How to Find a Telecommute Job

How to Find a Telecommute JobHow to Find a Telecommute JobAt some point in everyones career, the demands of work life and your personal life come crashing together and you need a little work flexibility. Thats where a telecommuting job makes perfect sense. Not only will working remotely give you the opportunity to work for any company in the world, but you can blend the professional and personal parts of your life seamlessly together for the ultimate in work-life balance.But lets say that youve never had a telecommuting job before. Youve only done the 9-5 office thing, and dutifully commuted to and from work. All thats about to change, job seekers.Heres how to find a telecommute jobAssess your situation. Youve made the decision to ditch office life and find flexible work. Before you gear up to go into job searching mode, youll first need to identify what type of flexible work you need. After all, the world of flexible work is not a one-size-fits-all thing, and thats why its important to determine what will work best for you. Do you want a full-time telecommuting job, where you only work from home, or do you want a part-time telecommuting position, where youll go into an office occasionally and work from home the rest of the time? Are you looking to do a compressed workweek, working longer hours in an office Monday-Thursday and having your Fridays off? Or do you want to pick and choose your work projects by being employed as a freelancer? Decide what type of flex fits in with your life, and then you can begin your job search based on that criteria.Decide what you want to do. A new job search is a great opportunity for you to reinvent your career- and yourself. Simply because youve worked in one career field for a while doesnt mean youre relegated to that industry forever. Take advantage of your job search to spread your wings professionally and think about what youd really like to do in this next stage of your career. Maybe youd like to become a teacher, or a pu blic relations professional. Or perhaps you want to take your love of Facebook and Pinterest and work as a media relations manager for a cosmetics company. Challenge yourself to think beyond what youve always done, and pursue something that youve always wanted to do As you go about your job search, you might realize that a career change is in your futureBe strategic in your search.While you might be super excited during the first few weeks of your job search, that excitement will wane if your job search goes on and on and onand you dont have any job interviews (or offers) in sight. One way to speed up your job search is by being strategic. Instead of applying for 100 jobs that youre not really interested in, apply for 15 that you really, truly want. Then customize your resume and cover letter to position yourself as a real candidate for those jobs. And when youre scrolling through job listings, pay close attention to those that offer remote work options. Usually, but not always, if a job listing doesnt mention work flexibility (such as work at home, remote, or virtual), it probably isnt a telecommute job. That way, you can save yourself a lot of time (and heartache) applying for a job and going through rounds of interviews, only to find out at the very end that the job is an in-office position only.Target companies.Lets say you have your heart set on working for a few specific organizations. But after weeks of trolling through job listings, you havent seen any positions pop up for those organizations. That doesnt mean they arent available, though. Theres nothing wrong with reaching out directly to companies youre interested in working for and finding out if they have any telecommuting positions on the horizon. Offer to send your job application in to the hiring manager. You might think its a waste of time, but when a telecommute job does become available, your job application will be at the top of the pile. You can start with database of over 30,000 companies that have offered flexible and telecommuting jobs before.Set yourself up for success.When you worked in an office, you completed much of your workload during the day. So it didnt really matter if you had a home office to complete your work assignments. As a potential remote worker, though, its super important to have a home office set up and ready to go- even before you have a job offer in hand. Why? Well, many job interviews, particularly those for telecommuting work, are done via phone or video conference, such as Skype. Beyond asking questions about the position, a potential employer is also fruchtwein likely checking out your work digs during a job interview. (If youre doing your job interview from your kitchen counter with crying kids in the background and your dog barking, chances are youre not going to get hired.) Having your home office will make you more prepared when you do accept a job offer, instead of scrambling around trying to get it ready at the same time youre start ing your new position.Network.Networking. Either you love it or hate it. Most people fall into the second category, but its still an important part of job searching. If you want to find a telecommute job, youll need to put on your best suit and a smile and do some networking. Attend both local events and online job fairs and webinars. And keep in mind that networking is all about attitude if you go into it thinking that its a waste of time, well, then it will be. But if youre determined to establish at least one solid new contact each time you network, you willRedo your resume (and cover letter).The resume and cover letter of a job seeker looking to find a telecommute job will look different from that of a person searching for a regular office job. If youve had previous remote work experience, you should highlight it in the job experience section. If this is the first time youll be working from home, youll need to go over your previous jobs and showcase any work experiences that you did, even in part, from home. Another area on your resume to shine a spotlight on, particularly if youre lacking telecommuting experience, is the skills section. Soft skills, such as the ability to self-manage, being highly organized, and an excellent communicator, are all qualities that a hiring manager looking to fill a remote position will find highly desirable.Be wary of job scams.Maybe youve held off on finding a telecommuting job because youre afraid of job scams. And rightly so, since its estimated that out of every 100 jobs advertising the ability to work from home, only one is a real work-at-home job. But you shouldnt let scammers scam you out of the right to work remotely. Youll just need to be aware of some things while you job hunt, such as never giving out personal information (such as your bank account info, Social Security number, etc.) and being wary of instant job offers without an interview, instant message job interviews, or those job listings offering lots of mo ney for not a lot of work. Instead, use reputable niche job search boards, such as, and most importantly, listen to your gut. Remember, if its too good to be true, it almost always is.This primer on how to find a telecommute job should help you as you begin your job search. Take the time to make quality choices, from the jobs you apply for, to the networking events you attend, to redesigning your resume and cover letter, to the companies you apply to. Making smart decisions will make your job search faster, and dare we say it, fun, as you find your way to flexible work, freedom, and some serious work-life balanceReaders, what would be your ideal telecommute job? Let us know in the comments