Working from home is the dream of many people out there, especially those who want to have their own businesses, or to have the freedom and flexibility to accomplish tasks and other work-related activities, all at the comfort of their home.
A work-from-home job just like the name implies requires you to be stationed at home to do your normal work, that you would have been expected to do at the office or your normal workplace. However, to be able to work from home, one needs to have some skills that will enable him to accomplish a needed task.
A skill can be said to be anything a person can do or has in him that has been honed with continuous practice and has attained a certain level of proficiency that is required for a particular task to be undertaken.
Aside from skills, we have talent. Mostly, people mistake talent for a skill but, it is not quite how it should be. You see, a talent is something that is born of a person, it occurs naturally unlike with a skill that requires you to learn.
You can’t just decide to want to work from home, because you feel it is more convenient, it may be, but you must have some skills to show for it. If you really think you are this person who is passionate about a work-from-home job, then you must be well equipped for it, and with the right skill set, because no company or a startup would hire a person to work for them from home, when this person has no particular skill to show, whether it is a hard skill or a soft one that would make the said business or company to experience some progress.
So in order for you to get your desired work-from-home job, you have been provided with some skills you may need for that dream to come true. Please read further to know more.
What Type Of Skill Do You Need To Learn?
Depending on what type of work you are interested in, would determine the kind of skill set needed. But ethically, every person who wants to be accepted into the corporate world must have first of all what is termed as the soft skills, as well as the technical skills required to do that job.
But for you my dear reader, who wants to work from home, you have been provided only with skills, both soft and technical that would help you work at home conveniently. Let’s dive in.
Soft Skills
Soft skills encompass personality traits a person is able to exhibit especially at the workplace. Mostly there have been some debates about whether personality traits are something else entirely from soft skills or not.
However, soft skills are those skills that require a person to exhibit any other skill that is innate or has been acquired in the course of his life or that of his career. They are what make up a person and are mostly not quantifiable. And can not be taught either.
With the right soft skills, a person would be capable of working anywhere regardless of cultural differences or geographical location. When a person has the ability to cooperate with his colleagues at the workplace, to work towards a certain goal, that is a type of soft skill, most employers admire, and they need people with these types of skills more, coupled with the technical aspects too.
The number of soft skills a person has shows how valuable that person is. And when your employer realizes you have the following soft skills, then I assure you, that it will not be long before you start working from home, just like you want. Here are some examples of soft skills to work on;
Problem-Solving Skills
As the first soft skill in this article, it is important for you as a person who wants to work at home to know how to handle problems to your advantage.
Most especially since you would be working alone at home or possibly with a colleague. You must be adept at identifying problems and coming up with simple yet credible solutions to them. Problems arise at the workplace, it is a normal thing, personal or work-related, you must know how to handle them effectively so that they do not affect the efficiency of your output. Keep that in mind.
Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is a sought skill that employers adore because with it, the employer believes when you are given a task, regardless of how flexible or tough the deadline would be, or how easy or difficult the task is, the employer will have the assurance that you are able to deliver.
To be able to work at home, one would have to be immensely disciplined because there are a lot of distractions at home, you may have kids, or siblings at home who would once in a while disrupt the progress of your work, or actually distract you.
Without discipline, you may be tempted to join them in whatever that distraction was. One would be required to set up strict routines and deadlines for himself as well as when to break from long hours of work. Basically, to work from home, you must give your employer the assurance that you are a well-disciplined person.
Adaptability
To be able to work at home, you must be ready for the change. An employee who is able to face change and actually be able to fit in is a force.
That would mean that you are immune to the cold feet of wondering what the change would be like and if it would benefit you at all. Employers love employees who are ready to adapt to new environments.
Knowing that you want to work from home, then this is a skill you must incorporate into your life and on your resume. Because working from home, you would have to be able to settle in and realize that although you are working at home, it has now become your workplace hence, you must treat it as such.
Time Management Skills
To be able to work from home, this is a skill you must prioritize. With this skill, you are able to analyze the time you have at home and allocate each of the activities you have to a specific time. When you do that, you save yourself from the stress of having to fumble about what to do and when. When you have effective time management skills, you would also need the discipline to make sure it works for you.
Self Awareness
Self-awareness is a very crucial skill needed by people who want to work from home since you must understand that working from home has its own fair share of troubles and stress.
However, when you have good self-awareness, it makes you realize that regardless of those issues, you have priorities at hand and that priority is to get done with your work or project. When you have a good level if self-awareness at your workplace, you are able to realize and acknowledge the things that distract you and those that give you motivation, it also helps you to adapt to your new work environment.
In the end, these skills come hand in hand such that you need one to do the other and this is especially for soft skills.
Why These Soft Skills?
- They help you to maintain a good work ethic as a person working from home
- They help you to grow from learning through your own efforts and experience
- They help you to stay organized
- With these soft skills, you are able to take the rewired initiatives for the benefit of your work.
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Hard Skills
Unlike soft skills, hard skills require years of practice and education to be proficient enough. It is also taught and can be quantifiable. Most of these hard skills require a person to have evidence of their proficiency or credibility in the form of certificates and the like.
For you to be able to get a work-from-home job, there are certain hard skills available you might want to consider. They are as follows.
Writing Skills
If you love to write, and it is a skill you are proficient at, you might be able to secure a work-from-home job. Most writing jobs such as blogging or copywriting, give the employee the flexibility and chance to work anywhere of their choice. With a skill like blogging, you will be making articles that inform the public, educate them, and the like.
With blogging, copywriting, and other writing jobs you may not need to work for a company or a business as you could also decide by yourself to do it alone and be your own boss.
Teaching
Teaching is a great skill, and if you are proficient at it, then you are set for a work-from-home job. Since we are advancing in technology and life as well, you can just stay at home switch on your computer, and just tutor your client all in the comfort of your home. You do not also necessarily have to stay at home actually, you could be a private tutor, where you would visit your clients in their home and then deliver.
It is less convenient than tutoring on your computer, but it is a more flexible aspect than your normal teaching job, where you are required to be in the office during noncontact hours.
With this, when you are done with your client, say you have an hour each for a client, and they pay you well for just those hours, you should see how good that is as a work-from-home job. Teaching is one such skill you must consider if you want a flexible work-from-home experience.
Web Development
This is one skill that is very versatile in several industries, and due to how special the work is, most employers are willing to give people with such skills the opportunity to work from home where they would get more time and the flexibility to work on their projects as well as being saved from going through all the stress and hassle of having to get to work every day.
If you are wondering what skill you need that can help you secure a work-from-home job, try web development. With this form of work, you would be required to design web pages as well as maintain them. To be able to do it, you would have to have had prior knowledge in programming as that is one of the main requirements to be eligible for such jobs.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing skills has the tendency of helping you to bag your dream job as well as working from home. With digital marketing, you are pretty much your own boss since you would be given the flexibility to work anywhere at all you want and that includes your home.
Having this kind of skill, you would be making social media posts to create awareness of a product of your client. It is just as simple as that, although most skills are learned with stress and other cons but with digital marketing, you can just decide to learn on the go.
And as you go deeper, you also become versed in the ins and outs of the endeavor. Digital marketing skills are another skill to help you work from home.
UX Design
If you are skillful in UX design, you have that skill that can enable you to work at home. Although UX designers indeed work as a team, they do not necessarily have to make physical contact. You can undertake projects in the comfort of your home and share ideas as you do so just with the help of your computers.
Due to these technologies, people from different countries can work together on the same project for the same company. As a UX designer, your chances of getting employed go high as well as you being able to work at home, is surely guaranteed, because this skill is a special one.
Why These Hard Skills?
- These skills increase your chances of getting employment
- With these hard skills, you are set for success
- These hard skills make you valuable to your organization
- With these hard skills, you are able to provide quality services to people and increase your self-knowledge in the field.
Final Words
These skills go hand in hand, technical skills also known as hard skills may be important since they are more quantifiable, but most employers emphasize soft skills. You must not leave the other behind. Make sure to learn the skills you are not good at. We now have the internet. Make sure to exploit its advantages. Use it as a resource and advance yourself.
