When it comes to your job search, location matters. This is true even if you have your sights set on a full-time telecommuting job.
Why would it matter where you live, when you’re working from home? Because for a variety of reasons — legal restrictions, taxes, training requirements — many employers limit their candidate search to the state in which they do business. That means that depending on where you live, you might have access to different work-from-home opportunities than someone in the next state over.
Recently, job search site FlexJobs released a list of the top 15 states with the most telecommuting jobs in their database and the employers that are typically hiring in each, including:
1. California:
2. Texas:
Employers: Humana, Wells Fargo
3. New York:
4. Florida:
Employers: American Heart Association, Colgate-Palmolive
5. Illinois:
Employers: Ernst & Young, Nestle
6. Pennsylvania:
Employers: Oracle, Voya Financial
7. Virginia:
Employers: CenturyLink, Nielsen
8. North Carolina:
9. Georgia:
Employers: Chobani, Office Depot
10. Arizona:
Employers: Progressive, Verizon
11. Minnesota:
Employers: Boston Scientific, Citizens Bank
12. Massachusetts:
Employers: Liberty Mutual, Mitsubishi Electric
13. Colorado:
Employers: JPMorgan Chase, OpenTable
14. New Jersey:
Employers: General Electric, Robert Half International
15. Ohio:
Employers: Capella University, 3M
If your state didn’t make the list, don’t despair.
“While these 15 states had the highest number of telecommuting job listings last year, job seekers should keep in mind that telecommuting jobs are also available in their local areas, as companies absolutely hire remote workers in all 50 states,” said Sara Sutton Fell, Founder and CEO of FlexJobs, in a statement. “And while most telecommuting jobs do have a geographic requirement, there are also diverse remote jobs that can be done from any location in the U.S. and even the world.”
Finding jobs that will let you work from anywhere might take a bit longer, but it’s totally possible. To get started:
1. Target employers that specifically employ telecommuters who live out of state. Some might require you to live in a certain country, while others are fine with workers living anywhere in the world (provided they have a reliable internet connection). In addition to FlexJobs’ vetted listings, which are available for a fee, jobs sites like Indeed offer searches by keyword. Search keywords like “telecommute anywhere” on your favorite jobs sites to get started.
2. Ask your current employer about working from home. If you like what you’re doing right now — except for the part where you have to go into the office — don’t assume that you’re stuck commuting or quitting. You might be surprised to find that your employer is as eager to conserve office space as you are to work in your pajamas. Here’s how to convince your boss to let you give it a try.
3. Network, network, network. Looking for a telecommuting job isn’t so very different from looking for a job in an office, and up to 85 percent of all jobs are found through networking. Put out feelers and see what your connections can find. A friend or colleague might know of the perfect work-from-home job for you.
Tell Us What You Think
Have geographic restrictions affected your search for the perfect telecommuting job? We want to hear from you. Tell us your story in the comments or join the conversation on Twitter.
Leave a Reply