you have given me. I find it to be very informative and has given me the basis that I need to look at in looking for work at home. I will continue to search for future work at home jobs. Again, thank you.
Sincerely,
Teresa Thomas
You’re welcome.
Take a look at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/ a excellant resource, and please forgive my spelling. 🙂 Be Blessed, Charles.
Christine and Michael do have a good site!
Hey Leslie! I’d like to add one more idea.
If you have experience in a particular field, you might consider looking for people that you know who are in a position to hire.
For example, I decided I wanted to do some work online. So I decided what I wanted to do and then took a mental look at my list of people I knew who might need someone with my skills. The first person I talked to hired me.
Then, I kept my eyes open at forums where people who run successful small businesses hang out. I found a resume request, applied and had a job the next day working for someone I’ve known online for almost a decade. Even more important, she’s known me online for about that long.
So if you have specific skills and you know people who might need those skills, see if they’re hiring.
.-= Michelle Waters´s last blog ..Top 3 Online Home Business Ideas =-.
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