It seems to me that working from home has become the holy grail of modern employment. If you have any doubt that this particular perk is highly sought, you have only to scan the signage on telephone poles next time you’re stuck at a traffic light.
The promise of riches is always pegged to the short commute from one’s bedroom to the dining room table.
Why, I ask myself, would someone prefer to do their work in a cramped space they share with pets and family members?
My own clients, as well as my common sense, provide part of the answer. If you’re disabled, or caring for kids or elderly parents, or don’t have transportation, or have trouble connecting to people, or just plain like your home … then this can seem like the ideal scenario.
It’s somewhat ironic, then, that I sometimes meet with a job seeker who is trying to escape this very situation. As it turns out, some companies require people to telecommute, as they have no actual office space. And, while this suits some people to a T, others find themselves isolated, undermanaged, or just plain marooned in their own living rooms.
As a jobs strategist, I try not to dissuade anyone from their natural preference. But I do feel concerned when the location of the work overrides the rest of the career plan or, worse, negates any potential for planning.
Ideally, job seekers would first ask themselves: “What do I do well?” And, “Who would pay me for that?” Once answered, these questions would be followed by, “How can I make this happen by working at home / in an office / in an outdoors setting / etc.?” In the unfortunate situation that being home-based leads all other criteria, job seekers become vulnerable to scams and other circumstances that aren’t in their best interests career-wise.
If you want to work from home
First, understand that in most companies, working at home as an employee is considered a perk and does not usually happen until you have been on-site at the company for a period of time. This is one reason you seldom see legitimate ads for home-based jobs.
So if you want only home-based work, one option is to approach companies as a contractor or vendor. You may find it’s easier to interest a few companies in contracting you part time than to get one company to hire you as a full-time, home-based employee.
Whether you go for a staff or contract role, you need to decide what kind of work you’re requesting. Start with your skills and knowledge — what can you do? Answer phones, build websites, do bookkeeping, do piecework sewing?
Use the Internet or industry directories to identify companies that might need your skills. Then, contact department managers to ask for a meeting to discuss potential work opportunities.
Remember that it’s not generally good strategy to lead the conversation by saying you want to work from home. First find out if the manager needs your skills, then explain that your preference would be to work from home. If you’re making the approach as a contractor, you can simply state that you conduct all your work from your own office.
Watch out for these traps
Of course, anytime someone wants to charge you a fee to get started, that’s a bad situation. That’s the main reason you should ignore the posters on the telephone poles, most Craigslist ads, and anything else that smacks of someone asking for your money.
Once hired, a more subtle trap is being undermanaged and then overlooked when it comes time for advancement. This is especially true of office workers, whose productivity is difficult to measure. At first, it seems like a dream to be left alone to do your work, but after a while, you start noticing references to meetings you didn’t attend, and emails announcing promotions you weren’t in the running for.
Head this off by scheduling in-office meetings or networking lunches every few weeks.
Whether you’re aching to work from home or to escape your house to work, the bottom line is career management. Don’t let the circumstances override your control of your own career.
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