Working From Home: Is it Possible?
The New Trend of Working From Home: Is it Possible? Yes, but…If the idea of working from home sounds too good to be true, you’re in for a surprise. More employers are allowing employees to telecommute
Even when you want to work from home - you need to have your resume prepared
these days. It’s cost-efficient in a number of ways, for both employer and employee, including allowing the employee to save a few dollars each week in fuel costs. But what if you really want to work from home but your employer doesn’t offer this perk? Or worse, what if you were the victim of downsizing and haven’t been able to find a new position? You might be in luck. There are many positions that don’t require reporting to an office, attendance at staff meetings or any of the other traditional frustrations that accompany a nine to five desk job. The question is, are of them for you?
The first question you must ask yourself is if you have any skills that will allow you to provide work from your computer. Can you write? “Writing” may take the form of written web content, articles or how-to’s for the thousands of online companies or it might mean writing code for formulas, web design and layouts or other technical positions. Perhaps your talents lay in drawing or graphic design? There are many companies who are always on the look out for excellent talent. Still, it’s not quite that simple. There are other questions you must be prepared to ask yourself – and answer honestly.
• Are you self-disciplined? Working from home requires an extraordinary amount of self-control. The urge to watch reruns of I Dream of Jeannie can be quite powerful; however, if you’re going to make that mortgage payment, you have to say no to the remote.
• Are you willing to become your own accounts receivables/payables department, artistic genius, collector, negotiator, all the while remaining vigilant in your efforts to keep the paying jobs coming in? If not, you’re going to discover your bank balance sinking faster than the Titanic.
• Are you good? That’s a tough question to answer, but you’re not doing yourself any favors by trying to convince yourself you have what it takes to compete with an ever-growing freelance market when deep down, you’re not sure.
• Can you define “deadline”? Better still, can you meet sometimes demanding deadlines? If you can’t, you can be sure there are ten more behind you who have no problems meeting deadlines. If you promise to have a project completed in 48 hours, you should be prepared to keep that commitment – missed deadlines spread fast in the online world. And being blacklisted isn’t uncommon.
• Can you make a few sacrifices? Unless you have substantial savings built up that you’re willing to tap into until your clientele is built, you’re going to make a few sacrifices along the way, including the weekly night out, trips to the mall and other luxuries you’ve grown accustomed to. It’s just part of the game.
Once you’ve honestly addressed these issues and believe you have what it takes to make your mark, including accepting the occasional “We’re sorry, we’ve selected another candidate” email, then you’re ready to jump into the freelance world.
You still need a great resume, though. In fact, you might wish to compile what’s known as a marketing resume, because after all, you’re marketing your biggest commodity: yourself. Ask yourself, “Does my resume announce to potential clients my willingness to commit, short term, to a company I’ve never heard of and that has never heard of me?” It’s a leap of faith each party takes, but once you take it, not seeing it through isn’t an option to serious freelancers. Ask yourself again, “Is working from home a real possibility?” If you have doubts, you might want to keep your traditional job resume in circulation.
