Placers Presents: Five Tips for Searching for Remote Work

Placers Presents: Five Tips for Searching for Remote Work

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When combined with raising children as a stay-at-home mom or dad, finding a traditional full-time job outside the home may not be the optimal solution. Many parents with young children at home are often faced with the challenge of not being able to work full-time hours, but still want and need to remain in the workforce as an active contributor. Here are five tips to consider when searching for remote work.

TAKE AN HONEST ASSESSMENT

Before beginning your job search journey, it’s important to take an honest assessment of the following:

  • How many hours and days are you willing to work?
  • Are you willing to change your daily routine to accommodate working from home?
  • Will you require benefits such as healthcare or paid time off?
  • Are you willing to be responsible for your own taxes if you secured a contract (1099) job?
  • Are you seeking a long-term employee (W2) position or a temporary short-term position?

By responding to these questions, your job search will be hyper-focused and more effective. Parents of young children can often be subjected to the pressures of finding life/work balance. Therefore, starting your job search with a laser-focused approach will be most effective.

UNDERSTAND THE JARGON

While working from home can conjure up thoughts of working in your pajamas, many people may fail to realize that working from home is in fact — work. It’s important to understand the different search terms used today that may describe an element of telecommuting to help your job search:

  • Remote/Virtual — this popular ‘umbrella’ term is commonly used to describe work that can be done from a specified location outside a traditional workplace environment.
  • Work from home — employers may require contractors or temporary workers to be available for specific hours as well as having a professional home office set up that includes a PC or laptop, high-speed internet access or a webcam.

GET ORGANIZED

Stay at home moms and dads understand the importance of being organized when dealing with raising young children and their daily demands. Adding a job search to the mix doesn’t have to create additional chaos. Take advantage of online calendars such as ICAL. Create a spreadsheet in Google sheets or MS Excel to keep track of jobs you have applied for, capture company URLs, and interview dates.

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

When applying for work from home jobs, it’s important to read and understand the entire job description and follow all directions. For instance, if the job application requires attaching a resume and cover letter, attaching these items as requested will not only demonstrate that you can follow directions but will increase your chances of being noticed by a prospective employer.

 

USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Because many stay at home parents actively use social media to post cute pictures of their kids and capture special events, they may already be familiar with using social media. Be sure to access telecommute and work from home groups to network and discover companies that are currently seeking to hire remote workers.

Searching for remote work doesn’t have to be a complicated endeavor. By remaining vigilant and focused in your job search and using these tips, you can increase your chances of securing your work at home dream job that will give you the work-life balance you’ve always wanted.

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