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Page updated:
3 April 2000
Page owner:
ETO Site Team
How to find a teleworking job online
How to find a teleworking job online
Lots of people would prefer to work at home rather than commuting to work - they want to be telecommuters. Some people cannot find well paid work or work that suits their skills locally and would like to work for a distant employer on a teleworking basis. Most of the advice in this cluster of FAQs is about self-employed or freelance teleworking. This page is addressed to people who are not ready for self-employment, who still would like the perceived security of paid employment and a regular pay cheque. It is mainly focused on "long distance teleworking" - where the teleworker's home is too far from the employer's base to allow for easy weekly visits to the office, and where even the recruitment process may not include a face-to-face meeting. When the employee and employer are geographically close, it is more usual for a new recruit to start by working on site, then graduate to telecommuting. Here we are looking at teleworking as the whole basis of the job, so that - at least in principle - the employer and employee could be on different continents.
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finding telework and finding skilled people
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It isn't easy . . .
From 1995 (when this European Telework Online site was launched) to 1999, we have warned people who asked for help in finding a job as a teleworker, "Be ready to be disappointed". For all of that period the supply of people wanting a job was much greater than the demand from companies actually prepared to recruit people "at a distance" and also employ them at a distance. Although this is gradually changing, with increasing awareness and use of the Internet, coupled with increasing skill shortages in some places, it is still necessary to warn job seekers that "It isn't easy and you shouldn't expect quick results". Supply is still greater than demand. Most companies still prefer to hire people they can easily meet face to face and to have them work at least some of the time at the company's offices. It is still our expectation that "Getting a job with a distant company" will continue to be the exception rather than normal for many years to come.But it is possible!
However, during 1999-2000 the market has begun to evolve very rapidly. From a very small base at the beginning of 1999, there are now hundreds of web sites run by both conventional recruitment agencies and new e-businesses, all providing facilities for companies to recruit people and for people to find jobs. Also, many companies now include a "vacancies" section in their own websites. So far (by April 2000) relatively few of these make any special provision for teleworking/telecommuting jobs, but again this situation is changing quite rapidly. Our list of sites identifies those that have specific provision for teleworking, as well as commenting on those that don't. Sadly (from a teleworking perspective) most recruitment sites encourage companies to specify a location for the job, which (possibly by accident) discourages them from thinking in terms of teleworking. During 2000 we will be organising a campaign to encourage recruitment sites to positively include a teleworking/telecommuting aspect.To be informed when significant new information is added to this site, register an interest.
What kinds of jobs?
If you want to be an employed, salaried telecommuter you need to be realistic about what kinds of work really make sense for both employer and employee when done "at a distance". Although technology development continuously increases the theoretical scope, there are practical considerations that often get in the way. Right now the more obvious types of work that are most suited to full teleworking include:- Tasks that are mainly or entirely done using the computer and telecommunications: examples include telephone reception, online customer services, web site maintenance and management, online community orchestration;
- Tasks that require much of the work to be done at a distance from the employer's premises: examples include field sales and field support work for a small company selling and supporting products nation wide or world wide;
- Tasks that are mainly customer-facing rather than internally facing: sales and support fit this requirement, as do some professional services and consultancy rôles;
- Tasks that require a high level of self-management and self-supervision: as well as sales and field support tasks, this can include many personal services rôles, especially those that involve counselling;
- Tasks where "the worker is driven by the task": for example, inbound call centre work.
One factor driving the uptake of teleworking is that a high proportion of new jobs in growth markets map to one or more of these characteristics. When telework was first discussed and promoted in the 1980s, the techology to support "communications with the office" was often regarded as an extra, needed only by teleworkers. Now that many offices are staffed entirely by people who use the computer throughout the working day as a norm, teleworking has become a more realistic option for a wider spectrum of jobs.
However there are still very many jobs where long distance teleworking remains inappropriate. You might ask, "Could I do this job as a long distance telecommuter?" and answer "Yes"; but the right question to ask is, "Would an employer prefer that I do this task as a long distance telecommuter?". The answer is more often, "No".
What kinds of companies?
The most obvious answer is, companies that:- Use computers and telecommunications intensively;
- Have customers in places where they don't have offices (and need some level of on-the-ground contact with those customers);
- Have embraced other flexible working strategies - flexible hours, local telecommuting, distributed work teams;
- Employ a lot of self-starting, self-managing people;
- Have a strong online presence and progressive e-business strategies.
Some people write to us and ask us to provide a list of suitable companies. Since companies change every day this is an impossible task. But searching online and checking out companies' websites is a good way to start. Also look for companies that have provided speakers and case studies for conferences on telework and other new methods of working.
You can find some relevant events in the Events Calendar at this site - it lists previous events as well as future ones, and provides links to event websites.
How distant?
Whatever happens with the technology and working practices it will for very many years be easier to get a job with a company nearer to you than with one further away! Today the complexity of different employment laws and practices in different countries mean that only large companies can readily cope with hiring and employing someone in a distant country, so if you want paid employment you are more likely to find it within your own country. Generally, when a smaller company wants to hire someone in another country they tend to do it on a self-employed contract basis. In this case the page about Marketing your services would be the one to read.What kinds of people?
This question is addressed in the page Should I be a teleworker?How secure?
How secure is any paid employment in the new economy? Although we still see references to "permanent employment", most people accept that changing jobs and changing companies is now more normal than staying with the same company indefinitely. Indeed building up a career profile of several good jobs with a range of different employers is now regarded as an asset rather than exhibiting disloyalty or an inability to settle down. People at the very top of large companies now change companies quite frequently, why not those lower down the hierarchy?Just as there is a right time to join a new company, so there is a right time to move on. The main basis for security today is to be confident that you are steadily enhancing your market value as an employee, and to be closely tuned to what is happening in your company and in its markets, so that you are not surprised in the event that your present employment becomes insecure.
Given these factors there is no reason why a telecommuting job shouldn't be as secure as any other kind of job, so long as telecommuting is the right way to do the job - for you and for the employer.
Make yourself a desirable employee
If you are employed, keep reviewing and revising your Curriculum Vitae (or in the USA your Resumé). If you look at your CV after three months have passed and you can't think of anything to change or add, could it be that you are not learning enough? Should you be doing something about this - either by some kind of activity inside your present job or through something you do in private outside the company?If you are unemployed, don't be! Get involved in some kind of voluntary work that will improve your desirability as an employee. This might be in line with your work aspirations (for example running your local community website*), or quite different, for example helping with a local sports team. Employers like people who do things, not those who wait for things to happen.
*If your local community doesn't have a website and a community networking activity, why not start one. This would look good on any CV today. There are some presentations about Community networking in our presentations section.
Make yourself visible as a candidate
This is covered in the page about Marketing your services. As a very minimum you should have a personal website that looks good, supports and extends your CV or resume, and demonstrates your strong personal connections* in your chosen field.*If you don't have strong personal connections in your chosen field, then get some! Look for and join relevant clubs, associations, online networks.Also, make yourself visible in places where likely employers meet online. If you don't yet know where these are, you haven't yet studied potential employers closely enough.
Get marketing!
Again this is covered in the Marketing your services section.Be prepared to be patient
That job that is "just right for you" may take a long time to find. Indeed you may never find it. Be patient, but don't wait around, keep up your campaign. If the right job is there you will find it (or it will find you) eventually. And meanwhile . . .And meanwhile . . .
One tried and trusted route into "permanent" employment is to get contract work with likely employers, demonstrate your value to them, and make it attractive for them to take you into the company as an employee. The main thing is never to be "out of work", even if you are out of full time paid employment. Even if you work on an entirely voluntary basis you should be sharpening up your skills and adding value to your CV/resume. And who knows, in your voluntary work you may meet your next employer!Finding Work and Finding Skilled People on the Internet
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