Man Finds “Whole New World” of Career Flexibility with Remote Job

Many parents find that becoming a mom or dad changes their entire career outlook. This week, we’re shining the FlexJobs success story spotlight on one such dad, a FlexJobs member whose remote job offers him a “whole new world” of career flexibility.

Ben K. from Silver Spring, Maryland, had worked a series of flexible jobs in the past. Then, a series of life changes prompted him to look for a stable work-from-home job that allowed him to deal with changing family dynamics. After becoming a FlexJobs member, Ben found a full-time, remote job as a dialogue designer at West Corporation, a global IT services company specializing in conferencing, collaboration, and other communication solutions.

Keeping Closer to Home and Family with Remote Work

In the past, Ben had worked flexibly in the arts and nonprofit sectors as an actor, teacher, and freelance grant writer. Parenthood brought a shift in priorities. “When my wife and I had our first kid,” he said, “we needed the stability (and salary and benefits) of a more traditional 9-to-5 job.” An office job worked for a while but after another child, and taking on a caregiving role for an elderly parent, he wanted work that kept him closer to home.

His new job does just that, Ben wrote in response to questions FlexJobs asks successful job seekers. “I’m not spending hours each day on the road; I haven’t needed an alarm clock in months; I can stay checked in with my two little kids during the day (we’re homeschooling),” Ben wrote. Now he’s able to juggle home and work duties. “I can ‘stack’ my time really effectively, e.g., emptying the dishwasher with my Bluetooth on mute while I’m dialed in to a conference call.”

He added, “The ability to telecommute 100% and time-shift my hours as needed has been absolutely tremendous.”

“Tremendous Freedom” with Career Flexibility

When Ben had to go out of town for two weeks for a family funeral, he was able to take his flexible job with him and work when he could. “To me and my family, it was a huge blessing to have the ability to just get up and go when there was a need in our lives.”

Flexibility also has been a good fit for Ben on a day-to-day basis. “I can take my laptop outside and work while I watch the kids in the backyard; I can sweep or fold laundry while I’m on passive conference calls or watching professional development courses; basically the other parts of my life don’t have to give way to the job the way they used to… I have so much more freedom, moment-to-moment, and it’s tremendous.”

New Career Opportunities Working Flexibly

With Ben’s new job has come “a whole new world of advancement…in a fast-growing field. I was worried that my job experience before this position was narrowing my options and leaving me locked into an industry that I didn’t enjoy.” That was not the case. “This new job made me realize that I’ve got skills I wasn’t considering that it turns out are in high demand!”

In his job search, Ben found just the kinds of flexible jobs he was seeking on the FlexJobs site. “I knew I wanted to telecommute most of the time, so searching on FlexJobs was really right for me,” Ben wrote. “If you run a few free searches on FlexJobs and the results that come up sound so tantalizing that you just have to see the full details, use a promo code (they’re always out there), and sign up for a month!”

Job Search Tips and Inspiration

Ben offered great insights into job search strategies that worked for him. “The job that I landed I never, never would have come across searching through any venue other than FlexJobs,” Ben wrote. “It didn’t even match my saved search filters… I just happened to take a stroll through the recently posted jobs and stumbled on it, clicked the description, and realized it was perfect.”

Ben noted that “researching companies made all the difference for me,” After an interview with one prospective employer went south because he hadn’t done his research, Ben vowed to do better. “By the time I was interviewing for the job I have now, I had thoroughly combed their site, press releases about the company, LinkedIn pages for my interviewers, etc., so I had a strong sense of what they might be looking for. In the end it paid off!”

“I definitely tailored my resume and cover letter to each job I applied for, and I’m sure that helped me get a foot in the door,” Ben said.

Thanks to his positive FlexJobs outcome, Ben is happy to spread the word to friends and colleagues. “I pretty [much] recommend FlexJobs to everyone at this point, after having such a great experience,” he wrote. “What’s amazing is that I didn’t have to compromise any career goals to get these flexible perks… I have a great boss, a friendly team, clear paths for advancement, good benefits, and saw a 20% salary increase when I took the job! I couldn’t be happier with the choice to take this job.”

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