Melody Spier started looking at telecommuting as an option back in 2000 but felt at the time that she could not financially quit her job.
Tired of working long hours and coming home so exhausted at the end of each
day that she could hardly enjoy our family time, Melody felt like her husband, neighbors and friends were raising her children while she worked.
After two years of working up the courage, she dropped her day job and became a full-time stay at home mom in 2002. From there she connected with a website that provided legitimate telecommuting information and a community of people who shared their knowledge and resources willingly.
Melody landed her first telecommuting job less than 90 days later. As is common, Melody found that it is a challenge to find one company that will give you full time hours. She started working for multiple companies. By developing a schedule that worked for her family, she was able to build up to a full time income. It didn't happen right away and there were times when the workload was considerably smaller but keeping active with multiple companies meant she could pick up hours at one place when things slowed down at another.
Melody's biggest initial challenge was getting her family to understand that even though she was home full time now, she still had a job to do. It took two or three months of constant reminders for everyone to adjust to her work at home status. Another challenge she faces was learning to stay positive and hopeful when things were looking grim during the job search.
Melody's advice to moms who would like to find a telecommuting job is to: 'Plan to work for multiple companies and work 30-40 hours a week; it usually takes that to earn a full time wage. Don't give up! Yes, it's tedious and discouraging to submit hundreds of resumes and not get a reply but remember you are competing with 1000's of other applicants for a handful of jobs.
Make sure you have an outstanding resume and cover letter; this was something I learned the hard way. Enjoy your time at home. The whole point to working from home is to have less stress, be with your family and to enjoy yourself.' |
