Travels With Miranda

There are some legitimate ‘work from home’ sites out there, although not nearly as many as there are scams! I’ve been able to get work (contracts) through the following sites:

Elance and Guru

I’ve lumped these two together because they are quite similar. Both are sites where freelancers can showcase their skills in many fields as well as browse for, and bid on, projects. While there is a lot of work to be found on both sites, I’ve found it hard to compete with members who live in south east Asia and are willing to work for a dollar or two an hour, plus Elance and Guru take a cut from what you earn. Still, a couple of bucks an hour is better than no bucks an hour and I go to these sites when I’m desperate to bring in something. Both sites offer a free, basic, membership as well as paid levels. I don’t pay.

Editfast

Editfast is a site for professional editors, proofreaders, and writers. Once you pass the rigorous requirements to be accepted on the site, including proofreading and writing tests, you get to build a profile page showcasing your skills. Companies looking for editors, proofreaders, and writers can search for a contractor matching their criteria. Editfast acts as the middle person and takes a cut of the profits, but you can adjust your rates to take into account this percentage. It’s through this site that I got my first writing contract. Check out my Editfast profile.

Homejobstop

There is a small fee to join Homejobstop and, yes, I do earn a commission if you sign up through the above link. That said, this site is a great resource with links to tons of legitimate telecommuting positions. Most are in the US, but there are some in Canada and the UK, and even more with no geographic restrictions. They charge a fee because the site does not accept advertisements. There are no scams or links to ‘get rich quick’ schemes, just everything from sites offering paid surveys to postings by companies looking for full-time, salaried employees. While I haven’t found a permanent position from the postings on this site, I have found a couple of short contracts which have more than paid for my $9 sign up fee.

Finally, there’s

Genuine Jobs

This site is a recent find; I haven’t found any work through this site yet. As far as I can tell, they pull postings for telecommuting jobs from other sources, kind of like an RSS feed. I’ve seen postings at Genuine Jobs that I recognize from Craigslist and Canada Job Bank. Like with Homejobstop, and any other job search site, for that matter, I research the company to make sure it’s legit before sending off my resume.

While a full-time, work-from-home position with a salary and benefits would be great, I would also be happy earning a full-time income from a variety of small projects. The above-mentioned sites, and a few other resources, are slowly, but surely, making my dream of employment from home a reality. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.