For women balancing motherhood alongside their careers, working from home can be a godsend. Remote jobs help you save precious time by not commuting, and can allow busy parents to multitask and check things off their to-do list at home (like laundry, meal prep and other household tasks). If this sounds like a good fit for you, read on for the best places to find work from home jobs for moms.
THE RISE OF REMOTE WORK
If there was one positive thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was remote work. Since then, many industries have gained a greater presence online, and integrated a digital, remote-first workplace. According to a recent study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before the pandemic, just 26.2% of women worked from home in 2019. In 2020, that percentage shot up to 49.3%, and only came down slightly, to 41%, last year.
It’s clear remote work is here to stay. Since the pandemic, even managers who may have been resistant to the remote work revolution have seen daily operations can continue without a hitch, even when performed by employees who never enter the office. With more companies embracing a distributed team, here’s a look at the best places to find work from home jobs for moms (and everyone else), plus, how to make those jobs work for you and your family.
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START WITH AN INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC SEARCH
Some industries are especially geared towards remote work flexibility. For example, virtual assistants, social media managers, digital marketers, customer service reps, writers, online business managers, accountants, bookkeepers and account managers should have no problem discovering a remote work role that works for them.
There are also some specific job platforms specifically tailored to moms and to women. A few of them are:
The Second Shift: A job platform that helps companies find experienced female talent, either for short-term gigs like a maternity leave fill-in, or for something long term. Companies post their job, then qualified talent gets notified. Although not all jobs on the platform are remote, many of them are, and you can set your preferences to filter for work-from-home options.
HireMyMom: Who works harder than a mom? No one. This platform connects moms with flexible, legitimate, home-based work. All jobs are remote, so the companies you’ll be connected with truly value their virtual team members.
Après Group: A platform for moms going back to work after a career break, or who may be pivoting in their careers. The site offers job listings, and access to career coaching services, including resumé revision, and job placement assistance.
Power To Fly: Not all jobs here are remote, but the company has a special “remote jobs” category you can search. Here, you’ll find jobs in tech, engineering, product and design, marketing, and sales, and many more. You can also meet recruiters at companies via virtual job fairs.
The Mom Project: With mom Serena Williams as a strategic advisor, The Mom Project is on a mission to ensure that no mother has to choose between a successful career and her children. Here you can find remote jobs, part-time jobs, full-time jobs, or temp jobs for maternity leave fill-ins.
STAYING UP ON YOUR GAME TO STAY COMPETITIVE
Being on top of new apps, programs, and tools is a great way to make sure you stay marketable, even if you’ve stepped out of the workforce for a while. Striving to be a continual learner can give you the confidence you need most to sell yourself as the best candidate. If you can show you’re a candidate who is perpetually seeking to grow, employers know that’s a mentality that they want — and one that will get you very far in our remote-work world.
Some applications that are super helpful for work-from-home moms to be familiar with include:
- Shared calendars like Monday.com that sync due dates and send project completion reminders so you don’t even have to think about it.
- GroupMe, which allows moms to coordinate all their events— work, school, sports, and any other events the family can think of.
- Trello and Asana for online project management and collaborating with your team at work, or on projects you’re pursuing as part of your side gig or new entrepreneurial venture.
THE KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR WORKING REMOTELY
For working moms, work, home, and family are in perpetual movement, so organization and flexibility are critical. Taking each day as it comes is usually the mantra, but It is also vital to be prepared with a “plan B” when things don’t go the way one expects.
Depending on the ages of your kids, it’s great to have someone who can help out when needed. Whether that’s a sitter, a carpool buddy, or a friend or family member that you can delegate responsibilities to. Trying to balance both job and personal responsibilities, a mom’s day can wax and wane in its busyness. Consider what you can outsource, such as hiring a nanny, housekeeper, carpool, admin tasks, bookkeeping, etc.—this gives you a safety net when your work day gets more engaged than expected.
For managing time, it’s key to find a system that works for you. Some people like time-blocking so they can focus on specific tasks at once. It could also be helpful to run all errands on a certain day when you know those places are the least busy—making the most efficient use of your time.
Another trick is to reduce distractions. It’s helpful to shut off social media and set your cell phone to “do not disturb” when you need focused work time. Depending on your phone, many will still allow important contacts such as your spouse and kids to get through even on do not disturb mode
MORE FROM HERMONEY:
- Moms: How To Give Your Daughters the Gift of Financial Advice
- How To Teach Girls About Investing
- How To Parent Equally When You Both Work Full Time
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