Deesdeeds

You read about people working from home and traveling around the world in social media all the time. Is this really for everyone?

When I was working a regular office job in the Information and Technology industry I used to daydream about the possibilities of staying home on a rainy day and not having to worry about what I was gonna wear to work the next day.  

There is nothing like setting up a schedule that benefits your physical and mental health the most.  

I wanted to have more time to explore other aspects of myself I would never have a chance to explore well enough in the regular flow of the adult working life.

I had been following this guy in internet marketing who was always recording videos and taking awesome pictures of himself and his laptop in the most beautiful and exotic locations. (How I got to meet him and what happened next is a story for another time)  

I will be honest in admitting it was not easy at first. Here are some of the challenges I encountered:  

1.Recruitment processes are long

It should not come as a surprise given that you will be competing with thousands of professionals from all over the world for a position or freelance opportunity.  

Be sure to research tips on how to make your resume stand out. Cover letters are important as well.

It is best to send out proposals while you are still at your current job and/ or without any real pressures.

I find that when you are in “need” or desperate for something to happen, you push it back rather than speeding up the process of its manifestation.  

2.Payment processing

Most employers will give you the option of sending you a wire transfer every week, every month or at the end of each project, but this may not be an option for you depending on where you are located.  

There are other options to receive payments such as paypal and payoneer. 

Payoneer is a financial services business that provides online money transfer and e-commerce payment services. Payoneer is a registered Member Service Provider of MasterCard Incorporated.

If you decide to sign up for payoneer use this link . That will give you and I $25 when you receive your first $100 worth of payment.  

There are other forms of payment that you can look into, the downside is that you will always incur in transfer or withdrawal fees, these fees vary depending on the provider. Take this into consideration when quoting budgets or rates per hour to your potential clients/employers.  

3.All job offers may not be legitimate

There are hundreds of sites you can go to that may have information on the type of job or project you are looking for. Not all of these are legitimate. There are websites like flexjobs and upwork that post job offers. Flexjobs offers are verified and can be trusted.  

Upwork will let you know whether or not an employer has been verified and if that employer has paid employees for other jobs or projects in the past.  

Before applying for a job, be sure to research the company and look for reviews from former employees online.  Glassdoor is a good site to find reviews from former company employees and they also post job offers too.  

4.You are new on the market

Many companies will be looking for employees or freelancers that have been working independently, traveling or from home for a while. Because you are new to this, it may be difficult for you to prove that you are up for the challenge and trustworthy.  

Working from home or any location provides much more freedom and some people may get carried away and not perform to their best potential.  

Emphasizing any kind of experience working with clients, team members and direct reports remotely is important when placing your offer. This will definitely add value to your profile even though your past experience has only been from an employers office rather than your home or any other location.  

5.Balance & Discipline

Working from the comfort of your own home or any other location can be tricky if you lack self discipline.  

You can get carried away with personal errands or exotic vacation locations.  

Some employers will require that you follow a strict schedule and some won’t.

I find it that it is easy to get carried away when you work on your own time given that if you are not disciplined enough you may leave everything until last minute.

I usually work out in the morning, so I make sure to schedule all meetings to start at a time I know I will be available.  

I make sure my mobile devices are all setup to take calls in case I get caught up in traffic while running errands.  

Anyone with basic administrative skills can find a job online. Some big companies are starting to hire people to work remotely.  

The industry with the highest number of remote job opportunities is the Information and technology industry but I have also seen offers for the learning and education and even science industries.  

Now that you’ve read through the full article, I have a gift for you!

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What do you think about working from home? Do you work from home yourself or are you a nomad? What is the experience like for you? Let me know in the comments!