Telecommuting Advisor

Who is Hiring Telecommuters?

August 20, 2008 on 8:18 pm | In Recruiting |

You will be surprised at the variety of companies who now recruit teleworkers on a regular basis. It has become a part of their employment practice and they have now identified which of their positions are telecommutable and often advertise the job as a work from home situation as opposed to applying for telecommuting status after you’ve become an employee.

Finding a Telecommuting Job

If you are currently employed, the logical first step would be to find out if your present employer would be open to letting you work from home. If the nature of your job lends itself to being able to be performed from anywhere, then you may be pleasantly surprised that they’ll say yes to your request. However, if your job requires many on-site resources or if telecommuting is not practiced at your company, then you have your work cut out for you to convince them that it would be practical and cost-efficient for you to do so. See Making a Case for Telecommuting - The Telecommuter’s Viewpoint for pointers on approaching the subject.

If you’ve already “been there, done that”, or the nature of your job is such that telecommuting is not practical, then you have a few questions that you need to answer for yourself:

• Can I apply for a job within my organization that will allow me to telecommute? Once again, even if the job is telecommutable, how open is your organization and manager to letting you do it, and how ready are they for telework in general? If the prospects don’t look good, and you really want to do this, it might be easier to just find another employer.
• How ready is my family and household for me to be working from home? There are lots of considerations here that are covered in depth in Ensuring Your Success as a Telecommuter.
• What are my skills and what is the market looking for? Become aware of the jobs that lend themselves naturally to telework, and build your resume around the skills that those jobs require.
• Have you considered working self-employed as a freelancer? That’s a telecommute option where you would work for several employers. All the things you would need to consider are outlined at the excellent Successful Freelancing Advisor web site.

Types of Employers

Employers who hire teleworkers come in all shapes and sizes. Although it’s generally the well-known Fortune 500-type companies that receive all the press coverage on their telecommuting programs, over 90% of commercial enterprises in the world are small businesses and many of them already have a telework program in place or are seriously studying it. Therefore, you would do well to assume that telecommuting would be a possibility at virtually any company that you might consider as your next employer.

Be aware that while a company may have a telecommuting policy in place, they may also have probationary periods or other restrictions that you would have to abide by before being able to work from home. You most likely would also have to attend a training program to understand the company’s policies and procedures prior to attaining telecommuter status.

Types of Telecommuting Jobs

What kind of jobs lend themselves to telecommuting?

Generally, any kind of work that does not require location-specific, in-person customer contact in order for business to be conducted can be performed at home. Examples of occupations are:

• Accounting/bookkeeping
• Claims adjuster
• Counseling
• Customer service
• Data collection
• Data entry
• Database administration
• Editing/proofreading
• Graphic design
• News monitoring
• Paralegal
• Programming
• Recruiting
• Research
• Telemarketing
• Transcription
• Translation
• Web site creation and design
• Writing

Conversely, occupations that require face-to-face customer contact, such as office receptionist, waitress and retail clerk would not be appropriate for telecommuting.

Telework Job Boards

While the major employment web sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, and Yahoo! HotJobs also list telecommuting jobs, there are a number of job boards targeted directly to the teleworker.

• Telecommuting Jobs - Lists telework jobs and provides a number of services for both employees and employers, such as resume database, screening tools and compensation guides.
• Telecommute Jobs - Lists only certified telework jobs and provides search services such as resume distribution and priority listings. Subscription costs $39 for a 3-month membership.
• Jobfox - While not technically a telecommuting job board, Jobfox’s unique feature is a matchmaking system that identifies compatible employer-employee pairings (much like a dating service) and provides introductions to both parties. Telecommuters should be able to identify their work location preference and find willing employers.
• Telework Recruiting - Job board with resources such as company directories, a member forum and direct contact with employers. They charge a $59.95 lifetime membership fee.
• Telecommuting Resource Center For Work From Home Jobs - Site run by the Independent Homeworkers Alliance (IHA), a customer service-oriented organization, that caters primarily to those interested in working on contract or freelance, or running businesses out of their homes.
• Workaholics4Hire - Project management company that provides resources for businesses looking to outsource work and telecommuters looking for freelance work.
• National Telecommuting Institute - A nonprofit educational/job-matching organization that promotes the development of telework jobs for Americans with disabilities.

In addition, an organization called Best Workplaces for Commuters has an innovative program that provides qualified employers with national recognition and an elite designation for offering outstanding commuter benefits, such as free or low cost bus passes, strong telework programs, carpooling matching and vanpool subsidies. They publish a list of companies that are “telecommuter friendly” that should be on your target list if you are looking for a telework job.

Avoiding Scams

Because of the intense interest people have about working from home, an entire industry has developed that tries to capitalize on the movement. Unfortunately, not all opportunities advertised are what they seem and you have to be very careful and scrutinize every offer you are interested in pursuing.

How do you tell if a telecommuting or work from home opportunity is a scam? There are warning signs. Look for the following:

• Do you have to pay any money up front? This generally masquerades as a “handling fee”, “membership”, or “starter kit”, and should be a red flag to stay away. You’re looking for a paying job, not an investment.
• How much and how will you be paid? While many legitimate job sites don’t list the compensation, look to be able to get a straight answer after your initial inquiry. If the pay is on commission or by a type of output, get the specifics of what the requirements are and when payments are made. If the response is evasive, be wary.
• Avoid “get-rich-quick” schemes. Expect pay to be commensurate with effort or skill, not high income for part-time hours. Also be forewarned that most employers who are willing to hire someone to work from home want workers who can work independently and get the job done with little guidance.
• Do a background check, ask for references, and check them. If the company is on the up-and-up, you should be able to find out without too much trouble.
• Avoid giving personal information, such as Social Security Number or bank account number unless the data is needed for legitimate employment purposes such as on a W-4 or 1099 Form and bank direct deposit information after a formal offer of employment.

These are the types of “opportunities” that have proven to be scams in the past:

• Envelope stuffing - Often you have to pay a “materials” fee.
• Assembly or light production work - Again, an up-front fee is usually required and the alleged “poor quality” of your work is cited as the reason for not paying you.
• Data entry - Usually actually an advertisement to buy something.
• Multi-level marketing schemes - Here you are recruited to bring others on board, from which you earn a commission — if they sell something.
• Claims processing - Generally a ploy to get you to purchase equipment or software from a manufacturer.

Here’s where you can go to check on the legitimacy of any work from home offer:

• Better Business Bureau - Try to find out where the company is located (if you can’t, that’s another red flag) and enter the company name or the web site into the Better Business Bureau search box. This will tell you whether there have been complaints and if the company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau.
• Federal Trade Commission - Read the advice the FTC provides about known scams.
• Fourms at Scam.com - Scam.com is a vibrant online community that exposes scams on the Internet. The link is for the Work at Home forum, but they have other message boards covering religious, political, investment, mail order, lottery and auction scams.