Job Seeker Finds Creative Outlet with At-Home Work

The subject of our success story this week was referred to FlexJobs by a friend—a great example of how to use every “tool” in your networking arsenal to find work. The upshot? She found a remote job that offers flexibility and a satisfying creative outlet.

Using your network is one of the best ways to find a job—especially if you’re thinking expansively about what networking really means. Dedra W. was on the hunt for flexible work when a friend told her about FlexJobs. Dedra became a member and was hired by Crawford Metaforce, a division of Crawford Media Services, an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that provides end-to-end creative and production services. Dedra works as a metadata writer and quality control specialist, a part-time, flexible schedule position.

Remote Work That’s a Good Fit

A resident of Acworth, Georgia, Dedra told us her main motivation in seeking a flexible job was to find “creative work—without disrupting my family routine.” In fact, concerns about finding and maintaining healthy work-life integration are major factors for many job seekers looking for work-from-home positions.

Employees at Crawford Metaforce are part of a distributed team of media professionals whose services include metadata entry, captioning, and clip selection for clients. In her at-home work role, Dedra was able to find the creative outlet she was seeking.

A Broad Definition of Networking

Dedra’s story offers a fantastic example of how “networking” can encompass a lot of definitions and activities. For example, savvy job seekers can build a virtual network using websites, social media platforms, and other resources. Another suggestion is to find local networking events where you can meet and socialize with professionals in your targeted field.

In Dedra’s case, she used one of the simplest—and often most overlooked—resources: talking to family and friends. “I mentioned to a good friend that I was looking for some creative work, but with flexibility, and she suggested FlexJobs,” Dedra wrote in response to a series of questions from FlexJobs. “I really had nothing to lose. She found work—so I just followed her lead.”

Finding Jobs that Offer a Creative Outlet

Finding your creative outlet might depend on what “creativity” means to you. Jobs in the arts and other creative fields can be found in the writing, graphic design, education, the visual arts, and performance-related areas. Creative careers can also be carved out in areas not typically categorized as “creative” in the artistic sense: journalism and communications, advertising, and the nonprofit sector, to name a few.

For Dedra, the creative outlet came in the form of a media management and content company where she was able to find flexible work that met her career and personal criteria.

Advice and Inspiration for Other Job Seekers

As a FlexJobs member, Dedra told us she saved a lot of time and effort by targeting her job search and taking full advantage of FlexJobs benefits.

“What I liked most was that my skills, education, and experience [weren’t] lost in the shuffle,” she said. And that meant homing in on just the right career-focused creative outlet for her. Dedra wrote: “I was able to customize my job search by those terms and skip the hassle of getting excited about work that didn’t really meet my current needs.”