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Do I Need a Resume to Find An At-Home Job?

Depending on the type of at-home job you want to find, you might still need to have a resume, especially if you are going to be providing a business-profession-type service. For at-home businesses that involve providing other non-professional services, you probably need only a business brochure or other printed information materials.

Professional At-Home Business

If your at-home business venture means that you will be providing any type of professional service (book- or recordkeeping, tax accounting, proofreading, graphics design, etc.), then you will probably be applying for freelance, outsource, or telenetworked (online) positions. In this case, you will probably need a resume (or a business précis, which is summary of important facts about your qualifications) that can be mailed, faxed, or attached to an email. You can either write your own or hire a professional resume writer to write one for you.

If you are comfortable with and confident that you can create the right type of resume or précis needed for the level of service you wish to offer, then you can use any template that is available in your computer word-processing system, or look for software that is designed to do resumes.

For resumes that you are going to mail, use good quality, monotone (one color) paper. For resumes that are going to be faxed, be sure the resume you print is printed as "Best Quality" and never fax a copy, always fax an original! For resumes that are going to be emailed, use as little formatting as possible and always test it by emailing your resume to several friends. Ask them to download and open your resume to verify that they have no problems with it.

For resumes that are going to be pasted into the body of an email, you definitely need to test it with several friends, preferably who all have different Internet Service Providers. Ask each friend what the resume actually looks like when the email open is opened. Fix any weird spacing and formatting to the extent possible and test it again.

Service-Type At-Home Businesses

If your at-home business involves providing some sort of personal service (like giving birthday parties, doing dog grooming, making balloon bouquets, etc.), then you will need to think more along the lines of brochures and flyers that you can distribute. It is unlikely that you are going to have to "apply" for a job such that you will need a formal resume. For more information about brochures and flyers, please see "Can I Write and Print My Own Business Brochures and Business Cards."

However, it would be a good idea to have a Business Fact Sheet that includes more specific information than you would normally include in a flyer or brochure. When a prospective customer or client begins to ask questions, you can offer your Business Fact Sheet (and then, of course, make sure all the customer's questions do get answered!).

You can create an initial Business Fact Sheet just be keeping track of all the information that you are not including in your brochure. Also, as you begin to talk to prospective clients, make note of the typical questions that they ask. Keep updating your Business Fact Sheet until you have covered most of the questions that are asked or information that is requested.

Be sure to print your business information materials on good-quality paper and set your printer preferences to "Better" or "Best" quality printing.

Things to Remember about Your Resume or Your Business Information Materials

• If you don't think you can write a resume that will get you the job, then hire a professional resume writer to do it for you

• If you write your own resume, use clear, easy-to-read text, one page in length

• Set your printer to "Better" or "Best" quality printing

• Print on good-quality paper

• Test email attachment or text that you paste into an email by sending it to several friends, preferably who have different ISPs

• Fax only an original, never a copy

• Have a Business Fact Sheet available to give to prospective customers

About The Author

Jan K., The Proofer is freelance proofreader and copyeditor. Visit http://www.janktheproofer.com for more information about Jan's services; http://work-at-home.janktheproofer.com for work at home articles and free printables; and for work at home moms, visit Jan's sister site http://work-at-home.momsbreak.com for articles, free printables, and work at home T-shirts and other fun products.

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