Freelance writing jobs

Did you know that there are over 11 million parents working from home in the United States today? Considering that in 2004 only 5.6 million parents worked from home, this is a shocking increase. According to the US Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau, in less than 10 years there has been an over 50% increase of stay at home workers. With so many more people seeking information on jobs they can do from the comfort of their home, it seems almost overwhelming to find that perfect position. Work-at-home jobs are, in truth, easier to obtain than people realize.

In 1999 my first daughter was born. I wanted the best for my daughter, and there were so many things I knew I would not be able to do for her if I continued to be in an outside work environment. After taking care of her for those first 3 months after her birth, I was missing working as a professional, but I loved my daughter and had a hard time imagining going back to work. As someone who has always been very self-sufficient, I hated the thought of having to rely on someone else to bring in the money. Initially as a joke, my brother suggested I ask my job - on which I was on maternity leave from - if I could work from home. It was crazy enough that I decided to give it a shot, and while that employer said no, the point is eventually it did happen! Doing this is much easier than you would expect. In the next few paragraphs I’ll explain how you, too, can learn how to do legitimate work from your home, and the benefits of working out of your home.

When I started off, I knew I would have to brush up my resume and make myself stand out from the crowd. I put together lists of my experiences, skills, and qualities, and I gathered reference letters from my previous employers. After I was set with my resume and recommendations, I searched the job market for any position in any industry I knew that I was capable of doing. I imagined during these searches what I would say when contacting prospective companies, and then when I did call them, I was already prepared for what I would ask. Back then I received lots of \”no\” answers to when I asked if the companies had workers from home, but back then home employees were not popular as they are now. If they answered no, I then asked if they hired contract employees. Larger companies seemed to not take the contract positions seriously, but smaller companies were more willing. I ended up being hired as a Bookkeeper with a law firm, where I worked for some time before more opportunities arose.

There are several things to consider when working from home. You first need to consider that working under contract based employment tends to pay more, but lacks benefits. If you instead are considering an employee based position, you will receive benefits, with slightly less pay. Contract employment can be a little easier to get, and also helps you get an easier start in working from home. It shows companies that you are independent and need little direction, and you are a self starter. Many contract positions easily turn into an employee position. You have to keep in mind, though, that many contract jobs require experience in the field or a degree.

When approaching companies be sure that you have references lined up that will be happy to vouch for your work ethic. Since you’ll be working independently, many companies will also do background checks on your references. Make sure your references know you by your real name (your full name that is, not a nickname). Do not choose references that are related to you, but preferably ones you have worked with in the past. Relatives and friends can be more biased.

Next is to make sure your resume stands out. It is extremely important that your resume has no grammatical or spelling errors. It is also best to put what is most impressive about your background on your resume first. For example, if you have little work experience, then put your education first. If you have a more impressive work experience however, place that first.

Finally, donat base home employment position availability off Internet work-at-home sites. Do some old fashion research. While there are some legitimate websites out there that are very helpful, there are also many scams. No how to identify scams. There are many scam alert websites you can use to help with this effort. Make your list of various companies and make that call. The worst thing that can happen is receiving a no response and the best is a yes. Follow these steps and you are on your way to not just staying at home, but working at home.

In conclusion, I wanted to mention a couple of the good things about working from home. You’ll save lots of money on gas and on food. Many work at home jobs let you set your own schedule. You can watch your kids, pick them up and drop them off from school and from friend’s houses, attend all those PTO and scout meetings you’ve missed, and all the plays and recitals you couldn’t go to before. The downside is you might have to work in front of a web camera, which means no rolling over to the computer in your pajamas - but the positives far outweigh the negatives. You’ll love the flexible schedule, which accounts for more time for your children, spouse, and especially yourself!

Filed under: Home Business