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According to the US Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, in just the last few years the number of parents working from home has greatly increased - nearly 50%! In 2004 over 5 million parents worked from home, and today that number has increased to 11 million. With so many more parents at home than before, there is a much higher demand for work-at-home jobs that are legitimate. Many are discouraged by hard these jobs seem to be able to find, when they are truthfully right at their fingertips.
by JessicaFranks
According to the US Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, in just the last few years the number of parents working from home has greatly increased - nearly 50%! In 2004 over 5 million parents worked from home, and today that number has increased to 11 million. With so many more parents at home than before, there is a much higher demand for work-at-home jobs that are legitimate. Many are discouraged by hard these jobs seem to be able to find, when they are truthfully right at their fingertips.
I became a stay-at-home parent in 1999 when my first child was born. Those three months after her birth were an interesting experience, as I went back and forth on wanting to return to my professional work life, and wanting to stay home with my daughter. As someone who has always worked hard and brought in a salary, the idea of not returning to work was a little troubling. I told my brother about what I had been feeling, and he jokingly suggested I ask my company if I could work from home. While that particular employer turned down my question, the point is that eventually I did make it work, and it was way easier than I thought it would be. In the next few paragraphs I'll explain how I got to do legitimate work out of my home, and how you can do so as well.
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.
Thirdly, make sure your resume stands out. If you lack experience, but have education list education first. If your experience outweighs education, do the reverse. Learn to market and sale yourself on your resume. Also, make sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors. Just one error can cause you the loss of a position.
Lastly, it's important to be wary of work-at-home sites you come across on the internet. There are some legitimate companies out there, but they tend to be vastly overweighed by the scam sites. Do some research if you find work-at-home websites. It doesn't hurt to search the old-fashioned way. Call up the companies you find and like, and don't be scared of getting no for an answer. Follow these steps and be persistant and call, and you're guaranteed to find a job from 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!
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