All of the jobs listed required physical presence at an office. Even the ones at Mashable. I questioned 3 representatives from 3 very different companies about a position as a health newsletter associate editor (I am an RN) and 2 copywriting positions. All of them replied that they would not consider telecommuters for the positions, regardless of my skills/resume. One is keeping my name on file for future freelancer needs.
This leads me to a discussion of job search engines. Whether on Mashable, Linkedin, or any of the other job search sites out there, “Location” NEVER includes telecommute. Research shows that 15-40 million people telecommute. So, why isn’t this an option in a job search engine? There ARE jobs out there… I think. We just have to look harder to find them.
As far as I am concerned this expo was a FAIL for telecommuters. Online Career sounds like working online… funny how the jobs don’t back that up.
Edit: Okay, I’ve taken a deep breath and talked to someone from Mashable who said that this was not advertised for telecommuters, so I shouldn’t have really expected to find something (yes, this is paraphrased). At least he answered. I still think “telecommute” should be a location option in job searches and that events like this should promote freelancers and telecommuters, but change takes time (as a Linkedin user pointed out) and I am impatient (as those who know me can attest).
I’m mourning the loss of a longtime client as they make some changes to their business so perhaps I’m just overly sensitive. Or not. Maybe I’m just opinionated. Okay, maybe “Maybe” wasn’t needed in that sentence…