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Finding Work in Slow Times

© Leslie Truex

The boom is over ... at least for now. Companies are cutting back and usually freelancers, contract workers, and non-traditional employees are the first the go. Nevertheless, if you desire to work-at-home, do not let the downturn in the economy stop your efforts at finding a work-at-home job. The truth is, for those who are tenacious and have the skills and experience companies need, there is work. In fact, because companies may cut back too deeply or because they do not want to commit to a payroll employee, freelance and contract opportunities can actually increase. Here are some tips to help you find work during these slow times:

1. Make a complete inventory of you skills and experience. Do a work-at-home job search on some of the top job sites such as HotJobs to see the kinds of work companies need (check the links area for more job resources). Common types of work include researching, writing, selling, computer programming, teaching, and administrative assistance help. Open yourself to job opportunities that you may have not considered in the past.

2. Be prepared. Create a quality resume and cover letter. It is the first impression you have on a potential employer so make sure its error free and impressive. Set a plan to search and apply for work every day. Respond quickly to any company inquiries about your work or qualifications.

3. Read contracts carefully. Your work and compensation need to be outlined in detail. There is nothing worse than doing work and then not being paid because of some loophole in the contract.

4. Provide quality work in a timely manner. This not only will get you more work with the company but you can use the company as a reference to obtain more work from other companies.

5. Adopt the multiple income source strategy. The advantage to multiple income sources is that you do not have to rely on anyone stream to earn your whole income. Since working at home even in a telecommuting job is usually on a contract basis, having more than one income source can protect you if one source drops.

6. Learn a new skill. You do not have to search for work very long to realize that computer programmers particularly in Perl and other web-based programs are in high demand. A job is practically guaranteed if you have skills in this area. There are many low-cost online resources to teach and certify you in various computer programming areas.

The copyright of the article Finding Work in Slow Times in Telecommuting is owned by Leslie Truex. Permission to republish Finding Work in Slow Times in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.