Preparing for Work at Home

As touched in Part 1 of this article, advances in technology this century have provided improvements in business communication. As the Internet has advanced, more resources have become available that allow businesses to interact with their employees and share information. Due to these advancements, it's becoming more common for individuals to work from home for companies or even develop businesses that could not have been started even 10 years ago. Sales positions for example, have taken undergone a drastic change, where sales reps can now spend more of their time working with clients and less of their time at the home office. New opportunities have emerged that didn't exist a short time ago.

So what can you do to prepare yourself for finding work from home or telecommuting jobs? We've put together a helpful list of ideas that can help in preparing for work at home jobs. General prerequisites for working-from-home or telecommuting are listed below:

1. Honest, reliable, self-managing, self-motivated.  If you have a proven background exhibiting these qualities and identify them on your resume you will have an edge. It will be assumed that you’re going to take more potty breaks and make more trips to the coffee maker if you’re at home.  A prospective employer will need to believe that in spite of the less disciplined environment you will still thrive.
2. Capability to travel if necessary to the office.  Even though telecommuting is on the rise, companies still prefer local candidates capable of coming to the office if needed for ease of operations.  Willingness to work in the office may be absolutely essential.  If you live too far away or in another state you should not apply unless the job posting specifically states that any person in any location may apply.  Secondly, if you hint to having no driver’s license, no automobile or other method of transportation to the office you are likely to never be hired.  Unless you are physically handicapped and are applying under those pretenses specifically, you should imply in some way that you are willing and capable of coming to the office for meetings or other functions whenever necessary.
3. Own your own computer, complete with standard office and fax software, in addition to a respectable quality scanner and printer.  More and more often, these companies are making investments in computer equipment for telecommuters so that everyone is using compatible equipment and software.  Even if the company you’re pursuing is offering to supply equipment, you should mention that you have a functional workstation at home.  This is true whether your equipment is to be used primarily for your work or not.   In the worse case scenario your equipment can be used as a backup, or perhaps you may have different types of software that could be used for something useful out of the blue.  If you do not own a computer or if you outright ask for one at an interview, rest assured you will not be offered the position unless they are truly desperate.
4. High speed Internet connection.  If you do not have a high-speed Internet connection and/or are not able to access a high-speed service in your area you’re likely out of luck.  It can be nearly impossible to function in a remote-office telecommuting position without a high-speed cable, DSL, or other high-speed Internet service.   The technological advances in software and hardware are rendered nearly useless in most cases if you have a slow Internet connection.
5. Landline phone service in your home.  The capability of cellular phones to work in more areas and within buildings have many people opting out of a landline phone service altogether.  Others without a landline phone are also using a cable or Internet based phone service.  Service from cable, Internet and cellular carriers may be satisfactory for day to day calling, but for the reason of reliability and voice clarity most companies offering telecommuting positions will require that you have a landline phone installed in your home.  This is the case especially if you are seeking a position that will require you to communicate by telephone as a part of your job.
6. Quiet and separate working environments in the home dedicated for work.  If you have children you will be expected to have them cared for just as you would if you reported to the office every day.  If you have dogs or birds as pets in your house, you had better be prepared to explain how you will maintain a quiet environment free of distraction especially if you will be communicating with others via telephone on the job.  Keeping work separate in a dedicated office or other room of your house will also be a requirement in most positions.  If your company supplies your computer equipment it will also be expected that you keep everything separate from your personal equipment.  There also will not be any permitted sharing of Internet or network connections between their equipment and yours.   

In the end, if you are seeking a work-from-home position, your resume, cover letter and your disposition to this must identify you as a perfect candidate.  Identify yourself as trustworthy and motivated.  Include a “landline” phone contact number on your resume.  Make note of what your equipment at home is, what software you have, and what peripheral devices you have such as printers, scanners and portable hard drives.  If you have ever performed work from home in a professional capacity it is absolutely essential that you mention this work, what you did on this job, and note your accomplishments under these circumstances.