Member Q: How soon should a response be expected when I apply for work at home jobs?

I'm so glad to see that people are taking an interest in this blog. We've already had some suggested topics come in to the help desk, and I'm glad to see it. I decided to respond to this particular one, because we had 5 people asking the same thing.

The question was..."Why don't people respond when I apply for work?"

That really is a terrific question. The fact that people ask it so often tells me that many are looking at work-at-home jobs as having the same "rules" as local jobs. The fact is, the entire process is different,a nd to be successful in finding work-from-home jobs, you must wrap your mind around the idea that it is uniquely different and cannot be approached the same way.

Actually, I'll pull the answer out of my book, "You Can Work In Your PJs", where I went in depth about this issue. Hold on, let me go find the excerpt...

*Whew* I found it! OK, here goes...

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What you should expect from the employer

I've had so many people tell me that their biggest frustration with applying for home-based positions is that employers never respond. I agree that it can be pretty frustrating, but it doesn't surprise me in the least. After all, I've been on the receiving end when I've needed to hire people, and I know what happens.

Whenever an employer places any position listing online, the employer receives literally thousands of resumes within a few days, and worse than that, keeps on receiving them for months or years after the position has already been filled. Why? Because there are so very many sites that grab job listings from other sites and post them in their database, without the employer's permission!

Worse yet is when you've paid a fee to access those listings that are entirely outdated. It is no surprise that so few people ever hear back from an employer after they've submitted a resume and cover letter.

It seems that the majority of the responses people see will be from the scammers. Aren't they eager to respond with "Please insert $$ here to get this job" emails? Most good employers will not respond, unless they plan to interview you. Sending follow up letters is pretty pointless, but if you really feel like sending a follow up letter, send a brief and professional one 2 - 3 weeks later, and not a minute sooner.

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Ladies and gents, work at home job listings are not like regular jobs in the newspaper. In most cases, employers cannot afford the manpower to respond to everyone. I know I can't. We're a home based business too, and staff are already overworked (that's why we need to hire people). I would rather staff pay close attention to our customer's needs, and risk the wrath of the jobseekers, because it is the client's happiness that ensures more jobs, more work for everyone.

Any thoughts? *ducking in case someone is throwing a shoe*