The Three W’s Of Telecommuting Networking

by Nell Taliercio

WHY?
Simply put… it works! Networking, done right, can be one of the most powerful ways to gaining employment from home. So why is that? When you build relationships with other telecommuters they are very likely to either recommend you to their current employer or send you jobs they may find or even do both. Networking that is done to build relationships and to help each other out, and not just about taking from others, has worked for many of my friends and worked for me as well. Here is Jen’s answer to my question about networking:

“Networking is one of the main keys into the telecommuting world. I starting networking on wahm forums a few years ago and this is how I landed my first telecommuting job. You need to surround yourself around others in the same industry as you to get your mindset on how to and when to apply for jobs at telecommuting companies. Networking will never fail you. I have landed 80% of my jobs my
networking.”

WHEN?
The sooner you start building relationships the better. I would get involved in at least one telecommuting community as soon as you can. It’s okay to lurk for a little bit so that you decide if it’s the forum for you, but you will need to get active, mingle and build relationships in order for networking to be effective.

WHERE?
There are so many places online to network. You can go to places like ryze.com, yahoo.com, and google.com to browse their different groups. Other very popular places to meet people are forums/message boards. This is where I found the most luck with meeting a good variety of people and where I’ve made most of my friends online.

I’ve been a member of many forums. Here are just a handful:

WAHM.com – this is a HUGE forum with thousands of people. It can be a little overwhelming at first because there are just so many people, but if you just jump right in and start chatting you should get to know many people.

MyMommyBizBoards.com – I don’t visit this website as much anymore because I’ve cut back how many forums I spend my time at however I do think it can be a valuable resource.

And if you type in work at home mom message boards, or such keywords, you’re likely to find many more forums online where you can meet other moms.

MY PARTING TIP:
You get out of networking as much as you put in. If you’re just there taking taking taking and never giving it will not be as successful and could really backfire on you. So please remember to network effectively you need to take the time to build some relationships and once you do the rewards will be great.

Nell Taliercio is the owner and editor of MommysPlace.net. She’s been working from home for many years, but was fortunate enough to come home full time in 2004.

Editor’s Note:
I found my first telecommuting job via an online message board back in 1998, so I can vouch for the fact that finding telework is often a result of being at the right place, at the right time, and making those connections . . . ONLINE.