Work At Home Job: The Employer Side

I had the pleasure of helping a friend spread the word on a couple of open work at home positions. Since these positions didn’t interest me, I wanted to pay it forward because I know there are so many people looking for a remote job.

I went to two of the most high trafficked work at home forums and posted the job ad. It didn’t take long for my private message box to be inundated with responses. I knew I would get a good response from these two particular forums.

I’m far from being an employer looking for the right candidate, but I had a slight taste of what it would be like if I was an employer or recruiter.

There were a few things that stuck out for me. The very importance of reading the job ad completely and I know I’ve blogged and said this many times. It was clear I was not the direct hiring party. I understand some things can be a simple misunderstanding of written words, but when there is a mention of two different names it’s a clear indication I’m not the hiring contact person.

Putting myself in the employer’s chair for the very brief time I found I didn’t have time to waste. I had my own work to do. Websites to maintain, blogging, writing, ghostwriting, anwering emails and private messages and the list goes on. This brings me to the second point.

When there are specific instructions on the job posting make sure you can be easily reached. For the two positions I posted, PM (private message) was the easiest route for me to pass out details. I didn’t have time to open my email because someone didn’t have their PM enabled. It’s frustrating because if you can PM me, I should be able to PM you back. It’s a lot easier to do everything in one place.

Some may not agree with me on this, but employers are very busy people and they aren’t there to hand-hold and guide you through some very simple steps like how to send a PM. There are other people to help you with that like the forum admin or moderators. I came across responses that sounded like these, “I don’t know how to send a PM. Can you send me a PM with the details?” or “I’m very interested. Please send me a PM with your details.”

As a work at home job seeker it’s your responsibility to follow instructions and apply accordingly. It’s not proper to ask the employer or recruiter to contact you. Most times, you will be ignored. And I did just that. I simply don’t have time and I highly doubt employers have that much time on their hands. I wasn’t impressed and how many employers do you think would feel the same way?

I now understand why employers or recruiters are reluctant to post jobs on a work at home forum for the reasons listed above. The other reason being that some people become snarky and it doesn’t matter who you’re dealing with an employer, a recruiter, a representative of the company or in my case, a helpful messenger there’s no need to give attitude. Period.

Keep in mind, you’re the one looking for a work at home job and the employer is the one holding the position/s. It can be a win-win situation, but not if you’re going to give an attitude or be snarky. Be professional and courteous at all times.

~Sophia

Just a side note: I dealt with a lot of wonderful people, but there was just the odd one or two that as Shania Twain would sing, “That don’t impress me much.”