10 Work From Home Jobs

Work at home jobs are popping up everywhere on the internet these days.  The economy is in the tank, jobs are scarce.  It’s no wonder people are looking at every opportunity they can find.  It’s taken a while but established companies are becoming more comfortable with the idea of home-based workers as well.

The problem lies in rooting out the scams from the actual opportunities.  It’s too easy to believe the sales pitches many marketers will throw at you.  Just because they sound good doesn’t mean they are a good fit for you.  You may even come across work at home jobs with pages and pages of testimonials but if the shoe doesn’t fit, or if it just doesn’t feel right,  don’t buy it.

Some of the most popular work at home jobs are as follows:

Customer Service:  This is also known as call center jobs.  What you are doing is answering customer service calls, making appointments, correcting problems and even taking orders and processing them on your computer.  You’ll be required to have an up-to-date computer, high-speed internet connection, telephone (a headset is a good idea) and possibly a fax machine.

Telemarketing:  This involves cold calling prospective customers, selling merchandise or services or setting up appointments for sales professionals.

Transcription:  If you’re a speedy typist, this is a great way to pick up extra money.  You’ll be asked to type up audio recordings of meetings, seminars and interviews.  If you want to specialize, medical transcription requires more specialized knowledge of medical terminology.

Virtual Assistants:  Many smaller firms and individuals who need office assistance are outsourcing to enterprising people who have an internet connection and a phone number they can dedicate to business.  Duties would include everything you’d expect from a ‘regular’ assistant (except maybe fetching coffee) like invoicing, travel arrangements, scheduling and answering phones.

Writing:  The entire internet is built on writing.  Now is a great time to hang out your shingle as a writer.  You can get paid to write from sites like guru.com or elance.com.  Or you could write for local companies who outsource their brochures, technical manuals or newsletters.  Don’t forget traditional publications in the print market either.

Graphic Design:  Create artwork, logos and website graphics for businesses.  Look for any business that has a good deal of collateral materials, like newsletters and brochures.  Team up with a local writer  to find more jobs.

Web design:   If you can build websites, the world is your oyster.  Post your skills and rates along with as many samples as you wish online and go after businesses and individuals who need design work done.  You could target poorly designed websites and offer to redesign or look for companies that don’t already have sites up and running.  The only requirement is that you have the software necessary to do the work.

Thousands of people search for work from home jobs every month.  Hundreds of legitimate, work at home jobs become available.  Today, more and more companies are discovering the benefits of having employees work offsite– low overhead, lower wages and benefits, less office space and capital equipment.

Unfortunately, most people can’t find these jobs.  Worse yet, when they do finally locate the perfect job to work from home, they don’t get the gig.  I feel there are a few misconceptions about what these jobs are, where these jobs are, and how to get them.

Work at home jobs look like office based jobs.  What do I mean by that?   There are no office based jobs that consist of stuffing envelopes.  Or assembling crafts.  Or filling out surveys.  Since those jobs don’t exist in the office, they aren’t going to be sent to anyone’s home.

Legitimate work at home jobs have the same characteristics of their office based coworkers.  Assistants – virtual, personal and otherwise, accountants, customer service representatives, paralegal, transcribers, copywriters and writers exist in multinational corporations and in your local mom and pop operations.  So, just like a conventional job search, when you are looking real work at home jobs, keep your attention on work that requires actual skill and experience that you can bring.

Work at home jobs are posted where office based jobs are posted.  Legit work at home jobs will not be found in the listings of a search engine.  Just like I said above, they look like office based jobs and are filled the same way.  A hospital that needs medical transcriptionists posts a job opening for that position the same way they do for any other – on their own websites, in newspapers, on legitimate job boards like Monster.com or through other reputable well-known career websites.

Any work at home job you find on a search engine that is charging you for information or the opportunity to work at home is a rip off.  Real work at home jobs don’t require any money from you nor do they need your credit card or banking information in order to do business.

Work at home jobs are not bought, they are earned.  You don’t just ’sign up’ for a job anywhere else in the world.  Why would you think you could do so online?

You need to apply, be interviewed and hired.  You will be up against other people who have real life resumes and experience.  Successful home based workers will have their documentation crafted and matched up to each job they apply for.  It is important to follow a prospective employer’s application directions to the letter.  This not only shows that you are a professional but that you can follow direction and work unsupervised.  This is extremely important for the manager who will have employees who are not under direct supervision.

Real work at home job do exist.  Of course, there are scam artists and home business opportunities but if you keep your wits about you, you will see those coming a mile away.  Just like it is out on the streets, your best chance come from finding the right work to match your skills in the right arenas and make the best impression possible when you meet your prospective employer.