|
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
|
