Do You Have What It Takes To Telecommute?

If you have wanted to be hired to work from home, the options for you are endless. Today nearly 23% of the workforce works from home at least part time. However, there are characteristics and work habits that you must have if you are going to be successful. Before you quit your regular job to take a work-at-home job, make sure you have what it takes to telecommute:

1) Do you have a skill or talent? Companies that use telecommuters are not looking home workers per se. Employers are more concerned with finding someone who has the skills and experience to do the job that needs to be done. So, how fast can you type? Are you accurate? Can you write? Do you have phone skills? Are you experienced using bookkeeping software? In essence, what skills do you have to give to a company?

2) Do you have the resources? While some companies will provide you with equipment and services, many won't. Do you have a computer with high-speed Internet access? Do you have landline phone service with flat-rate long distance? Do you have basic word processing and spreadsheet programs? Do you have the equipment, services and resources to do the job you want to?

3) Are you reliable? Are you able to deliver the work at the quality expected in the time frame needed? This means if your child is sick, you can't just slack off and work whenever. Instead you need to stay up late or get up early to meet the deadline. Work-at-home employees need to operate with the same professionalism as any other employees.

4) Are you self-motivated and able to work independently? There are hundreds of distractions when working at home. The laundry, Oprah, kids, neighbors, the couch for a nice nap, etc. There is no boss standing behind you to make sure you are getting the work done. Its up to you schedule time to work and to get it done in a timely manner.

5) Would you hire you? Before you answer that question, really think about it. If you were the owner of a business that needed to hire help, would you hire someone who had your work ethic or skills? If you are someone who chats a lot by the water cooler or does just enough to get by, you probably wouldn't want to hire someone like you. If that is the case, you need to change your ways. Working at home gives you a great deal of flexibility and freedom, but its still a job in which someone is paying you to provide quality work to your best ability.

Telecommuting has been the perfect solution to balancing work and family for me; however, it does have its challenges. Not everyone is suited to dealing with the lack of structure and routine that comes with working at home. Before you take the leap into telecommuting, make sure you have what it takes to succeed.