Patty Nicholson ⋅ Suwanee, GA Hewlett Packard ⋅ 24 years experience

Hi Charles, Over the past 5 years telecommuting has grown in popoularity with a numer of employees and companies. From my personal experience managing telecommunters, I find that one of the most effective ways to broach that conversation with a perspective employer is after you have clearly articulated your qualifications and the experience you could bring to the opportunity. Some managers do shy away from telecommunting because they don't feel comfortable that productivity is being managed effectively, unless they see it with their own eyes. One way to combat that would be to give examples of your ability to perform and deliver without direct supervision on a day to day basis. Focus on results and how you achieve them thru a strength in initiative and ability to focus sharply on a task.

If you see a position posted that specifies a specific location, my personal advice would be that you send your resume anyway and specifically call out in your cover letter that you feel you would be an ideal candidate for telecommunting and then use specific examples of why you think so. The worst that can happen is that the person declines to interview you, but you might get lucky and find someone open to discussing the possibility. I would just make sure you focus first on why you think you are uniquely qualified, and then approach the subject of location and ask if there is any flexibility. For the right candidate, employers might be more flexible than you think!

Andy Lewis ⋅ Denver, CO Hewlett Packard ⋅ 20 years experience

In addition to Margie's selling points, there is also something to be said for organizational resilience. Specifically, telecommuters don't often get "the office flu", nor are they impacted by regional events such as blizzards, bomb threats, protests, etc. A large financial organization had zero telecommuters until they had a 20% absentee rate due to a flu outbreak a few years ago. Now telecommuting is a tightly integrated part of their Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery strategy. Good luck!

Margie Peeters ⋅ Tracy, CA Hewlett Packard ⋅ 15 years experience

Chas:
I too, agree with everyone here. As a telecommuter for the past 8 years or so, I can say that trust is number one.
In my opinion, apply for a job anywhere and state that your skills will show that you are competent. One good selling point for me was that my company could save money on an office space, electricty, telephone, etc. and I would be allowed to work from home where I could be closer to my child who was in grade school. The company I work for was very concerned with job and family balance and most are these days so that actually helped me.
Best of luck!
Margie

Eric Hodgson ⋅ Bethesda, MD Hewlett Packard ⋅ 20 years experience

Chas,

Patty is on mark in her second paragraph, apply for the position(s). If the position you are responding to is applicable to the telecommuting paradigm, then you are in the hunt. If on the other hand it is not, then the process of application will aid you in the art of resume crafting (yes, it is an art form).

Telecommuting by its self is the means to the desired end state of employment in the sectors you that you are showing interest, that of Defense Contracting and Tel-comm. Limiting your application to those companies that state that the position is open to telecommuting could limit your prospective pool of candidate companies. Stating up-front that you will only consider a telecommuting position may cause your resume to be cast aside prematurely in the screening process. Save your desire for telecommuting until you at least have the company showing interest what you bring to the table, this can then be part of your compensation package negotiations.

s/f

Eric

Alan J. Zell ⋅ Portland, OR Attitudes for Selling ⋅ 29 years experience

Charles, It is not whether or not you have telecommunicating skills or if a company does have some people doing telecommunating. The key is what knowledge do you have about what the business makes/does and how the products/services they offer their customers/clients i.e. It is knowing the ideocyncasies of their industry. Just like the Army, you know what the ideocyncracies are, it now means, almost, staring all over again.

Not knowing what types of equipment you have used or worked with, your first task is to make a list of those and then a list of the firms that made or serviced them. These would be the best bet for getting on with one.

My suggestion is to try to find a business locally where your knowledge and what they do have a fit i.e. that while you may not have worked with or used what they make/do what you used has some parallels.

Alan

Hayley Severance ⋅ Washington, DC Booz Allen Hamilton ⋅ 2 years experience

I agree with Patty's recommendations. I would have a very specific plan for how you would be an effective telecommuter (i.e. being available via communication technologies such as email, instant messaging, phone calls, texting during your client's working hours; submitting daily or weekly progress reports via email; etc.). As a healthcare consultant at a large consulting firm, we do have employees who work remotely, however they are expected to attend at least a few team meetings in person per quarter. Offering this type of compromise - being available to travel for important meetings or presentations - might be something that would be attrative to a potential employer.