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August 13, 2018 0 Comments

5 Tips for A Professional Job Application

We all know the importance of a resume when you apply for a job, but there’s often more to the application than just that. There’s the cover letter, recommendation letters, resume, and anything else requested by that particular position.

We’re sharing our best tips to keeping your whole job application professional and effective, so you’re ready to apply when those ideal positions come along.

Keep it up to date

Even if you’re not actively job searching, sometimes the right position just pops up. Be ready for these opportunities! Every month or so, take a few minutes to update and review your materials.  This will keep things fresh, keep you from scrambling, and help you avoid losing future opportunities due to time.

This is also a good time to prepare all potential documents.  If you only have a resume so far, draft a cover letter and seek out at least 2-4 professional recommendations to have on file.

Short and sweet

A professional application is short and sweet! You may think you need to elaborate or sound wordy to be impressive, but employers receive a ton of applications.  They will greatly appreciate that you kept to the most essential information.

Use bullets

Along with keeping things short and sweet, don’t be afraid to use bullet points liberally! It allows employers to easily scan your information for items that jump out, and keeps information in bite-sized pieces.

You can utilize bullet points in all areas of your application – the cover letter and resume, as well as any other documents required by the posting.

Free from errors

If you want to submit a professional application, it should be free from spelling and grammatical errors. Take the time to really proofread well, and ask a friend or family member to take a look as well.  We can miss small errors by seeing the same piece of writing so many times, so don’t be afraid to have several sets of eyes on it.

Errors and mistakes can make you come across as careless, even if that couldn’t be further from the truth.  It’s worth the extra time to ensure that all of your materials are perfect!

All materials

These days, not all job postings are standard.  Some of them require additional writing samples, tests, and so on.  You need to read very carefully! They’re often looking for someone who follows directions.

Be sure that you include everything that is asked for, and don’t include other things that are not.  Each employer usually has a very specific skill set and documents that they’re requiring, so it’s best to stick to that.

To start, ensure that you have a cover letter, solid, updated resume, and recommendations, which can either be attached or ready upon request. This will give you a foundation, and any other requested materials can be created quickly!

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August 6, 2018 0 Comments

4 Tips to Work From Home Successfully

Working from home is a dream scenario to most – more flexibility, no commute, and more time with family. But once you’ve landed a home based job, how are you successful in it?  It’s not quite the same as a traditional office job, so different things need to be considered.

Read along for some of our tips to ensure success in a work from home position.

Clear distractions

As much as possible, clear distractions from your home and work time. If you know you’re going to be on an important call, place a note on the door to ask people to not ring the doorbell. If you have dogs, exercise them early and put them in their crates or on beds when you’re trying to get work done.

If your kids are home on summer break, work out some playdates or child care when you really need to focus.  Often times we can manage to fit all of this into our work days, but sometimes we need a break. Keep in mind, if you worked in a traditional office, you wouldn’t have the same distractions.

Be independent

Being a successful home based employee comes down to working independently.  Sure, you may have a supervisor or head boss that you report to, but it likely isn’t regulated the same way as an office job.

To get work done, stay on track, and avoid overwhelm, it’s so crucial that you manage yourself.  Keep tabs on how you’re spending your work time with a simple spreadsheet, and make to do lists your friend!

However, independence doesn’t need to carry over into your personal life. Be sure that you’re making time to be social and get together with co-workers or other home based workers when you can.

Manage yourself

Along with being independent, in a lot of cases you might have to manage yourself. Some home based positions tend to be more freelance in nature, so while you have a “boss,” it’s not in the same way.

Manage yourself with to do lists, as well as clear check ins with your immediate supervisor.  Whether it’s a daily summary of work or a weekly check-in call, it’s up to you and your boss. You can create a schedule of communication that works for all involved, and this will allow you to stay on track with your employer.

Motivate yourself

Working from home offers a host of benefits, but motivation can be hard to come by.  It can be tempting to spend the day watching Netflix, or doing something fun with your kids.  While this can be part of your day from time to time, you are still working from home.

Do your best to save other activities for breaks or after work hours. When you commit to a typical workday and a set amount of time and hours, you’re providing yourself with the structure and boundaries to get things done.

Staying motivated to do your work will come from having a solid schedule and process for accomplishing tasks.  This may be challenging at first, but once you find your rhythm, it’s easy to stay on track!

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July 30, 2018 0 Comments

5 Ways to Start Prepping for Back to School

As we get closer and closer to the end of summer, we’re starting to think about back to school and fall routines.  While there’s still plenty of time for summer fun, it’s important to begin thinking about the transition into the school year.  Read along for some tips to be prepared – mentally and physically – to get back into the groove!

Shop early

By shopping for back to school items earlier than most, you can typically get in on the best sales.  Better yet, you and your kids will have your pick of supplies. If you wait until late into August or after school begins, there’s usually not much to choose from.  School supply lists can be long and specific, so be sure to pick things up early.

Start a routine

Summer is known for more relaxation and flexibility! Whether you’ve been more loosely scheduled with your work, or your kids are simply in “summer mode,” it’s a great time to prepare for the more strict school year.

You can start by setting earlier bedtimes, doing baths earlier in the evening, and so on.  It’s important (and much more pleasant) to ease your kids back into their year, and this starts with their routine. You can start small: 10-30 minutes earlier every week until you’re back on school time. This will make mornings and bedtimes much easier when school begins!

Create a schedule

Take a look at the upcoming year before it even gets started.  As we’ve mentioned, things tend to change from flexible to more structured during the year, so it’s important to be ready.  With activities, sports, and other programs being added into your schedule, you may have to rearrange some work or set up a carpool.

Start with a basic outline of your family’s days and go from there.  If you need to shift work, add work, or find childcare, now is the time to begin thinking about it seriously.

Set some goals

While you’re setting up your schedule, also take some time to set some goals – for your family, career, fitness goals, and so on.  This can even be a fun activity to do with your kids! Do they want to make a certain team? Try a specific class? Goals can help us get excited about the future, as well as motivate us for a great year ahead. Set some goals for the upcoming year, and check in with them as the weeks go on.

Soak up summer

As summer winds down, soak up the final days of summer!  Plan something fun or just enjoy having the kids home. Take some time for yourself if your work schedule allows, and take comfort in the fact that you’ve started planning for the upcoming school year.

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July 23, 2018 0 Comments

HireMyMom Success Story: Kari Turbeville

What’s your success story with HireMyMom.com?

I was rejected for the first job that I applied for on Hire My Mom. That, ultimately, ended up being the beginning of my success story.  When I was rejected, I was crushed, but I emailed the employer thanking them for their time and asked that she keep me in mind for future projects. To my surprise, she did reach back out to me when her selected applicant went on vacation. After working with me for two weeks, she decided that she wanted to keep me on. That was almost five years ago and not only do I still work with/for her — we have grown to become good friends.

Tell us a little about your business and how you got started.

I’m a creative and have in some way always offered my design services to others for more than 20 years. Because of Hire My Mom, however, and the job I secured through your group almost five years ago, I had a steady stream of income that allowed me to pour that money back into growing my business as a web designer/developer. My business is now an LLC, has a strong client base, and has grown enough in the last year that I am back on Hire My Mom. This time, I am positioned as an employer looking for help managing the growth of my own business. I am truly grateful for Hire My Mom and the blessings it has ushered into my life. My business is Studio Barn Creative LLC

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?

Hire My Mom is to employers and employees what eHarmony is to men and women; an online match making service creating connections based on all the things that matter most to each individual.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I’ve been known to randomly break out into song as it relates to the conversation that I’m having.

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July 16, 2018 0 Comments

4 Questions to Ask if You Want to Work From Home

 

Working from home is appealing to most – there’s the flexibility, lack of commute, and the ability to be more productive.  While it’s typically a huge benefit to work from home, it’s important that you know what you’re doing ahead of time. It takes a specific type of person, personality, and lifestyle to enjoy and thrive in a home based position, so don’t enter hastily!

Read along for our best questions to ask yourself before taking the leap into a work from home job position.

Am I independent?

Are you okay working independently? Yes, you will likely have a boss and other co-workers, but your actual work time is mostly completed alone.  Some people do not have the personality for this, and would thrive much better in a traditional office environment.

Additionally, even if you don’t mind working alone – are you motivated while working by yourself? It might not be the social aspect of an office that you need, but rather the structure.  Working from home requires you to structure your own time, and get things done without being managed in person, which can be a challenge for some employees.

Can I work in my home?

If your home is full of distractions that can’t be managed – either by outside help, a new schedule, or your own mind, it might not be the best idea.  If you don’t have any other option for your small children or pets, it can be challenging to complete work while caring for them.

Additionally, if you’re someone who can’t be home all day without cleaning, catching up on TV, or simply doing other things around the house, working from home might not be your best bet.

Work from home employees are still able to complete some housing tasks if they work it into their day, but the vast majority of them are very disciplined people who are able to ignore most home distractions.

Is my lifestyle a fit?

Take a look at you and your family’s schedule(s) and see if your lifestyle makes sense for a home based job.  You might find that you have a lot of flexibility and downtime already, and going to an office would make you feel more productive.

Additionally, you might be the kind of person who cannot stay in their house all day.  Of course, some work from home employees do enjoy co-working spaces and coffee shops, but in general, most work out of the home.  Use this time to really determine where you fall in this category, and make an honest decision about your work environment.

Why do I want to do this?

Which benefits of working from home are the most appealing to you? In some cases, you might find that you can get some of those benefits in a traditional office job.

For example, some office bosses allow a lot of flexibility – leaving early, free hours (as long as the work is done!), and much more. In other cases, there might be a closer office to the main headquarters that will allow you to save on a commute.  Lastly, a lot of bosses are now more open to partial telecommuting, so you can consider that as well. Overall, if an office job sounds better besides a few points, see if you can negotiate on them.

Working from home is filled with benefits, but it’s not for everyone.  Take some time to seriously reflect on what works best for you, your lifestyle, and your family.

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July 9, 2018 0 Comments

4 Tips to Be an Effective Work From Home Boss

There are many tips out there on how to be an effective manager, but it goes to another level when you’re managing a remote team.  Your workers are out of sight, and it’s very important that you manage them, hire the right people, and still stay sane in the process! Managing home based employees can be a challenge at first, but it will give you more flexibility and freedom if you master it.

Read along for some of our best tips for management of remote teams.

Manage reasonably

Since you can’t physically be with your employees, it can be tempting to micromanage every task, client, and project.  But this goes against everything that work from home can be – flexible and less stressful.

You must start by trusting your employees, and that comes with hiring the right people.  Hire those who know if they’re productive independently, and who never give you reason to question what they’re up to.  With work from home jobs, it can be helpful to have a trial period of 30-60 days so you’re able to see this in real time.

Get together

Although your company is remote, it’s important to get together in person if and when you can.  Whether it’s for a mini retreat, incentive trip, or convention that will build your knowledge, it’s helpful to get your team together.

When you get together in person, you get a chance to really connect.  You build relationships, get to know each other, and discuss the business, which ultimately builds more bonds and solidifies trust.  On top of this, it can be fun for a remote worker to get to meet their team in real life.

Don’t forget that they also don’t get to see their co-workers very often, so you can bring this benefit to them and allow those relationships to strengthen as well.  When a team is reliant and trusting among co-workers, everything runs more smoothly and more effectively.

Invest in a program

There are many programs – free and paid – that allow you to more easily communicate with your team via video.  You have the free options of FaceTime, Skype, and the free option of Zoom meetings. For paid options, you can utilize chat options such as Slack, Sococo, or any other online communication program that also features video.

Even if you don’t do video communication on a consistent basis, it can still be fun to do from time to time.  When you aren’t using the video feature, be sure that you’re still communicating often. Group texts, client management systems, and Facebook chat are all great options.

Ask for details

While you shouldn’t be consistently micromanaging, keeping tabs on your team is still key.  Ask for detailed timesheets if that’s helpful at first, or you can do daily summaries. Whatever you need to feel at ease, while still allowing your team some freedom, is very important.

You can also utilize tracking software and time management software, if your team should need that.  Establish a solid process for reporting results and deliverables to the company and/or to your clients.  At the end of the day, this is your business, and work still needs to be done.

Becoming a manager of remote teams is all about the balance! Take some time to figure out what you need to feel comfortable, while still giving your team trust and getting the work completed.

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July 2, 2018 0 Comments

Hire My Mom Employer Success Story: Doug Holbrook

Name: Doug Holbrook
Business: iVention
City / State: Louisville, KY
Website: ivention.us

Tell us a little about your business and how you got started.

A 3-year-old named Rowan and a newborn named Aspen captured my heart and made working for non-flexible, non-caring, family-hostile business very difficult.  My wife and I decided to set out on our own using my expertise in Laboratory Informatics software.

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs and home business owners?

Take a deep breath, and keep walking through the hard parts. Each struggle gives way slowly to success. It takes so much longer than you can anticipate to build and profit from a business. We thought we would be profitable by 6 months, 3 years later we are getting much closer.

What is your top tip for hiring great talent?

Hire for personal drive and willingness more than existing experience and education.

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?

We offer very flexible work environment and hours, many of us attend meetings with babies on our laps or screaming just off-screen.  We find great talented people who are looking for a job that blend and melds with family, kids, & friends and the chaos that comes from living an interesting life. HireMyMom.com has been instrumental in our success thus far.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I am an avid landscaper and speak German.
.

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June 18, 2018 0 Comments

5 Tips for Work Life Balance

 

We often hear of work life balance, but how do we achieve it?  Bridging the gap between work, family, relaxation and social time is a challenge in our busy world, but it’s crucial to quality of life.

According to Small Business Trends, “66 percent of full-time employees say they don’t strongly believe they have a work-life balance,” which is a huge figure.  It’s important that we take the time to find a balance for better health and happiness.

What’s important?

The first step to work life balance is establishing what that looks like for you, along with what’s important in your life.  If you say it’s family but spend all your time working, it’s time to reevaluate your priorities. If you’re truly in a time period when getting ahead at work is crucial, you may have less time for family and friends.

Finding a balance starts with what’s ideal for you.  Is it important for you to have a few hours at night to do nothing?  Do you need to be done working at a certain time to get to your child’s game?  Lay out a perfect week that allows you to include those things that are non-negotiable.

Time management

For work life balance to be successful, you must manage your time! It’s easy to get distracted during work and outside of work, and that cuts down on the time you have left for you.  Break down your work tasks by time, and always leave room for breaks and downtime.

When you know where your time is going, you’re better able to re-adjust as needed.  Take inventory of where your time is spent, and take steps to rearrange some things if needed.

Stay social

So you don’t always feel like you’re in work mode, staying social is key! Make time for your friends and family, even if work is your current priority.  You can still take some time out of your days or weeks to see friends and family.

This is a great way to recharge your batteries, see where your priorities lie, and strengthen relationships.  It’s almost always known that we feel better after interacting with those we love! Make time for this – work will be there when you return.  When you get time away from work, you come back more refreshed and ready to do a better job.

Turn it off

Especially on weekends, it’s important to turn off electronics! Weekends should mostly be reserved for fun, relaxation, and recharging.  Your phone and computer can be used personally, but try not to get too involved with anything with work. It’s important for the brain to shut down for a while and not focus on work.  

It gets tiring for your brain and body to look at a screen constantly, and you seriously blur the lines between work and play when you end up working all weekend, even if it’s just through your computer.

Do your best to make weekends work technology free! Again, you’ll come back feeling ready to tackle your tasks on Monday if you didn’t spend the whole weekend working.

Remember downtime

Downtime is so important! Doing fun things with your friends and family is also crucial and valid, but spending time relaxing is very important to quality of life.

Whether you enjoy spa days, a leisurely walk, or just some time lounging by a pool, it’s important to have downtime where nothing is on the agenda.  We live in a very structured, scheduled world, and while that’s great for productivity, or figuring out where your time is, eventually you have to shut that off for a while.

 

You can even look at your schedule early in the week and ensure that you’ve carved out some time to do absolutely nothing!

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June 11, 2018 0 Comments

3 Challenges with Working From Home – and How to Solve Them

Working from home has many benefits, from more time and flexibility to a non-existent commute.  Although it’s mainly a positive experience for most, there can be challenges involved, especially in the beginning.

Check out this week’s blog for some tips on working through those challenges successfully.

Kids or Family

While kid, family, pet and friend time can be a huge bonus to a more flexible job, they can also require a lot of time.  Sometimes you’ll need to have focused work time, meetings or conference calls that demand your attention.

For your kids, ask your mom friends or moms in your groups if there are any play groups during the day.  You can exchange playdates while other moms need to get things done as well.

You can also take your work outside! Since most home-based jobs involve only a computer, you can bring your office with you.  Take your kids or the dogs to a park while you work.

Distractions

Distractions are part of every job, but can be even more prevalent at home.  Between the aforementioned family members and dogs, there’s postal deliveries, homes to be cleaned, and TV shows that can be a little too tempting. If you struggle at all with independent work, it can be even more challenging.

Instead of eliminating these things entirely, give yourself breaks to do what you’re tempted to do during work time, such as watch a TV show, put in a load of laundry, or start dinner.

Your distractions can become a healthy part of your life, as long as you work to manage them while still getting things done.  Create a schedule that allows time for the extras or “distracting” parts of your day while still completing your work.

Socialization

One of the first concerns when accepting a work from home job is the possibility of isolation. Whether you have kids or not, it can still be lonely to not work out of a traditional office.

To combat this, it’s important that social interaction remain part of your life.  Can you plan to work with a friend at a coffee shop? What about a weekly happy hour date with a friend or family member?

If you can, look into co-working spaces and spend a few mornings or afternoons working from Starbucks.  Even though you might not be working with anyone else, the energy from others, as well as social interaction, will help you feel a bit more normal.

Also, if it’s possible in your situation, be sure to meet up with your co-workers from time to time.  If you aren’t local to each other, schedule frequent Skype dates. Video conferencing can still feel like an in-person conversation much more than the phone!

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June 4, 2018 0 Comments

4 Ways to Share Information as a Remote Team

 

Remote teams are becoming more and more prevalent as more people work from home.  Although working from home tends to boost productivity, eliminate sick days and commuting, it can also make communication more difficult.

As businesses grow and hire more employees, communicating as a remote team becomes crucial.  Read along for some of our best tips for staying connected in a home based career.

Use a program

There are several programs out there that can make communication and collaborative work much easier.

Google Drive features word documents, spreadsheets, forms, presentation templates, and other options that allow you to work as a team.  The best thing about Google Drive is that it consistently saves and updates the documents, and you can share them in real time amongst your team members.  Additionally, it’s a free service.

For chatting, Slack is an option that allows you to speak to your team throughout the day, while saving conversations and making things more streamlined.  It’s the perfect place to message, share files, and collaborate in one location.

Lastly, you can try an option such as Basecamp for client management and team communication.  There are “Projects” for each client, and each member of the team can add notes, Discussions, files, folders, and so on.  An added benefit is that you can share this data with your clients, taking your collaboration to the next level!

Try texting

High-tech programs are great, but sometimes a little bit of communication is all you need.  Texting is an informal way to stay in touch with your remote team.

If your team is smaller, or more casual, you can begin a work group text and keep in touch throughout the day.  You might even create specific check-in times and a protocol for using the group text. This can also be fun, as chatting with your team also fosters stronger relationships and bonds that go beyond the workplace.

Set a meeting

Meetings are incredibly important for remote teams! Since you don’t see each other very often, communication is key.  Keeping a running meeting on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis is crucial. Depending upon the size of your team, the complexity of projects, and other methods of checking-in, the scheduling around these meetings might change.

Either way, keep meetings productive, quick, and as a way to check in.  Do you need to address client issues daily? Set it up. If a weekly meeting is enough, keep it to a format that works for everyone, and create a schedule so that team members feel heard, productive, and that they are using their time wisely.

Set expectations

Expectations aren’t just important on an individual basis for at-home employees, they’re also needed for teams.

We already addressed meeting and check-in schedules, but what else is expected of your team?  Do you require detailed time sheets? Client or work summaries on a daily basis? Set these parameters up front, and be honest about them in the hiring process.

It’s important to stay out of micromanagement territory, but there’s still a great need to stay on top of employees.  Since you aren’t meeting in the traditional office daily, keeping tabs is more than fair. Simply establish a schedule, protocol, and method of expectation that works well for everyone and their schedules.

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