Changing Careers... to obtain the Telecommuting Lifestyle

At one time or another, every employee wonders what it would be like to work
in a telecommuting situation. But, they look at their current job and
wonder how they could ever do it from home. Well, that concern is quite
correct as some jobs cannot be done from home. However, one possible
solution is to change careers into something that compliments a
telecommuting situation.

I've heard it said that changing careers is one of the more stressful
situations that a person can experience. This is especially true if you've
been in a position for many years. There is a way, however, to ease into a
career change without inducing any of the stress that usually accompanies
the transition.

--- Baby Steps ---

Let's assume that you're an executive secretary with dreams of working from
home. However, your current position is not practical outside of the
office. You start thinking of other jobs that you could do, but realize
that no one will hire you immediately because you lack the experience to
take on such a position full-time. Instead of pursuing the situation, you
simply give up your dreams and accept the fact that you are stuck in your
current position until retirement.

Realize that you can still move forward with your dream of working at home,
just not all at once. You have to take it a little at a time to gain
experience and prove your abilities before you take the leap into a new
career. Your first step is to determine what you would like to do, that
would lend itself to telecommuting, and still pay handsomely.

Let's think, you're an executive secretary so your immediate skills are
telephone, organization, scheduling, data entry, research, and various
word-processing and spreadsheet applications. Consider these various
individual skills and put them together in different ways to see what type
of jobs you can handle. One way to do this is to visit some of the more
popular job sites like Monster.com (http://www.monster.com) and
Headhunter.net (http://www.headhunter.net) and type in your prominent skills
to see what types of jobs appear. You might be surprised at what you can
do!

>From a quick search for the executive secretary, I found that similar skills
are required for the following types of jobs:

- Internet Sourcing
- Transcription
- Customer Support
- Data Entry
- Off-site Executive Administrative Assistant
- Web Developer

As you will find, there are many things that you can do, however, you don't
want to jump in and just do them. For now, use these career ideas to
prepare yourself.

--- Setting up for the Change ---

Once you figure out what you want to do, go back to Monster.com
(http://www.monster.com) and Headhunter.net (http://www.headhunter.net) and
search for various jobs that would fit your requirements and skills. Don't
apply to any of them yet, just search for jobs that fit your desired
direction. Once you find about a dozen or so different opportunities,
examine them to make sure that this is something you want to do.

Don't worry about salary as of yet since this opportunity is something you
will do "on the side" until you get enough experience to do it full-time.
Remember, the objective here is to find something that you can do to help
fine-tune your skills for your new career. Don't despair and don't get
over-anxious as this career-preparing stage is only temporary.

--- The Resume ---

Here is the tricky part. You need to rework your resume to emphasize your
skills and strengths for the positions you want to pursue. Your first
thought is to list your skills and minimize your work history---the
functional resume. This won't work as the employer will assume that you're
trying to hide something. You also don't want to list your work experience
first because you won't get the job since your work history will not reflect
anything applicable for the new career.

You want to write a resume that mixes relevant skills, achievements, and
experiences. Put your most valuable skills and abilities near the beginning
and add an objective tailored to the job you are trying to get. A good
outline for a career change resume follows:

* OBJECTIVE
Write the objective to match the requirements of the job. For instance, if
you want a job as an "Internet Sourcer," then you could write something
like: "An independent self-starter seeking a contract or freelance position
to provide research and analysis skills using knowledge, a positive
attitude, and experience as assets for the hiring company."

* SKILLS
Describe up to five skills or areas of expertise that you can offer. The
skills can come from anywhere as long as you can prove them (e.g., a degree
you completed last year or a hobby that makes you an expert).

* ACHIEVEMENTS
List up to five bulleted points describing positive things you've done
related your target job. For example, you can include both paid and
volunteer work as well as hobbies or education.

* EDUCATION/TRAINING or EXPERIENCE
List those items that fit well with your target career. If your education
exemplifies your skills for the job, emphasize it. As for experience, list
those items in your current and past jobs that emphasize your experience
specifically for the job and your new career.

If you're curious and want a few examples for a given position, download
Copernic (http://www.copernic.com) and use their "Resume" category search.
Search for other resumes that meet your requirements for your position. You
might also find someone else with your skills and realize that they made it
into the career you're heading toward!

--- Going After the New Career ---

Once your resume is complete, go back and search for those positions that
match your needs. Examine their requirements and create a cover letter that
best describes how your attributes can satisfy the needs of the company.
Don't use a form cover letter, tailor one for each individual position.
When you're confident that the cover letter and resume are ready, send them
to the contacts for each company.

You'll probably have to do this a few times until someone catches on to your
skills and hires you. In the process, make sure that you keep track of the
companies and their contacts that receive your resume. Since the Web is
inundated with repetition, make sure that you don't send your resume more
than once to the same company.

--- What's Next? ---

The idea is not to give up. If your dream is to telecommute, then you need
to position yourself such that a telecommuting position can be yours. Just
remember that your first job will be "on the side" and its purpose is to
help you gain experience as a telecommuter in your new career. As you
become proficient, update your resume and go after the big job! Just make
sure your resume makes it clear that you have the skills and desire to be
proficient in that new job.