Sourcing from home is a dream come true for many. There is something about not having to take a shower before “going into work” that appeals to the inner sloth in us all. While it is true, certain freedoms are created via a work from home lifestyle, in turn, new boundaries have to be established.
Staging your Work Area & Setting Limits
The first step in your work at home journey is to set up a workspace that naturally lends itself to productivity. Creating a dedicated work space, no matter how small, is essential to getting into a productive mindset. If you are fortunate enough to have space, having a room or area that can be closed off at the end of the workday can help create a mental separation. It can also be the secret to closing off household noises and distractions. Establishing that separation can also be done by setting specific work hours if they aren’t already mandated. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of shuffling through email at 10 pm when it’s staring at you from across the room.
Opening Lines of Communication
Without the luxury of face to face interaction, successful communication strongly depends on having a multi line communication strategy to maintain contact with co-workers and candidates. The first step is to set up your soft phone, or some sort of service that interfaces with your cell to organize and translate voicemails. By implementing a soft phone, you will be able to engage candidates via text as well as phone calls in an organized manner. If you’re lucky, the CRM or ATS you’re working with will lend itself to an integration, so it does the recording work for you. You will also find it beneficial to have an instant messenger setup with coworkers for small interactions throughout the day, so you don’t find yourself adrift in a sea of email.
Prepping your Tech
While all employers have rules and regulations regarding technology usage, working from home can open a lot of doors. Unlike a stagnant work station, many are using laptops with fewer block, leaving the world of chrome plug-ins and being able to download new software trials wide open. Here are a few tools to implement today to start up your productivity:
- HootSuite: One stop shop for managing your social media recruitment strategy. Allows you to manage all platforms from a single dashboard to schedule content and interact with comments.
- Streak: Free chrome extension that tracks email communication and provides a built in CRM. Allows you to build profiles and manage all candidate communications without leaving your Gmail.
- Onetab: A snazzy Chrome extension that helps to ditch the visual clutter by organizing your million tabs into an easily accessible list.
- SourceHub: Now available as a Chrome extension, save time and let this site build your boolean strings for you. Just type in your keywords, and it’ll organize and punctuate for you.
Get out of your house!
My final piece of advice for those wading into the work at home world would be to get out of your house! It doesn’t matter if you are working at Starbucks or attending a local hiring fair (if sourcing local), the change of scenery will significantly contribute to your own mental health and keep you energized. Sourcing can be equally rewarding as it is monotonous, so shake it out and breathe some fresh air once in awhile.