How to Find Work at Home Companies That Hire

Your computer is the best tool for finding work at home jobs.

The general image of a work-at-home job is working in your pajamas at any hour of the day or night, free to pay attention to your family or run errands at any hour. The reality doesn't always match up; family becomes a distraction, as does everything else in your house, and the workday never ends because you end up living at work. However, work at home or WAH jobs do offer unparalleled flexibility if you're disciplined or organized enough to make them work.

Instructions

1. Scan job postings. Keep an eye on the "telecommute" section of ordinary job boards, and scour Craigslist and other classified services. Pay particular attention to well-established Work at Home job boards; see Resources for a few examples.

2. Ask around on established WAH forums to find out about new job openings; the people who currently work for any given company are often among the first to know when the company starts hiring again, and they might even get a small bonus for referring you. Networking, and in particular social media, can help you here; connect with others that work at home on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and make sure they know you're looking for work. This is also an excellent way to sort scam job offerings -- which are unfortunately very common -- from real opportunities.

3. Visit websites for established WAH companies -- Work at Home job boards or forums are one of the best ways to track them down. These companies have been around long enough that they often hire new personnel periodically. Industries that commonly employ WAH personnel include phone banks, telemarketers, help desk services, web content writing, and audio transcription.

4. Scan the forums and job listings, and do apply to the companies listed -- but also seek out their competitors or similar companies to inquire whether they're hiring.

5. Keep a log of whom you speak to at which companies, and any useful information they give you. If a company does employ WAH personnel but isn't hiring at the moment, ask if you can leave a resume on file for future opportunities. Also, ask when you can follow up or how to be notified when they do start hiring. If you're given a suggestion on when to follow up, make sure you do it.

Tips & Warnings

• If you haven't found any attractive job offers, consider becoming your own WAH company. Occupations like selling handcrafted goods on Etsy, generating affiliate income through websites, or blogging for profit might not provide enough money for a full income at first, but they're good ways to make extra money from home, and with enough effort, they could eventually generate a full-time living.

• You may encounter the term WAHM, which stands for Work at Home Mom. However, just because a job is advertised on a WAHM board or forum doesn't prohibit men or childless people from applying.

Resources

• WAHM.com
• Special Moms Entrepreneur Club