If you’re a newcomer searching for a telecommuting position, this information will help you avoid “not-so-promising” jobs and outright scams.
Once you spend some time looking for work at home openings, you soon discover that there are lots and lots of “jobs” that are… well, not really jobs. In fact, work-from-home scams are so prevalent that many people simply stop looking.
There are real jobs for telecommuters, but the playing field is wide and sharks abound. So if you want to get that job, you have to be determined and knowledgeable.
Know what you want from a job
You need to be clear about what you want before you start looking for a job. Are you looking for a job as an employee, freelance contract work or would you like to start a business? Are you looking to be your own boss and invest in an opportunity, or do you need the predictability that an employer offers? Recognize what you want as a homeworker and you’ll be better able to spot what’s worth checking out and what to avoid.
Take a look at the list below for descriptions of the various ways people work from home. With this information, you can eliminate “job search clutter” and focus on the job options that are right for you.
1) Jobs in Transition
The large percentage of today’s home-based employees, or “virtual” workers, have transitioned home from work previously performed solely in the office. Many divide their time between working in the office and working from home. If you currently have a job and feel that your work can be done, at least in part, from home, you might consider pitching the idea to your boss.
2) “Off-site” telecommuter jobs
Many companies have employees of the “off-site” designation. These are telecommuters who may or may not work from a home office. For example, your job may involve some combination of traveling on duty, working in the office, and working from home. You’ll find that job openings that require travel, in fields like engineering or sales, are often telecommuter-friendly.
3) Jobs with telecommuting option
While more and more companies are adopting telecommuter-friendly policies, most telecommuters still spend some time in the workplace. You’ll see this in job postings with a “telecommute option.” The option is considered a perk of the job and is typically not an invitation to work from home every day of the week. So if you are not against having a traditional job, with the idea of working in a telecommuting arrangement, then your job possibilities are greatly expanded.
4) Telecommuting-only jobs
Companies that hire employees to work exclusively from home are harder to find. Not all jobs are suitable for this arrangement and many employers simply aren’t comfortable launching untested employees into a full telecommuting position. You should be careful if you are looking for this type of employment. Scammers love to take advantage of job seekers who only telecommute.
5) Employment contract
According to a survey by Dieringer Research Group, more than half of all people who work from home at least one day a month are self-employed. Contract providers, also known as freelancers, belong to this group of freelancers. They work independently and are paid upon completion of a specific service.
Hiring freelancers can provide a home-only work environment that many people prefer. You have a greater degree of flexibility in terms of where, when and how you work. However, because freelancers aren’t employees, you don’t get some of the benefits a job might offer, like group health insurance and paying taxes to the IRS on your behalf.
It is worth noting that many companies are recognizing the benefits of “home localization” rather than “offshoring” their outsourced work. This is especially evident in the teleservices industry, with contractors stepping in to fill positions previously held overseas. Companies like Willow, Alpine, LiveOps, and West At Home use home contractors with great success.
If you can get by without traditional job benefits, you may want to follow the lead of other successful contractors and consider an independent lifestyle.
Beware of opportunities that pretend to be jobs
Now that you have an idea of the direction your search will take, it’s time to put your guard up. The first thing to watch out for are cleverly worded “job ads,” which are nothing more than ads of an opportunity.
There is nothing wrong with legitimate opportunities. However, opportunities are not jobs, and scams are often advertised in ways that lead you to mistakenly believe they are jobs.
How can you tell the difference between an opportunity and a job?
A job pays you. Simple as that. If you are asked to send money, no matter how legitimate the reason seems, then it is not a job. A company seeking employees or contract vendors will assess your qualifications through a resume, interview, or portfolio, while an opportunity developer doesn’t necessarily care who you are or what you know.
If you have limited computer skills, lack marketing savvy and a marketing budget, or simply don’t have the background or experience with opportunity attorneys to discern what’s real and what’s not, you shouldn’t rush into foreign territory. It takes time, patience, and perseverance to build a solid business.
Scammers target unskilled workers
If you have experience in a field, you have more job options. With specialized knowledge, you face less competition and have greater purchasing power. Without specialized knowledge, you find yourself with more competition, less spending power and more scams. Specialized skills allow you to earn a living wage, while low-skilled work is better for generating additional income.
There are thousands of job seekers looking for those elusive low-skilled, high-paying jobs. The truth is that to get paid well you have to bring some skills to the table. But that doesn’t stop people from looking for easy, high-paying jobs. Scams fill the gap by offering false promises to unskilled workers looking for a pot of gold.
Those companies that have openings for low-skilled jobs rarely post those jobs, mainly because the applicant pool is so large. A company can post a job opening on a job board just once and literally be inundated with applications in a matter of hours – applicants will last for years.
What’s the trick to finding those low-skilled jobs?
Bypass job listing boards. Ignore the advertisements floating around the internet and you will be able to avoid scams. Instead, find and contact companies that hire low-skilled workers directly.
With a little patience and a little online research, it is possible to track down the websites of companies that hire low-skilled workers. The most productive method of doing this is to network with other job seekers. You’ll find many experienced job seekers hanging out in discussion forums on popular home business websites. Use your favorite search engine to locate these sites. Join the boards, ask questions and follow the clues.
10 tips for a safe job search
Let’s cut this down to the heart of the matter. Pay attention to these points in your search for work at home:
- A job never asks for money. You are the receiver.
- A job pays you if training is required.
- Know what you want before looking for it. Research the type of work you want and the skills and equipment needed to do it.
- Know the difference between a job and an opportunity. Beware of those who use the word WORK where none exists.
- A job will want to know more about you either through an interview and/or resume. An opportunity doesn’t necessarily care who you are or what you know.
- There is no such thing as easy work and good pay, unless you are Paris Hilton. But then you wouldn’t be searching the job boards, would you?
- Jobs smell like roses when you have job skills. Consider technical, vocational, or college training in your chosen field to improve your chances of getting the job you want.
- Be patient, not desperate. Desperation leads to desperate acts. Desperate acts exhaust the pocket. It takes longer to find telecommuting positions than it does to find a traditional job. If you need money now, you’re better off finding a regular job while planning for a telecommuting future.
- No matter what your skill level, be persistent while keeping your guard up. Start with what you know and proceed with caution. The prize goes to those who rise to the challenge with cautious persistence.
- The net. Salt and mix it. Chat with like-minded people, email experts, access forums, post questions, get advice from others, strike up conversations. Approach your job search from a position of knowledge.
With this information, you can now go out and look for work with confidence. Be positive and confident in your ability to find the right job for you, without fear of falling victim to unscrupulous job boards.