How to find legitimate work-from-home opportunities

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May 25, 2011

How to find legitimate work-from-home opportunities

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Q: I am 62, have an M.B.A. and 40-plus years of management experience with excellent references on LinkedIn. My position was eliminated in December 2009, and I have been looking for employment since with little success. That is not, however, why I am writing. I have ever-increasing parent care responsibilities which really limit the types of job opportunities that I can even seek. Many older professionals have to try to find part-time and/or work-from-home jobs with no travel, because we are spending anywhere from four to 20 hours in very dedicated care of dying or infirmed elders every day of the week. Are there any good sources for finding jobs that are real (i.e. not scam) work-at-home opportunities that could provide flexibility for those of us that need a paycheck to not only keep a house over our heads, but also that of our parents and pay for all of the care related to our parents, as well?
-MP, Seattle

Kristen says: One thing I don’t see in your question is your industry, which can play a big part in your search. Some industries lend themselves more than others to remote work. Most of the jobs you are looking for are, in fact, independent contractor services that are not employed by someone else. I recommend that you assess your skills from your former industry to determine what you can do that leverages your expertise, then start approaching former customers and colleagues to develop a business addressing a need they have. Your goal is to save them the resource allocation and expenses to bring someone “in-house.” Some examples include transcription services (medical/dental, legal, meeting notes), which have been outsourced for years. Until speech recognition technology is flawless, this is one field that will continue to thrive. Bookkeeping, invoicing and tax preparation are also well-established industries for working from home and let you set your own hours. Always check the Better Business Bureau and online consumer reporting groups on anything you think sounds “too good to be true” -- it probably is.