Telecommuting Series: Legitimate companies that offer “work at home” careers

June 29, 9:14 AMPortland Jobs ExaminerMargaret Hansen

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Working at home is becoming more feasible. (Photo: Business Wire)

Companies that offer good telecommuting jobs or work from home opportunities typically don’t spend a lot of money advertising it. Some do, most don’t.

Companies usually want to get to know you as an employee first. After all, it is a risk to them to have you access their proprietary data and systems out of their sight. You often need to gain their trust as an ethical employee before being granted the benefit of telecommuting.

Some companies, I discovered, offer telecommuting and advertise it as part of their work culture. Here are just a few:

Alcatel-Lucent is a worldwide telecommunications company that offers amazing benefits, including many telecommuting opportunities from several different countries.

Art and Logic  is a software development firm made up of a community of telecommuting software developers all over the U.S. Their impressive client list includes Apple Computer and Disney, among many others.  Their telecommuting employees are developers and engineers who love the non-corporate, flexible, work-at-home culture and exciting IT projects.

Bank of America announced in July of 2008 their My Work telecommuting program. Telecommuting jobs are available to lenders and those who deal with clients, but don’t apply to positions where they need you to be physically present, i.e. back-office processors and tellers.

Important Tip:  If you are interviewing with a company, try not to mention the telecommuting benefit until you are at the negotiating stage of a job offer. Sell your credentials first. Like salary and benefits, telecommuting can be a sensitive topic. You need to prove yourself and get them interested in you as a viable employee before discussing the privilege of telecommuting. Do your homework and have a plan of action to present to them. Be prepared to spend some of your time on site for orientation, training and meetings.