6 Essential Tools of the Work from Home Job Seeker

Looking for a work from home job? There’s definitely a lot of information out there. It seems like everywhere you look there’s another home-based, telecommute, remote, freelance, or location-independent job listing.

And while a lot of information is a good thing (most of the time), sometimes it can make it that much more difficult to sort through everything and find the right job for you. And when you factor in all the work from home job scams out there, you can easily get overwhelmed and abandon your job search before it ever really gets going.

Fear not! Here are 6 essential tools of the work from home job seeker that will guide you to legit jobs and help you land the opportunity that’s right for you. Ready to get hired? Let’s go!

1. Google Alerts 

You can set a Google Alert for, well, anything. A lot of people use it to keep track of their online reputation but it’s also great for keeping up to date on all things work-from-home related.

And, it couldn’t be simpler.

When you’re signed into your Google account, simply navigate to https://www.google.com/alerts 

 

Type the phrase you want to be sent alerts for in the search box and hit “create alert.” That’s it.

You’ll be sent an email when new content is published that contains the alert phrase  you entered.

If you’re looking for a flexible home-based option, it’s a good idea to create alerts for:

• Remote job
• Work from Home
• Telecommute
• Online job
• Freelance

If you’re looking for a certain position, you could create an alert specifically for that too. Let’s say you’re a web developer seeking freelance projects — just type in “freelance web developer.”

You can even customize alerts — choose to get them once a day or as they happen — it’s entirely up to you.  When Hilton started offering work from home jobs and LiveOps announced they were adding thousands of home-based contractors to their workpool, I learned about them through Google Alerts.

2. Work from Home Resume

The resume has been, and probably always will be, one of the most powerful tools when it comes to finding a job. A great one can get you more interviews than you know what to do with. And a not so good one can leave you without a single callback.

If landing a work from home job is your goal, you’ll need to tailor your resume. Recruiters filling remote positions are looking for a certain kind of worker — someone who is self-sufficient, a go-getter, great communicator, and able to stay self-motivated in a home-office setting.

So, it’s important that your resume proves that you have what it takes to get the job done while working from home.

How?

The majority of resumes are never seen by human eyes. Applicant tracking software is used most of the time when submitting an application online. This software is scanning through your resume and looking for relevant keywords. The more of them you have, the better your chances are of getting your resume seen by an actual human.

This means you’ll have to make sure you pull the right keywords from the job description and strategically place them within your resume:

The above is a fake resume I created. But it shows that by creating sections like “skills” and “expertise” you can easily swap out keywords for each job you apply to and, in doing so, create a work from home resume that gets you hired!

3. FlexJobs

The great thing about FlexJobs is they hand screen every single work from home job on their site. This ensures that each and every job you see is legitimate.

If you’re a little uneasy about hunting for work from home jobs on your own, it might be worth giving FlexJobs a try. There are 55 job categories and hundreds of jobs posted at any given time.

Keep in mind, FlexJobs does cost money:

• $14.95 a month
• $29.95 billed every three months
• $49.95 for a year

If you’re not quite ready to invest in your work from home job search, still check out the FlexJobs Blog. There is plenty of helpful (and free!) information to be found.

4. Indeed Jobs

Indeed is a job search engine. They make it easy for you as a work from home job seeker to browse thousands of websites for current openings.

I search through Indeed almost every day and can come up with some pretty solid home-based job leads. Work from home jobs from popular companies, like American Express, frequently make their way onto Indeed.

The best way to find home-based jobs on Indeed?

Search terms! Use “work+from+home” or “remote” and you’ll have thousands of possible leads to go through.

And, if you live in a major metropolitan area and are thinking of joining the gig economy — Indeed has got you covered there too. Their newly launched IndeedFlex will show you a list of on-demand jobs in your area.

5. Scam Adviser

Sometimes, a work from home opportunity sounds too good to be true. Often times, it is. Jobs that offer high pay for little work can often be scammers after your personal information.

Even on reputable job sites, like Indeed, I’ve come across the occasional scam listing among all the legitimate ones. For example, there’s one listing that pops up every so often that advertises, “Get Paid to Read the News.” The ad goes on to say you can earn several hundred dollars a day just by reading news articles on websites. Sounds amazing, right? It would be, if it were real.

These sites are usually put up overnight, try to collect as much personal data as possible, before shutting down and running away with thousands of names, addresses, and dates of births.

How can you check whether or not a website offering an online money making opportunity is trustworthy?

Scam Adviser.

Now, keep in mind, this site isn’t going to tell you for sure whether or not a site is legitimate or not but it will clue you in on some important details about a site like how long it’s been around and where the country of origin is. It will also give you a scam advisory rating letting you know the likelihood of a site’s trustworthiness (or if you should proceed with caution!)

So, of course, when you type in a site like amazon.com, it lets you know that it’s safe to use and goes on to detail why. ScamAdviser provides information like:

• Domain Age
• Owner of the Site
• Owner Country
• Website Location

If you come across a website that looks suspect — put it into ScamAdviser to see what it turns up. Keep in mind, just because a website is new or from a certain country, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a scam. But if there are a whole bunch of red flags and ScamAdviser warns you to proceed with caution, it might be best to move onto the next opportunity!

6. Pinterest

Surprised to see Pinterest on the list? Don’t be! Your go-to spot for recipes, DIY design, and organizational hacks also happens to be an amazing source of remote jobs.

Some of the best work from home bloggers are actively pinning plenty of job leads and helpful advice every single day. Thanks to Pinterest, I’ve found out about work from home opportunities I otherwise wouldn’t have known about.

You can create a board where you pin all of your favorite job leads, advice, or helpful hints and refer to it any time you need a little work from home assistance.

There’s something for everyone on Pinterest — freelance, WAHM advice, location-independent jobs — finding a work from home job has never been so easy (or pretty!) when you turn to Pinterest.

What’s In Your Work from Home Toolbox?

If you’re tired of endlessly browsing Craigslist hoping to come across just one work from home job lead, try adding these six tools to your job seeker’s arsenal. They can lead you to hundreds of daily remote job leads and increase your chances of landing a (legitimate) remote job.

Have you tried any of these before? Is there something you swear by when it comes to finding jobs online? Sharing is caring — leave it in the comments below!