If you aren't already working from home full-time and you want 2020 to be your year, it's smart to have a plan in place to make that happen for yourself. I can't create a plan for you — everyone's plan will be different because what works for one person won't necessarily work for another.
BUT there are some things you can do to increase the likelihood that you will land something this year!
Before I give you some pointers, you need to understand that the most important thing is not to give up.
Competition for work from home jobs is fierce, and you'll likely get many more rejection emails than anything.
The people who are the most driven and determined are the ones who usually succeed in the long run, so just keep trying!
1 – Stay Informed
Probably the most important tip I can give you is to stay informed, if you aren't already.
There are Facebook groups, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts you should follow, and more just depending on where you hang out the most online. I've linked some useful ones below.
If you're leery of the scams people post online, here are some tips to help you avoid work from home scams.
Another way to stay informed is to follow this blog (you can subscribe here so you never miss any updates) and the other blogs/sites on this list. I hand-picked everything on that list myself, so you can be certain that those are trustworthy resources.
2 – Use Social Media And Online Forums To Your Advantage
If you're on Facebook, you should follow these pages. I also recommend joining the following groups for legit work at home info:
I also have a list of work at home Twitter accounts you can trust.
And if you prefer Pinterest, you'll want to check out The Work at Home Woman's list of work at home Pinterest boards to follow.
If you're not really a Facebook or social media person, then check out the two big work from home forums — Work At Home Arena and WAHM.com.
This is how I found good leads when I was looking for things to do from home in the beginning. These forums also helped me understand what worked and didn't work for other people who were applying for the jobs that I wanted. You don't have to post and be active. Reading is enough.
You can truly learn so much about the work from home world, and knowledge is power!
3 – Check For Work From Home Job Leads Daily
I post leads weekly on my work from home job leads board, but there are a ton of other places to check too.
You should also learn how to use smart search terms to narrow things down when you're browsing leads on job search sites like Indeed. And don't rule out Craigslist! Yes, I know there are scams galore on Craigslist, but I find little gems there all the time.
In fact, some of the best leads I find come from Craigslist. And I wrote an entire post last year on how to search Craigslist effectively for work from home and avoid all those scams. Give that a read and put my tips to use, and you'll be a Craigslist job searching pro in no time.
I also have a huge list of 111 work at home companies, and you can also start browsing my work at home directory for almost 1000 companies that hire for various work at home related jobs and gigs. There are also tons of non-phone jobs if that's what you have in mind.
4 – Consider a FlexJobs Subscription
I've been a paying member to FlexJobs for a couple of years now, and I personally like it because they post a large number of flexible and telecommuting job leads 5 days per week, they guarantee their leads scam-free, and their options for sorting to find exactly what you need are excellent. It's very organized!
While not all of the leads FlexJobs posts are exclusive to their site, I still think it's a time-saver because it's organized so well overall.
You can sign up here for a subscription for about $14.95 a month, but you can use promo code AFFILPROMO to get up to 50% off of that price. It's easy to cancel if you don't want to be billed for another month, or you can read these posts with more details on FlexJobs:
5 – Tweak Your Resume
When you apply for a work from home job, your resume is usually going to be the one thing that makes or breaks you getting an interview or an instant rejection email. Make it great if you can!
I get a lot of questions from people who want to know how to write a resume or make theirs better and unfortunately, I'm no pro on resumes. If I'm being honest, my own resume could use a nice upgrade!
Fortunately, one of our writers (Anna Jones) who does know a thing or two about resumes, put together a helpful list of work at home resume tips you can check out.
And when all else fails, you can use a resume template if you're starting from scratch and just fill in the blanks. That for sure makes things easier.
It goes without saying, but check and double check your resume for spelling errors or grammar mistakes. Run it through a spell checker and get another set of eyes on it, too.
Another idea is to pay a professional to do your resume for you. The price is not cheap for resume services, but it will pay for itself if it lands you some interviews and, hopefully, a job.
6 – Learn Some New Things
When you're browsing job leads, you may find yourself dismissing various openings because you don't have certain skills.
Well, who says you can't learn those skills? You don't always have to go back to school to learn new things, although that's never a bad idea, either. Luckily the internet is full of various resources for learning.
With this in mind, I put together a post with a list of free or very cheap online learning resources. Being able to add highly sought after skills to your resume will only help you, and all of those learning resources provide the tools you need to get those skills.
If you're looking for an online course in something specific pertaining to work at home, you can check my “Courses to Take” page. This is a list of highly-rated eCourses that will help you work from home in different industries.
7 – Learn About Work at Home Scams
Work from home scams give telecommuting a bad name. I've run across so many people who refuse to apply for work from home again because they got scammed. These people no longer trust anything, and that's completely understandable!
Red flags to watch out for include payment requests, unsolicited emails, extremely vague information, little to no contact information, outrageous income claims, and so-called work from home companies with names that include the words “pay day,” “profit,” “wealth,” “freedom,” “fortune,” and so forth.
Also, never agree to let a company send you a check for “office supplies” prior to you starting work, and then deposit it into your own back account, wiring part of the money back to them.
That's the oldest scam in the book, and of all the “is this is a scam” emails I get, this is most often what people are asking me about. It's everywhere.
Read through all the write-ups I have on work from home scams here to educate yourself on what to avoid.
So, those are my tips! I would love it if you would share what you plan to do to find a work from home job this year!
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