Work-From-Home Job Spotlight: Office Manager

Each Thursday, I’m highlighting a work-from-home job or business.


Job Description: An office manager handles the accounting, marketing, emailing, phone calling, copying, organizing, etc.

Education: An associate’s or bachelor’s degree is preferred.

Skills: The ability to juggle multiple tasks and projects.

Job outlook: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that “employment of office and administrative support supervisors and managers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2018. … Keen competition is expected for jobs as the number of applicants greatly exceeds the number of job openings.” Check out the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for more details.

Possible employers: Current or previous employers might be interested in retaining or rehiring you in a work-from-home situation. Associations, organizations and businesses all need office managers, and could be open to a work-at-home employee.

Preparation: Carefully prepare how you would work from home as an office manager, addressing each concern a potential or current supervisor might have. Make sure you have the proper equipment, such as phones, fax/copier, computer and high-speed Internet connection to do the job from home.

Get your foot in the door: Ask for a three-month trial period to work from home to see how it works.

Testimony: “I was able to figure out how I could do almost everything from home,” says Lisa, an office manager who approached her boss about working from her Raleigh, N.C., home. “My company hired someone to be in the office a few hours in the morning to answer phones. I still do everything else, but from home instead of going into the office,” she says. Although she does go into the office on a weekly basis, from home, she does all of the accounting, marketing, e-mailing, phone calling, organizing, and more.

Until next time,

Sarah