It is almost a certainty that since you last wrote your resume, much has been learned and even more has been changed. This is as it should be, for everyday, very creative people are adding to resume and cover letter writing arsenal.

The Basics

For years, we have been told that to be most effective, a resume should be only one page. This just does not apply any longer! Today’s resume is creative and unique.

Aside from most essential and key elements, a resume should reflect personality and need of job seeker and not be some cookie cutter rendition of what is “acceptable and expected.”

Standards in resumes and cover letters have changed dramatically, but, only so far as job seeker has creative expression and know-how to pull it off! Therein lies difference. Everyday, employers read all of standard resumes. They are required to go through each and every one! But, which one will catch their eye?

So what would benefit be to using a freelance website to obtain per project work at home? The first and most obvious benefit is that you would be earning money to help pay your bills, but less obvious benefit would be that you are gaining valuable work at home experience to put on your resume! There are many employers out there that would rather hire a telecommuter that has worked at home before and if you have no work at home experience on your resume, they may go with someone who does.

However, using a freelance website is a bit different. Many times people posting projects just want to use your services for a short time and for a specific project. They don’t necessarily care if you’ve worked at home before. Therefore, it could be easier to get a couple projects like this under your belt and then you can place that job on your resume! It will look good to other potential long term employers to see that you have experience working for someone at home.

You might also be able to get projects that you don’t have a lot of experience in, but want to do more of to build your resume up. If you want a full time job at home with a company, let’s say transcribing, but they all want you to have experience transcribing, it could possibly be easier to get projects off a freelance websites and that way you can build your experience for jobs you really want.

So this sounds great, right? What is downside? I would have to say that downside if two-fold. One, there are going to be others bidding on same project, more then likely, so you still have competition and many times winning bid seems to go to person who is willing to work cheapest. Not always case, but it does happen. So you might not necessarily make what you’d like to.

The only other downside I personally see is that if you want security of a full time paycheck, this might not be way to get it. You are usually working on a project basis and then when that project is over you’re done, but you need to remember all positive reasons for trying this type of work…I choose to look on bright side and I would rather have one project that paid me enough to cover a bill for month then no projects and no money. Plus, you never know when you may end up with someone who wants to use you on a more part time to full time and/or exclusive basis. I have a client/friend who uses one of these freelance websites to post projects often, and she would be a great person to work for! I’m sure there are many more people like her posting projects that would be great people to work for.