Organizing Your Online Job Search

Being an active job seeker requires organization. People often don’t keep track and if they do, they don’t think of putting a lot of information of the companies they apply with.

When you work virtually, some companies take a long time to get back to you. It doesn’t mean you should forget about them because they may have open positions at a later date, but would you remember what position you applied for two months from now?

There are different ways you can keep track of your online job searches. Using a spreadsheet like Excel works beautifully. You can also use Word or resort to the old-fashioned way — pen and notebook which eventually your information will become stale and the bookkeeping becomes messy.

Keeping the information on your computer is convenient, but make sure you have hard copies and back ups.

JibberJobber.com is a free web database for job seekers to organize their job searches. It’s more functional than using Excel and since it’s not something you download to your computer, it won’t get accidentally deleted or lost.

You can do so much at JibberJobber.com and it’s not just keeping track of where you applied, but you can also keep track of the people you have networked with.

JibberJobber allows you to keep track of the information you collect during a job search. Track the companies that you apply to (Target Companies). Track each job that you apply for, and log the status of each application (date of first interview, date thank you letter sent, etc.). Want to know where you sent your different resumes? Use JibberJobber to keep track of it!

How you manage and organize your job search online is critical in finding a job. Don’t let jobs pass you by because you forgot to send a follow up or look silly for applying three times to the same company within the same month.

Stay organized and on top of your online job searches.

~Sophia

Work At Home Tips: Patience Is A Virtue

One thing I’ve noticed a lot when people apply for a telecommuting job is they expect instant replies. What they don’t realize is that the employer have thousands of resumes to go through and they won’t be able to email everyone with a response.

Not all employers use autoresponders for the canned reply, “Thank you, we’ve received your application…blah, blah, blah.”

It’s not unheard of to hear from an employer months from now for a job you applied for months ago. It could simply be a new position opening. Whatever the case may be don’t let it bother you. Be sure to keep track of how, where, when, why and who you applied for so if they do come knocking on your door, you’re not taken by surprise.

And if they aren’t looking for you, then keep looking for yourself. Be consistent and patient in your job hunt because something soon will come your way.

~Sophia

Illegal Interview Questions The Interviewer Can’t Ask You

Besides having to answer tough interview questions what may stump you even more is illegal interview questions. There are questions an job interviewer can’t ask, but they do and you have the right to refuse them.

Just like on a job application you don’t have to divulge your marital status, number of children, date of birth, nationality, religious background etc. While these are more straight to the point, some hiring Human Resources may try to go another route of asking these illegal questions. There are many more, but here are some variations:

1. How’s your health?
2. Do you plan to start a family soon?
3. Are you authorized to work in the US or Canada (or other country)?
4. Where were you born?
5. Do you attend church?
6. Do you observe (holiday)?
7. How many times have you missed work due to illness or family emergencies in the last year?
8. What social organizations do you belong to?
9. What was your first language spoken at home?
10. When do you plan to retire?

If you choose to answer any of the illegal questions, be careful in how you answer them. I often hear employers ask “Tell me about yourself.” Don’t go into the spiel of stating your age or emphasizing how young your children are etc.

On the other hand if you refuse, do it tactfully. Don’t flat out say, “I refuse to answer.” You can say something like, “That’s an unusual question. I’ve never been asked that before.”

There are ways around it by choosing your words carefully so you’re not directly answering or not answering their illegal questions. Keep in mind too; do you really want to work for a company who is discriminatory?

~Sophia

What Not To Do When You’re Job Hunting

It happens even in the virtual world. One day you find you have been laid off and you don’t have another telecommute job to fill the gap. It can be depressing and worrisome. The important thing is to keep the focus and start applying.

Here’s what not to do when you’re between jobs and job hunting.

1. Sleep in
Get up the same time when you had a job. When you sleep in you’re wasting precious time to network. Procrastination may also set in.

2. Watching daytime TV
Talk shows, soap operas, game shows…they all suck up time and they can be addictive.

3. Going to bed late
Which would result in doing #1. Just not a good idea.

4. Free for all
Try to maintain a work schedule even though you’re not working. Block times for writing cover letters, researching companies, applying, networking etc.

Also take the time to update your resume and get out there and market yourself!

~Sophia

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.”

Work At Home Job Tip: Use Twitter To Job Hunt

The longer I’m on Twitter the more I discover how you can use Twitter to find a work at home job.

I’m often coming across tweets in my Twitter stream from various people looking for someone to complete a job for them. Not only are there independent owners looking for help, but corporate companies are also using Twitter to find employees or Independent Contractors.

First of all, create a Twitter account. It’s preferable to use your name as your Twitter username if your account is for job hunting. If you have a portfolio online add the URL to the website field and then sell yourself in your bio.

Upload a good and clear photograph of you. Forget the cutesy avatars. If you have time customize your Twitter background and use this added space to include your credentials or experiences.

Start following experts in your niche by using the search function in Twitter. Tweet about what you know so you add value, tweet about telecommuting job news you have read, share tips about your industry and help answer other people’s questions that relate to your field.

You have to be consistent in your networking efforts and you have to engage with your followers. Remain professional at all times and never say anything bad about a previous or current employer or company.

By combining social media sites with your other methods of finding a work at home job it can only be of a greater benefit for you.

~Sophia

Work At Home Job Tip: Beware Of The Job Fraud

Work at home job seekers have a lot in common. They want to know how to determine which telecommute job will pay and which ones are scams.

You can start your work at home job search right here on this blog. If that’s not enough, you can use job boards like Career Builder, Monster, Craigslist and many more as they are countless websites, blogs and job forums to help with your job seeking needs.

What’s happening often are people who are looking for home workers know exactly where to turn to. One very high ranking work at home forum will have several posts for work at home jobs. But don’t let your guard down. Usually these “employers” build a rapport with the community. They may offer an easy job and pay out several people. They will post again offering another work at home employment. People know now from a previous post that this employer is “credible” so it’s easy to jump right in and start working for this person.

But somewhere between accepting people to work for them and few and far between communication something is lost. Suddenly something goes “wrong” and before you know it you suddenly realize that you may not ever get paid from this person.

Be careful of easy jobs like posting ads on Craigslist.
Make sure you know exactly what you will be paid for.
Make sure you know how much and when you will get paid.

Stop working if you can’t get a hold of the employer.

Or

Don’t start working until you are absolutely sure all of your questions are answered. Anything stirring in your gut or second thoughts swirling in your head, follow them! Your doubts is your intuition kicking in.

~Sophia

Work At Home Job Scams: Look For The Red Flags

There are many different ways to figure out if a work at home job lead is a scam or not. Many of the tell tale signs come from the ad alone. For instance:

- You can make $300 in just two hours! No experience necessary.

- Part-time customer service, data entry job. Available for 2-3 hours per day. $30/hr. Minimum typing speed 25 wpm.

- Administrative Assistant, work part-time. Set your own schedule, earn from $15.32 – $19.22/hr.

You can see the scam pattern here because common sense says that’s too good to be true and it is.

Besides the obvious, I’ve come across a lot of legitimate sounding job leads. The rate per hour is decent, the required amount of hours expected is reasonable and the ad itself just sounds right. But it’s far from being reputable.

A blind ad is when the employer doesn’t mention the company name or any of its details. The email address where you apply is from the job posting board. So that makes it fairly difficult to do your research. Remember, once you send out your resume with your personal information, there’s no turning back. In this case, your name and email address is sufficient.

If you receive an email response be certain it is a legitimate job offer before you sign off on any documents or provide sensitive details. By now you should know the name of the company, the recruiter’s name and more of the job requirements. Common sense and intuition should always be your guide.

This is where your research may end because there’s just something not right in the job description or the recruiter’s name happens to be Casper Ghost and the CEO’s name is…Belcher Wack Wack. Okay, Belcher Wack Wack is way extreme and exaggerated, but this is what scammers come up with for names.

Location is a huge part too. Overseas locations are really iffy and I wouldn’t put a lot of trust in it.

Take your time to thoroughly research the company and its people. It will always pay off.

~Sophia

How To Successfully Answer Tough Telecommute Job Interview Questions

A job interview is a natural process in a telecommute job search. It doesn’t matter how many job interviews you’ve done it doesn’t get easier because every company have different questions to ask.

I’m assuming you have practiced for your most commonly asked questions like, “Why do you want to work from home?” I’m sure you have the answer down pat, but don’t get caught in complete silence when it comes to responding to other tough job interview questions that may arise.

What motivates you at a job?
Give an example that relates to a previous job. Is customer service your top priority? Was it to help solve a problem or overcome a challenge? Maybe it’s the job stability or the personal growth the company offers its independent contractors.

How do you deal with gossip at a workplace?
Even though you work in a virtual environment there is still workplace gossip. You will eventually hear it through the grapevine or it’s talked about on a work at home forum. Explain how you feel about gossip, how you would handle it and what you would do.

What can you bring to our company?
If the company is focused on team work and creativity then let the interviewer know you possess those skills and you have the personality traits to complement the company.

Why do you want to work for us?
Of course you can’t say because they pay more than ABC Company. Make sure you have researched the company thoroughly. Was there something the company did or accomplished that made an impression on you? Or did you find you liked where the growth of the company was headed?

Why should we hire you?
It may seem obvious to reiterate your strengths, skills and experience, but it’s not necessary. Tell them what they don’t know about you.

Are you a leader or a follower?
You don’t want to imply negatives in either role so be aware of what you’re saying. The best is to give examples of when you were in a leadership role and explain how you work well in a team environment.

If I called your previous employer, what three things would he say about you?
Tell your interviewer about an accomplishment or idea you came up with and they used.

Explain what this job entails.
Keep it brief and list the responsibilities and tasks of the position.

What goals have you set and accomplished?
If you don’t have a professional accomplishment, then think of a personal achievement that relates to your skills or experience. It may be something you taught yourself how to do or you had a successful fundraising event.

Why did you choose to work in this industry?
Tell them how you became interested and how your skills, your commitment and professional goals match what they are looking for.

Preparation and knowledge is the key. These can be some of the tough job interview questions you’re faced with. If you really know yourself, these questions should be easy to answer. Take the time to review them and expect other similar difficult questions that may pop up on your next job interview.

S McIntyre is the founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free work at home resource focusing on work at home companies, daily telecommute job leads, articles, business resources and other work at home related topics.

Work At Home Job Seekers: Reading Is Important

It never ceases to amaze me why people refuse to completely read and comprehend a job listing.

I’ve said it so many times finding a telecommute job is so hard and I know people realize it, but they don’t really get it and they wonder why they don’t get a response or offered an interview.

“You never know until you try” isn’t applicable to everything. If you’re applying for a job, it’s so important to read the job listing from top to bottom. If you don’t qualify in any given requirement, do not apply! The qualifications are there for a reason. Don’t waste your time or the employer’s time. Not only would you be wasting their time, you would like an incompetent job seeker who can’t follow instructions.

Take the time to read the job listing and not skim through it. If you want to work from home, then you have to take finding a job seriously.

“Oops, I didn’t know I had to live in the North Pole or have a bachelor’s degree. Darn, I just applied!”

It really doesn’t work too well when the employer reads you live in Timbuktu…that is if it doesn’t hit the trash first.

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