If you’re looking for a job, you may see ads for firms that promise results. Many of these firms may be legitimate and helpful, but others may misrepresent their services, promote out-dated or fictitious job offerings, or charge high fees in advance for services that may not lead to a job.
To Do
Before you spend money responding to placement firms or completing placement contracts:
* Reject any company that promises to get you a job.
* Be skeptical of any employment-service firm that charges first, even if it guarantees refunds. Read the rest of this entry »
Congratulations, you have landed a telecommuting job. All your hard work has paid off and now you can settle into the daily grind of working a job from your own home. Now that you have that job; you’ll want to keep it.
Telecommuting has come a long way over the years and has become more acceptable to most employers. The problem is, even the companies that have accepted it, are questioning whether or not it will be a success for them.
There are still issues that most of the employers worry about. If you want to be able to keep the job you worked long hours just to find; then make sure you’re doing the best you can at the job you were hired for.
Here are some tips to help you ensure that your new telecommuting job stays around for as long as you’re working for that company:
Always meet deadlines- If your job duties have deadlines attached them; be sure that you always meet them or at the very least contact them right away to let them know why you can’t meet it. If you can’t meet your deadlines, the employer might think that you’re not focusing on your job and using more of your work time to goof off. Read the rest of this entry »
Because I run a website dedicated to work-at-home moms, I get a considerable amount of email filled with questions about working from home. Without a doubt the question that I get asked most often is, “Do you know of any companies that I can work for from home?” The exciting thing is that yes, I do. In part because of the hard economic times that we find ourselves in, more and more companies looking for qualified professionals to represent their businesses from their own homes. Here is just a sampling of companies currently hiring at-home workers:
1. VIPdesk (http://vipdesk.com) – This company hires home-based workers for customer service positions. They represent numerous high-profile brands such as Eddie Bauer and BlueFly. From their website: “A proven premium service provider with 20 years of experience, VIPdesk specializes in delivering Concierge and Virtual Call Center Services for national brand leaders in several industries that include travel, auto, financial services and retail, by providing high-touch, high-tech branded service platforms that deliver real results and real return on investment.”
2. wiseGEEK (http://www.wisegeek.com) – This is just one of the many websites that pay freelance writers. These sites generally pay per article written. From their website: “wiseGEEK writers get to choose the topics to write on out of a pool of hundreds of titles. You can opt to write on categories that you are familiar with, or venture out a little to explore new frontiers.”
3. Convergys (http://careers.convergysworkathome.com/WorkFromHome.aspx) – At-home agents are nothing new for Convergys, a company who also supplies customer care services to well-known companies. From their website: “As a Convergys Home Agent, you’ll interact with customers of well-known and respected top companies. You may answer questions, determine product opportunities that best meet your callers’ needs, place orders on their behalf, provide technical support, or enroll callers in health, entertainment or other plans.” Read the rest of this entry »
I was asked recently if it was possible to find a work at home job and make a real living with little or no job experience. The answer is yes, but to qualify for the higher paying jobs the fact is you need skills and experience.
How do you get job experience if you have none? Here are four suggestions to consider and always keep an open mind.
1. Apply for jobs that require little skill or experience. You won’t get paid as much as you want and that should be expected. You will probably be offered minimum wage or less, but don’t forget you can’t expect $15/hour for a job that doesn’t require a whole of experience or requirements. On the other hand, you’re not going to slave away for pennies either so use your judgement.
Many people who work at home work several jobs at a time. These smaller side jobs are flexible and you can work them any time.
2. It’s true everyone has to start somewhere and some companies will hire people with no experience. AccuTran Global will hire people without prior experience for transcription work provided they can type well and with accuracy. People are required to have a good headset and a foot pedal. General transcription and writing jobs come highly recommended to people who have no experience. Read the rest of this entry »
You might have a current job that you love, but you’ve been hoping to find a position like it that you could perform while working in your home office.
Sometimes finding the telecommuting position is as close as the job you’re already working. It’s a matter of convincing your current employer that the job could be done from your home.
Prepare a presentation and set up a time with the person that would make that decision to explain how the telecommuting process works and why it would be beneficial to the company you’re working for.
The most successful presentations are ones that contain the following:
A lot of research
The employer will need to know more than just a few statistics. Tell them how much money they could save and other ways they could benefit. Read the rest of this entry »
Whenever you apply for a job; if a hiring manager is impressed with your resume or application, then you can expect an interview to take place. This is how they tell if you are right for the position they want to hire for.
In an onsite job, the interview will be done in a face to face manner. You, as the prospective employee, would dress to impress them and keep your body language in check to make sure you’re presenting yourself in a professional manner. Telecommuting positions have a different process, however.
While some local jobs will require you to come in for a face to face interview; most telecommuting companies choose to perform the interview over the phone. A phone interview doesn’t offer you the chance to present yourself as a professional in the same way as a face to face one does.
But, you can still show yourself as a qualified applicant. Here are some tips that can help you the next time you are set up to have a phone interview:
Have your resume handy- Some of their questions will be based off what they see on your resume. If you have it handy during the interview, then it will help you answer their questions easier, since sometimes one’s nerves can get the best of them.
Go ahead and Dress Up and Smile- Okay, some people might think that this would be pointless since the employer won’t see what you’re wearing over the phone or notice whether you’re smiling or not. Getting dressed up for the interview helps you more than it does them. You will have more confidence and that will show when you talk to the interviewer. Same with smiling. When you smile it helps to relax you and your nerves won’t be quite as bad for you. Read the rest of this entry »
You have your resume completed and you want to get a cover letter developed to send along with it. Should you use the same one you used for past onsite jobs? The answer would be no.
Onsite jobs are different than telecommuting jobs. Not only do you not commute to work for a telecommuting position, but employers are also looking for slightly different things from a person who will work from home.
Since cover letters help sell you to the employer, then the cover letter you send with your telecommuting resume should be much different than the ones you have used in the past for onsite jobs. You need to sell them on those things that hiring managers are looking for in a telecommuting applicant.
So, what do they look for?
Home office setup- What does your home office contain? Do you have what the job position requires you to have? Most employers want to know that you have everything you need or at least the major components, such as computer, high-speed internet etc. Read the rest of this entry »
Jobseekers often ask me what the difference is between a “standard” resume and a telecommute resume. Here are the differences:
Telecommuter resumes should emphasize independent work skills and time management abilities.
1. Telecommute resumes have to really stand out.
Recruiters and hiring managers are flooded with resumes when they post a telecommute job. I spoke to a recruiter who stated he gets between 750 and 1,000 resumes, each day, every time he posts a project. It starts to taper off a little after the third day.
So after just three days, he could easily have more than 2,000 resumes to sort through.
Because of this, you absolutely have to have a resume that stands apart from the crowd. I don’t mean that you should add all kinds of clip art and colorful graphics. You should take time to make sure your information is presented in an easy to read and eye-pleasing format.
You will need to emphasize your skills, particularly your ability to work independently, and your time management skills.
2. Telecommute resumes are highly scrutinized.
You are competing with people all over the country instead of just local applicants. The telecommuting employer has the “cream of the crop” to choose from. They are going to analyze and make judgments on what they find in your resume. (READ ENTIRE ARTICLE)
Telecommuters are individuals who spend part, if not all, of their working hours at another location other than the workplace. For most people it is their home. In order to do this one must have a variety of “telecommunication technologies” such as a telephone, Internet, various computer programs and a fax machine at one’s disposal.
Telecommuters need to have excellent skills when it comes to the laborious task of telephone interviews. The first most important phone interview tip is to always be prepared in case you are contacted for an interview, no matter what time of day it is. Many employers do not give telecommuters the heads up in advance about when they will be calling to speak with them.
Another important phone interview tip is to get ready for your interview in much the same way you would for a regular “in person” interview. Anticipate what questions you might be asked and have appropriate answers in your mind (or written on paper) before the interview even begins. Be ready and willing to answer questions about your educational background, work experience and skills. Also be prepared to tell the prospective recruiter or employer what you could do for him or her.
Prepare a list of questions you wish to ask the interviewer. Always ask at least a few questions as it shows that you are paying attention and that you are very interested in the position in question. Keep in mind that phone interviews are sometimes more difficult to gage because you have to rely completely on the spoken word. Neither the interview nor interviewee is able to pick up on body language or any nuances of behavior but instead must go by the words and questions they are presented with and the pitch and intonation of words. Tread carefully and maintain a balanced, professional and courteous tone of voice at all times.
It is essential in a phone interview for a telecommuter to speak as a person in the know. Don’t indulge in too many “ums”, “okays”, “I don’t knows” or “uhs” as these words don’t carry with them an air of knowledge or confidence. Always have your resume nearby so you can consult it during your phone interview. After all the interviewer is looking at your resume, why shouldn’t you be as well?
Other important tips include turning your call-waiting feature off so there are no interruptions; making sure you are alone in the room and there is no noise anywhere nearby to disturb the interview and having a notepad and paper handy to jot down any relevant information that you glean from the interview.
About the Author:
Charissa Bear is the owner of http://www.momsinc.biz, a work at home mom resource site dedicated to helping moms find home based careers.
At the present time there is an estimated “100,000 home-based phone representatives” employed throughout the United States. According to predictions made by the Gartner Group, it is believed that by the end of 2006 approximately ten percent of all call centers scattered throughout the United States will be relying on the skills and services of work at home call center agents for the widespread success of their businesses.
Call centers are becoming a bigger and better industry all of the time. They comprise a large percentage of the customer service work that many companies engage in. In a general way a call center refers to “a variety of actual business functions, ranging from call centers designed to handle customer calls, tech support systems, help desks, or even outbound customer call agents.” Call center agents (work at home or on site employees) are trained to manage many ‘call’-types, including regular telephone inquiries, faxes, e-mails and web requests.
Many call centers find that costs are lowered and the overall efficiency of a business is increased when work is “home sourced” out to work at home call center agents. Also referred to as “working remotely” these at home or remote agents often are more productive and happier and also report greater levels of job satisfaction than those who work in other capacities. Walking hand in hand with these positive characteristics is the fact that work at home call center agents tend to be loyal to their companies and not as likely to be jumping from job to job. In a lot of ways these agents get the best of both worlds- they get to have their cake and eat it too.
A remote agent is loosely defined as a “call center or help desk employee working away from the main office, either occasionally or full-time.” Some people simply think of work at home call center agents as telecommuters who do their work from their own home instead of in the office.
Call centers that make the decision to institute a remote agent program experience many benefits from giving their employees the opportunity to be work at home call center agents. These benefits include the necessity for less office space (which is a definite money saver); the ability to both bring in and hold onto key agents; voice communication via the telephone when a work emergency should arise; constant support and feedback between employer and agent; a link from office to office and the ability for the company to hire temporary and seasonal staff as well as disabled individuals. Finally working from home has been shown through a variety of studies to increase levels of productivity and to allow for easier flexibility for scheduling work hours for agents.
About the Author:
Charissa Bear is the owner of http://www.momsinc.biz, a work at home mom resource site dedicated to helping moms find home based careers.
