How to Find a Legitimate Work-From-Home Job {4 Tips}

j0438319"WORK FROM HOME! $50,000/month! No start-up fees!"

Those kind of ads are all over the web and the Classifieds section of the newspaper.

But - beware - there are tons of scams out there. Jobs that promise huge dividends without hard work are almost always dead ends.

To find a legitimate work-at-home opportunity, I encourage you to consider these four tips:

1. EXCEL.

If you are currently working outside of the home, it is important to give your best and to go the extra mile. Stand out in your company by exceeding expectations, by being a positive and important part of the team, by dressing to match the upper level executives, and by working hard to create strong interpersonal relationships with colleagues and supervisors.

2. ASK.

If you are good at what you do and you are a valuable part of your company's success (see #1), the company won't want to lose you. So, if you would like to work from home...ask. Create a proposal and make a request. Outline how you will stay in touch, how often (or if...) you will come into the office, etc. Get your thoughts out on the table and see what happens.

Granted, this doesn't work in every field. If you're a police officer or a nurse or a park ranger, you can't exactly do that from home. But many office-y-type jobs are well-suited for a virtual and/or telecommuting arrangement.

If you're not currently working, this tip still applies. For example, perhaps you are a website designer and you notice that a local business has a shabby website...why not approach them with a portfolio and see if they would like to hire you? Or perhaps you are a whiz with numbers and have accounting experience...stop in at a few local businesses and ask if your services might be needed. The only risk is being told "no."

3. SUBSCRIBE to a flexible job search database.

There are a handful of these to choose from, but - essentially - these companies locate work-from-home, part-time, and flexible job opportunities FOR YOU. From there, you can select those that are in your area of expertise and apply.

flexjobsFlexJobs : FlexJobs is a site "where you'll find the best telecommuting and online jobs, from freelance to fulltime, all hand-screened and legitimate. Guaranteed." The site has over 2,000 active, current telecommuting jobs in over 50 professional categories. Subscriptions are $14.95/month or $49.95/year. [Read my previous post about FlexJobs, published 6-14-2009].

HireMyMom.comHireMyMom.com : HireMyMom.com exists “To provide businesses with top talent for temporary and permanent projects while enabling mom professionals to capitalize on the freedom and flexibility to do top-rated work from home.” At any given time, there are typically 200+ opportunities available. Most of the positions pay between $10-30/hour, but there are also positions that are contract and/or commission-based. Some of the positions are permanent; others are temporary. A quarterly membership is $29.95; an annual membership is $99.95. [Read my previous post about HireMyMom.com, published 3-12-2009.].

jobs and moms career centerJobs and Moms Career Center : The Jobs and Moms Career Center is a site that seeks to present professional women with ideas and resources around finding a better way to blend work and family. The site includes a Job Board, where moms can post their resume for FREE. [Read my previous post about the Jobs and Moms Career Center, published 2-13-2008].

mom corpsMom Corps : Mom Corps works to match professionals with flexible job opportunities suited to candidates' qualifications and scheduling needs. Candidates fill out a detailed profile, specifying their professional experience and needs for flexibility. Once registered, candidates can search and apply directly to active jobs. In turn, employers search the database for candidates matching their qualifications and notify the select candidates they wish to have apply. Membership is FREE! To register (upload your resume, search, and apply for active jobs) - it costs you nothing. You can add a premium "Featured Listing" service to your account for $9.99/month. [Read my previous post about Mom Corps, published 3-19-2008.].

needlestack jobsNeedlestack Jobs : Needlestack Jobs is a site that allows job seekers to search for “professional flextime jobs” (any job that is NOT Monday to Friday from 8 until 5). There are both full and part time options; there are also both permanent and temporary options. Membership is FREE for the job seeker. NJ covers 13 different areas of focus: accounting, education, finance, government, health care, human resources, IT, legal, marketng, non-profit, pharmaceuticals, and sales. [Read my previous post about Needlestack Jobs, published 2-20-2008].

4. START your own business.

If you'd rather be your own boss and create your own success, you can always do "the American thing" and start your own business. Be an entrepreneuer. Identify your passion and move ahead. It might be a bumpy road, but you'll learn a lot and there's endless potential for monetary gain.

Best wishes to you as you search for the best job situation for you and your family!

YOUR TURN:

  1. Have you subscribed to any of the above services/databases? Share your experience!
  2. If you are currently working from home, how did you get your position? What tips would you share with other moms?

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8 comments on “How to Find a Legitimate Work-From-Home Job {4 Tips}”

  1. I make candles and incense and stuff and I started my own business three years ago. It's still slow going as I was still working full time for the first two and a half years. It took a lot of "revamps" to figure out exactly what I needed to do. I've just now figured out a fairly stable way to handle my business, but I'm still working on implementing them. It's not easy. It's not hard either, but it definitely takes skills. What was hardest for me was identifying when something wasn't working, especially if it was something that I thought of as being a big part of my business. I originally focused solely on candles. Then I had so many people asking me about incense that I started making the incense. Then I decided to start doing the fragrance oils and those were a huge hit. I still make lots of candles, but they currently ARE NOT my core business.

    The othe major thing is that operating your own business is huge. You have to do everything. The accounting, the marketing, the website design, everything. On top of whatever you make to sell. And odds are, you'll be doing everything yourself. I'm lucky to have a business degree, and a husband who is a salesman. He's taught me tons about selling.

    My blog at http://www.businessmommy.blogspot.com is geared towards people who want to start their own businesses. I write about small business stuff, and also about money saving things. (The idea being that if you're trying to start a business, saving money any way possible is necessary to be able to put more towards your business.) I also offer free advertising for small businesses on my blog, so send me an email if you want a link.

  2. I am not a member of any of these sites but I have thought about working from home. I am a Certified Ophthalmic Technician and I have thought about transcribing or something like that from home so that I keep up my medical vocabulary until I go back to the work force when the kids are older. I will be checking out these sites. Thank you!

  3. I am not a member of any job sites. I currently do Internet/Affiliate marketing and blogging as my business but I also have a 'job' as a forum moderator and do some other blog duties on the side. I got those positions through networking.

  4. Great tips!

    I just started working from home last week. I got my job through my Hubby. I am now making phone calls from home for the ISP my husband works for. It is working out great because I just work a couple hours a day when my daughter is napping. If I could get her to nap in her bed it would would out better though. :)

  5. I've never tried out any of those services, but they sound great. Unfortunately, I don't fall under the "professional" category, so most don't apply to me.
    I do work from home though. I'm the Children's Ministries Director for my church. It involves planning programs, outings, fundraisers, Sunday School, etc. for the kids. When I have to be at the church Levi comes along, so it's really great.
    I'm also a caricature artist. I caricature at parties occasionally. I'm only just getting back into that. The hours are frequently strange and weren't good when Levi was so nursing dependent.
    As if that wasn't enough, I'm an artist and an art teacher.
    Things can get pretty wild around here, but it's fun and worth it.

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