What are Work-at-Home Jobs really all about? If you truly interested in this kind of work and are willing to do your homework and use common sense, you can find real work -from-your-dining-table jobs, ranging from telemarketing and virtual assistance to software development and graphic design.
If you look, it will take only a few clicks to see SCAMS worthy of the best smooth talkin Nigerian prince. "Any kid in his basement can make a decent-looking website," warns Alison Southwick of the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Industry observers currently place the ratio of scams to legitimate jobs at an astonishing 54 to 1. The BBB also states that no one should send money, banking account numbers, or your Social Security number (SSN) until you've researched every aspect of that business and you're well along in the hiring process.
There are some notable websites that provide employment information on Homeshoring, Virtual Call Centers, and Work From Home opportunities. A few notables are:
Arise.com,
workingsolutions.com,
liveops.com,
alpineaccess.com, and
westathome.com specialize in outsourced call center jobs that can be done from home and generally pay $7 to $14 an hour. But
READ THE FINE PRINT! Some pay only per minute you're on the phone (like LiveOps, which takes calls for infomercial customers), while others guarantee an hourly rate.
Some upfront costs might be for things like charges for a background and credit check (not unusual in this industry) as well as training, incorporation, and equipment fees: a headset ($75 or so), high-speed Internet access, a dedicated landline, and current software.
Then there are some sites such as
virtualassistants.com and
tjobs.com, that charge a FEE for access to listings. Don't be automatically turned off by these sites because the up-side can that be that you don't have to weed through postings to find ones geared toward home workers and there are fewer scam listings. For someone who enjoys the reseach, most of these virtual jobs can be found through free job search engines. Just remember, it's up to you to do the homework!
There are even speciality sites like,
Momcorps.com, which is a free site geared toward talented stay-at-home mothers as well as a staffing service that lets you post a detailed profile. Pay $9.95 a month and your profile jumps to the top of an employer's search.
Then there are virtual marketplace sites like
odesk.com which states "oDesk is the marketplace for online workteams, with the best business model for both buyers and providers. Our unique approach guarantees that an hour paid is an hour worked while also guaranteeing that an hour worked is an hour paid." And
guru.com, who states on their website, "Guru.com provides the world's largest online marketplace for freelance talent. Today Guru.com is a leader in its industry with more than 1 million registered members and 100,000 active freelancer profiles. lThese companies attempt to link freelancers who have specialized skills (like video editing, blog writing, or Web developing) with employers who need these freelance skills. This concept can be effective but understand that candidates ususally bid for these jobs. Some users indicate it can be hard to compete with offshore workers who give lowball figures to win assignments. Others love the whole concept. This is another area that can work well but research is always your best option.
Finally, some interesting work-at-home jobs can be found at
vipdesk.com, which hires virtual personal assistants for clients. If you think this might be worth considering, understand that you need to submit a résumé and writing sample, agree to a background and credit check, interview by phone twice, train for ten days, provide references, and be available to work nights, weekends, and holidays. And you may have to wait. Hourly pay is $14 to $20.
If you're serious about working from home, it's very possible! Just go into it with your eyes wide open and your research completely done!
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