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Resume@resume-place.com

I'm writing this column on my laptop in the back seat of my car. My daughter, Lori, age 17, is very capably driving down Route 1 toward Daytona Beach, Fla., following a visit to Flagler College in St. Augustine.

It's spring break.

For a working mother like me, spring break isn't all fun and sun. College visits and work (including writing this column) get crammed in, too. Now we're going to have some fun, but first we have to drop by the nearest Office Depot so I can e-mail this column.

One of my career goals is to work remotely like this often, from far-flung vacation destinations. I just got my laptop, so this is my first real test. I have worked in an office for 27 years. But now I want to write e-mails, resumes, articles, and workshop curriculums from any place I choose. I'm tired of sitting at the same desk in the same room in the same chair, day after day. We have to get out to keep fresh, invigorated and motivated, right?

Have you thought about telecommuting? Even part-time? Would it be possible? If any of your work is computer-based, why don't you try to do it from a remote location? Start with working from home. The equipment costs a fair amount of money, but think about how much your time is worth. How much are you wasting by sitting in your car commuting to work every day?

Since you work for the government, you've probably noticed that everybody talks about telecommuting, but few people seem to be doing it. There are many reasons for that, but a big one is that people don't try to make it happen for themselves. Every person's relationship with his or her boss is different, so think about how you could approach yours about telecommuting.

If you're thinking of retiring from government, but not retiring from work, why not work for yourself - and be mobile? Are you an expert in something? Can you package your expertise on the Internet? Do you know who your customers would be? Work on it now, before you retire. You might be able to make a living (part-time or full-time) through a Web site and e-mail. You might have to see customers for specific services, but 50 to 75 percent of your work can be remote. You've been inside too long!

My ability to work remotely didn't happen overnight. I have been planning it since 1995, when I put up my first Web site. I knew that some day people would e-mail me questions about federal resume writing. Now it's happening. More than 7,000 people check my Web site everyday, and some of them write to me. I take resumes with me on vacations like this one, and I can exchange e-mail with my customers from the beach!

Kathy 'telecommutes' from Florida.

You may be wondering why I don't just take off a week and not try to work. Well, I like to work some when I go away. I actually enjoy it. Using my laptop and communicating with clients via e-mail from different locations is enjoyable to me. It sure beats staying at my office and doing it.

I hope I've inspired you to think about telecommuting - part-time or as a second career. As I sit here in sunny Florida, I can tell you honestly that it's worth the effort. Start planning now.

Next week I'll back in Maryland, but I'll already be planning my next working trip. By then, I hope to figure out how to get e-mail on my cell phone.

Kathryn Kraemer Troutman has been the president of The Resume Place, Inc. for 27 years. Kathryn helps people get promoted and change jobs. She is the pioneer designer of the new "federal resume." She wrote and published the first book on federal resume writing and is a popular resume writing workshop leader in government.

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