Do Your Homework

This week I thought I’d circle back to talk to those who think they would like to work from home.  I will be honest here…I did not purposefully seek out a work from home job.  The opportunity to do so came about by unusual circumstance while I was updating my resume in W231 – Professional Writing Skills.  We did a cover letter, resume, and were asked to find a job we thought we’d be able to tailor our resumes toward and apply for. 

Well, I looked internally into my company, found this very interesting position that happened to virtually office, applied, and was hired by the end of the summer.  I was ready for a change and a challenge, and one pretty much was out there waiting for me.  So remember, do your homework!

 

Now, doing your homework applies to finding the virtual jobs too.  There are a lot of shady advertisements out there looking to make money by writing too-good-to-be-true job descriptions.

 

Many years ago I moved a great distance and had to find a job very fast.  One job in the classifieds read something like, “Do you like to play with toys? Are you a child at heart? Come join our team! Unlimited income potential!”  I called the number in the ad for more information, and they simply told me there were ongoing interviews at 8am the next day.  I was given an address, and showed up dressed appropriately with my resume and portfolio in hand.  Asked to wait, I heard people in the back offices cheering and laughing.  I looked around at the equally curious faces in the waiting room.  The laughing group greeted us enthusiastically in the lobby and I was quickly introduced to my new liaison.  She was going to show me this wonderful way to make money and have fun. 

She directed me out into the parking lot, and to her car. This happened with all the other liaisons partnered each with a new potential worker.  We were going to the distribution site, or so I was told.  It ended up we were going to her “preferred neighborhood” to walk door to door, peddling duck print umbrellas and oversized Disney storybooks from her truck to the people in the hair parlors, repair shops, and small office suites along the way.  I just laughed to myself as I watched her show two old men the merits of having a duck print umbrella, and gracefully bowed out from this new business venture by heading home before lunch. 

So again, do your homework, and ask the right questions about any potential new job:

·        How long has the company been in business?

·        What are their annual revenues?

·        If it is a new company, does their business model look promising?

·        What does the company DO, exactly?

·        Is it a Fortune 500, or 1,000 company? If not, do they have any as clients?

·        Where is the headquarters?

·        Is the position seeking an employee, or an independent contractor?

·        Discuss a pay range

·        Research for publications, clients, awards, or other public information on the company

It is wise advice to “trust, but verify”.  Avoiding scams is a very high priority for anyone seeking the opportunity to work outside of an office. The fastest growing industries remain computer sciences and technologies, the medical field, and the financial sector.  In all three of these, there are legitimate jobs that can be done virtually.  Focus your education on the right sort of work from home fields, make note of the virtual classes and group projects you successfully completed already in your college career, and I am sure doing your job search homework will reward you with opportunities to work independently from home.