Finding Legitimate Work-From-Home Jobs

Dear Sam: I have been employed with the same government agency for 16+ years. The last 7 years, I have also worked a part-time job as a gas station cashier. I am not getting any younger, and needless to say, I am very tired. The gas station is going to be cutting back on hours, since I am the oldest, and only able to work a few hours a week, guess who is being cut?

I am looking for a home-based part-time job. At my present government job, I am an executive legal assistant where I demonstrate my proficient typing skills. How can one go about looking for a legitimate part-time, work-from-home job? I have briefly scanned the internet but I can't seem to find "legitimate" jobs.

We have two grown children in college and a wonderful little boy who was our "surprise" baby! Needless to say, I need a part-time job to help the older children and the little one who keeps us up at night, on our toes, and young! – Sincerely Tired

Dear Sincerely Tired: I get asked quite frequently how one can find legitimate work-from-home jobs. Let me preface this response by saying that you need to fully research work-from-home offers to ensure they are legitimate opportunities, even if that means searching for comments about the company on a search engine like Google or placing a quick call to the Better Business Bureau.

There are some types of jobs that tend to be more telecommuting-friendly such as call center, virtual assistant, and transcriptionist positions. Beware of opportunities promising high compensation and no training needed, in these cases you should follow the old adage, “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.”

So, to find work-from-home jobs search the job boards with “telecommute,” “home,” or “flex job” as keywords. You may also want to search the net for positions as a Virtual Assistant, a position where you work from home to support the administrative needs of a business/individual. Check out company websites and search for the same keywords, if you find a listing on an actual company website it is much more likely to be legitimate. You can also look at craigslist.com which allows you to search by both part-time and telecommute. You could also set up a profile on elance.com. I like elance as it connects freelancers with businesses who require their services. On this site, you can bid for projects that fit your skill set. You’ll notice they have different categories that suit your background well including Virtual Assistant, Research, Data Entry, Word Processing, and more. This site is very simple to use, businesses post their projects, service providers bid on those projects, perform the work, pay a small fee taken from the funds transferred from the “employer” (sort of like eBay), and then you both have the opportunity to provide feedback. Currently there are 14,000+ administrative projects listed on elance.com! That may be a good way to source the types and sizes of projects you are interested in, work when you are able to work (in the middle of the night for instance!), and acquire a steady stream of incremental revenue.

You could also contact temp agencies that specialize in administrative positions and ask if they source for any flex or telecommuting positions. Also, use your network. Do you know anyone who either runs a business or knows someone else who does? That is sometimes the best way to source an opportunity as they would already trust your work ethic and ability to work from home. Be sure you have a great résumé ready for these opportunities, one that showcases your administrative acumen, dedication, drive, and work ethic.

Work-from-home jobs are probably not as plentiful as you would like, at least the legitimate ones, but there are some out there. I’d suggest steering clear of the websites that promise big bucks and instead focus on some of the strategies I’ve listed in an attempt to secure legitimate, rewarding positions. All the best!

Dear Sam: After 27 years with a major company that went into bankruptcy recently I have to take an early retirement. I am only 53 years old and not ready to retire. A lot of the jobs I am applying for ask for at least an associate’s degree. I was told years ago that a four-year apprenticeship program was equal to an associate’s degree. I have also had a lot of training in the past 27+ years. What is your opinion on this? I do plan on pursuing a degree but I will need a job in the mean time. Thank you – Dilemma

Dear Dilemma: I’ve never heard of a steadfast rule that an apprenticeship equals a degree, but you could present your apprenticeship program in an education section to help the hiring manager make that same judgment. A lot of how a hiring manager will see your education and past training will be determined by how you present it, so be sure you present it as you would a degree, making note of the program name, sponsoring organization, year of completion, and possibly even some key focuses of the program. Use the education section to present your other training that is related to your current career objective(s). Be sure to focus on only those programs that are relevant and still current in today’s business environment. Presenting only recent and/or relevant content in this section will yield stronger results when a hiring manager is comparing your training to that of a degree program. All the best!

Dear Sam: I will be graduating from high school in a little over a month, and I'll be looking for a summer job before I go to college in the fall. I'm not overly picky when it comes to summer jobs, but I'm trying to find a job that doesn't include "would you like fries with that?" or "cleanup in aisle 4". So far, many of the jobs I've applied for are long-term and not just a few months of work, or don't think a high school kid could have the brains necessary to complete the tasks required. What is a good way to find jobs that would hire a very bright and hard working student for just the summer? – Mark

Dear Mark: Have you tried your guidance office yet? Often they will know of companies looking for summer help. Another great resource could be your parents and their professional and/or social networks. Maybe they could “blast” your résumé to their email distribution list; after all, you never know who knows whom! You may also want to contact your future college and see if they have opportunities open to lowerclassmen. While you are not in college yet, if a company hasn’t filled a summer opening, they may be willing to give a new graduate a chance. Lastly, there are online resources such as www.collegecentral.com and www.internjobs.com which are both free to job seekers. These sites also offer other tools that could be of assistance to you at this juncture in your academic and professional career. Hope that gives you some ideas.