Telecommuting
A Matter of Trust
Part VI

The Bottom Line
With thousands of job sites listing millions of jobs, but only a few claiming to list telecommuting jobs—and most of those being questionable, fee-based, and out of the realm of "real" job sites—it's obviously not easy finding work specifically as a "telecommuter." Yet, it is estimated that over half of US companies now have telecommuting arrangements with their employees.

What does this tell us? The bottom line is, it's a matter of trust. Typically, employers do not actively seek telecommuters or advertise for them. They'd be deluged by thousands of résumés from around the world if they did. Understandably, employers feel much more comfortable allowing employees with a proven track record to telecommute, than they do new-hires. It's typically an earned privilege, not a hiring bonus. If they want you bad enough, you might be able to negotiate the privilege during a final interview. But telecommuters usually get their start by convincing their current employers to give it a shot, or by progressive employers making the offer to trusted employees, in part to cooperate with spare-the-air and transportation-gridlock campaigns.

So, you are more likely to land a real telecommuting job from your current employer, than you are from the so-called telecommuting job sites.

Up Next > Telecommuting is a growing trend
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