Digital Employment: 7 Ways to Look for Online Jobs

The Internet is making it easy for people to not only find office jobs, but have convenient online jobs that will not require them to dress up for work or endure long commutes to and from home each day.

If you are not yet in your best form to make money online via putting up your own online business,  an online job can be a good way stay out the commute and office politics. An online job can keep you at home while giving you the money that you need to make ends meet or even get you that career success you never got from being an office slave.

Online jobs can come in many forms. You can be a writer for business or investment websites or write advertisements and compose greeting card content. You can accept online consultancy projects. You can design websites from your home office on the other side of the globe. You can be a virtual assistant taking client calls for small business owners or helping coordinate conferences. You can be a medical transcriptionist typing your bills away.

You can also be paid through a variety of means. Employers can send you free product samples, gift certificates, or gift baskets. They can pay you through PayPal or check, or transfer money to your bank account. With the availability of different modes of communication, compensation, and duties, you need to do as much research as you can before taking on an online job.

Before you take on any job, however, you will need to look for it. Here are seven sources of online jobs that might keep you conveniently getting the cash that you want and hopefully the career fulfillment that you’ve been longing for.

1. Online Job Sites. Are you especially good at writing? Can you write articles or edit website content? Are you good at assisting people or booking flights or trips? There are specific job searching sites for certain skills. Writers, in particular, have many help sites devoted to posting online jobs for skilled poets, journalists, and fictionists. Look for job sites that are tailored especially to your abilities so you can narrow your search. Monster, HotJobs, Dice and Craigslist are some of the job sites that can help you here. Key in “telecommute” and if there’s an option to create a job alert, please do so. This will help you track new online job postings.

2. Freelance Job Matching Services. GetaFreelancer.com, ScriptLance.com, iFreelance, and FreelanceJobSearch are some of these freelance job sites that allow freelances to bid on projects. Some are free while some requires freelancers to pay a certain fee before they can bid. Using these sites is a hard but rewarding way to learn the ins and outs of being a web worker.

3. Search engines. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo! can be good places to find the job that you need. Beware of some sites, however, that advertise jobs promising large salaries for minimum work. These sites may simply ask you to stuff envelopes and run away with any set up money you pay them. Learn to protect yourself from scams before applying for any online job. Know what keywords to type in such as “must work from home”, “can telecommute”, “can communicate through Instant messaging”, “home-based position”, “work at home position”, “with reliable Internet connection”, “independent contractor”, “freelance __________”.

4. Online job forums. Join a forum where people have the same skills and abilities as you. If you find yourself amongst friends, you will most likely encounter online job opening posts in the forums, and coming from people on the inside. Online groups and forums will have members who have been working online for a long time. Ask for referrals from them, solicit their advice, ask about what job would be best for you, and you may soon find yourself with an online job thanks to a veteran and insider. You can also join online mail groups of people with your abilities and skills. When birds of the same feather flock together, they help each other fly: you can find support and encouragement, not to mention job opportunities.

5. Company websites. Is there any specific company that you want to work for? Go straight to the company’s website. Many brick-and-mortar companies need an online presence to widen their market base, and they need writers, advertising and marketing experts, and graphic artists to create the best website for them. Many contact center businesses now allow their agents to work from home provided they possess the efficiency and tools required to carry out the tasks. Here’s a list of companies that allow their employees to work from home. If you want an online paid blogging job, you might want to go directly to the blog network you want to blog for.

6. Blog Job Boards. Online job boards abound. Certain well-established blogs have their own job boards that cater to their target readers. Some of these well-read blogs include Problogger’s Blogger Job Board, TechCrunch’s Job Board: CrunchBoard . By the way, did you know that you can make money online from job boards?

7. RSS Feeds. Subscribe to online magazines, newsletters, and blogs with topics related to your skills and abilities. These may alert you about job posts, along with advice on looking for a job and working for the company. Read blogs written by people who have online jobs. You might be able to find job posts if the blog’s owner gets an opportunity that he or she does not need. You may also post comments on the site and get to know the blog’s owner better. Any connection in your network will work for you in the future, so never underestimate the value of making friends. Deborah Ng’s freelance writing jobs site is one great resource if you are looking for freelance writing jobs.

Did I miss anything? Feel free to add your own tips on how to find an online gig.

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Tagged as: freelance-job-search, job-search-engine, job-sites, online-job