According to the Wall Street Journal, more US companies are hiring home based workers.
These types of jobs sound perfect for someone looking to earn a little extra spending money, while saving the cost of gas, lunches, and clothing that are associated with working outside of the home.
Hilton Hotels Corp. employs about 900 work-at-home reservation agents, while outsourcing companies like Alpine Access, Arise Virtual Solutions and LiveOps, among others, hire work-at-home personnel to handle various types of call-center tasks for their clients.
Despite the economic slowdown, some of these companies plan to continue hiring in coming months. Hilton expects to hire
more at-home agents in January, said Russ Olivier, a Dallas-based senior vice president at the company. Alpine Access will hire another 250 agents this year, plus 1,200 in the first quarter of 2009, said Chris Carrington, chief executive of the Denver-based company.Mr. Carrington said the growth is being driven largely by companies moving call-center operations back to the U.S. from abroad, partly because wages and other costs are rising rapidly outside the U.S., but also because of the potential for communications difficulties to create a customer backlash.
These work-at-home jobs aren't for everyone. The companies
often require some experience. Mr. Carrington said Alpine hired just 2% of applicants this year. And, while the flexibility of the work schedule appeals to some applicants -- in general, agents set their schedule about a week in advance -- many are part time, with pay ranging from about $8 to $14 an hour, often
without benefits.In addition, the jobs often require workers to have a relatively up-to-date computer, high-speed Internet access, and a dedicated phone line, as well as a quiet place to work. And some companies require a fair amount of upfront investment. Read complete story.
These types of jobs sound perfect for someone looking to earn a little extra spending money, while saving the cost of gas, lunches, and clothing that are associated with working outside of the home.
Finding Work at Home Opportunities
This is the tricky part. I cannot vouch for any work at home opportunities that are advertised on the web or in newspapers. My advice with those sorts of things would be to thoroughly do your homework and check out any potential opportunity carefully.
Today, there are many major companies that allow employees to work from home. Some may need someone with your expertise in your area, when they have no office in your area. That is how I found the job with the insurance company. They had an ad in the paper, and I was fortunate to know about the job opening before it was advertised. I don't even think that they mentioned in the ad that it was a work from home position.
If you are skilled at what you do and believe that working from home is a possibility I would suggest talking to your employer. Perhaps they would allow you to work from home one or two days a week on a trial basis. If it works out you could negotiate full time telecommuting. It all depends on your employer - as much as it depends on you, your skills, independence and self discipline.
You also can sign up for job alerts on Yahoo Hot Jobs and Monster. Over the past few years I have seen several job advertised by real employers that are work from home positions. Get creative, with new technologies anything is possible these days.
Today, there are many major companies that allow employees to work from home. Some may need someone with your expertise in your area, when they have no office in your area. That is how I found the job with the insurance company. They had an ad in the paper, and I was fortunate to know about the job opening before it was advertised. I don't even think that they mentioned in the ad that it was a work from home position.
If you are skilled at what you do and believe that working from home is a possibility I would suggest talking to your employer. Perhaps they would allow you to work from home one or two days a week on a trial basis. If it works out you could negotiate full time telecommuting. It all depends on your employer - as much as it depends on you, your skills, independence and self discipline.
You also can sign up for job alerts on Yahoo Hot Jobs and Monster. Over the past few years I have seen several job advertised by real employers that are work from home positions. Get creative, with new technologies anything is possible these days.
The Benefits of Working from Home - Updated
I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to work from home. I go into an office in the morning and complete my work at home in the afternoon. That's nice and is working for me, but some days I do work from home for the entire day and I just love those days. Working from home full time is even better. Here is just a partial list of the benefits.
*You save money on gas.
*You save money on clothes.
*You save time by not commuting to and from work.
*You are home to put your children on the bus and get them off the bus.
*You can throw in a load of laundry and it's no big deal.
*You save money by eating lunch at home.
*You have time to eat breakfast in the morning.
*You're home to meet the plumber, cable guy, UPS delivery, etc.
*You don't have anyone looking over your shoulder.
*You are in the place where you are the most comfortable.
*You can take personal calls and nobody will know about it.
*You can spend your breaks in your yard on a beautiful day.
*You don't have to share a bathroom with co-workers.
I could go on and on about how great working from home is. If there is any way you can do it, I highly recommend getting a job you can do from home.
*You save money on gas.
*You save money on clothes.
*You save time by not commuting to and from work.
*You are home to put your children on the bus and get them off the bus.
*You can throw in a load of laundry and it's no big deal.
*You save money by eating lunch at home.
*You have time to eat breakfast in the morning.
*You're home to meet the plumber, cable guy, UPS delivery, etc.
*You don't have anyone looking over your shoulder.
*You are in the place where you are the most comfortable.
*You can take personal calls and nobody will know about it.
*You can spend your breaks in your yard on a beautiful day.
*You don't have to share a bathroom with co-workers.
I could go on and on about how great working from home is. If there is any way you can do it, I highly recommend getting a job you can do from home.
How Working From Home Worked for Me
I am a wife and mother of two little boys. I had about 5 or 6 years of experience in my field when I was lucky enough to land a job that allowed me to work from home. That was in 1997. At the time, I was engaged and didn't have children. I was just sick and tired of working in an office full time.
I was aquainted with the person who held my job before me, so I knew when the job became available. I applied for it, interviewed and I was lucky enough to get the job, working as a claims adjuster for an insurance company. They didn't have a claims office in my area. It was really nice, I had a full time job with full benefits and I got to work from home! I've always been really independent and I don't really need a lot of supervision.
Of course, there were some drawbacks, like driving out of state for meetings. I also missed the friends that I had made while working in an office. But for the most part the situation was ideal. I got married and had two children and working from home really worked for me and my family.
Things changed for me in the last year. I have a new job. I work part time in the office and part time from home. My new employer is very flexible so if I need to work all day from home that is no problem.
I just want to share with you what I have learned from my years of working from home. I hope these tips will help you decide if it's something you want to do. If you have already made a decision to work from home, congratulations. Working from home is wonderful, but like anything else there are some drawbacks. Good Luck!
I was aquainted with the person who held my job before me, so I knew when the job became available. I applied for it, interviewed and I was lucky enough to get the job, working as a claims adjuster for an insurance company. They didn't have a claims office in my area. It was really nice, I had a full time job with full benefits and I got to work from home! I've always been really independent and I don't really need a lot of supervision.
Of course, there were some drawbacks, like driving out of state for meetings. I also missed the friends that I had made while working in an office. But for the most part the situation was ideal. I got married and had two children and working from home really worked for me and my family.
Things changed for me in the last year. I have a new job. I work part time in the office and part time from home. My new employer is very flexible so if I need to work all day from home that is no problem.
I just want to share with you what I have learned from my years of working from home. I hope these tips will help you decide if it's something you want to do. If you have already made a decision to work from home, congratulations. Working from home is wonderful, but like anything else there are some drawbacks. Good Luck!
Top 2008 Jobs
By[http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Michael_Comeau]Michael Comeau
Women from all around the globe are turning to the Internet in hopes of bettering their life style, spending more time with their family while sitting in the comfort of their home. The Internet levels the playing field for all people. Everyone has an equal chance at becoming successful utilizing the access due to the growth of the Internet.
One of the few problems that come along with this mass potential is that there are many companies that promise the moon, yet will only take your money and waste your time. Anytime you get a lot of people making money there will always be someone looking to take advantage of unsuspecting prospective customers. The bottom line is that if you see something that is to good to be true than it probably is. If you get an email that, you did not subscribe to, promoting something you should delete it immediately. That is exactly what I do. If I wanted to be on their list I would subscribe to it. I do not like being scammed and will not support it in any way.
How do you protect yourself from this? It's called research. You need to research the web looking for Top Home Based Moms Jobs, investigate thoroughly, narrow down your choices and join the best one. It takes a lot of time, which is why I always recommend using a website like mine, but not necessarily mine, that has done some research for you.
When looking for the best mom jobs on the Internet I found many choices for moms or women in general to choose from. I found Work At Home programs and I found many good Home Based Business programs.
You will find good programs that offer the following:
* Be your own boss.
* Flexible hours - work when you choose.
* Unlimited income potential.
* Reliable Income - Financial Security
* Free step-by-step guidance.
* Work doing things you enjoy doing.
* No Selling, stocking inventories, employees, hosting home parties.
* No experience required.
These are just a few of the areas that I think are desirable when looking for a work from home opportunity. You can find many good programs to choose from. Many moms will narrow down the choices to 2-3, join & work those, then later focus on the programs they enjoy the most. It's important to join programs that meet you income expectations, skill sets, comfort level and time constraints. Give yourself the best chance for success.
Do your research, join the programs you choose, take some time to learn the task required and start earning real income from home. I believe with a little time and patience you can be working full time from home rather that working in the typical rat race. The good news is that you have a choice and can be your own boss.
Avoid the following pitfalls:
* DO NOT join the first program you see promising the moon.
* DO NOT join programs, whereby you will not enjoy the task required.
* DO NOT join programs that do not have a proven track record.
* DO NOT think that you will not have to work at home.
* DO NOT give up on your dreams.
Many people are having great success. In my opinion the time required is much less than working a day job, but it takes a little time and effort to get your work at home endeavor up and running. Please feel free to read both this article or one of my many others by visiting my link in the resource box below. I always enjoy getting emails pertaining to my articles or my site. Your feedback is important to me.
Choose your programs wisely, join and start earning today.
Michael Comeau has been owner of many successful businesses over the years including his current online business which can be viewed at http://www.workfromhome4dollars.com/ArticlesMomsJobs9.php You may also find more articles by Michael Comeau at http://www.workfromhome4dollars.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Comeau http://EzineArticles.com/?Top-2008-Moms-Jobs&id=994964
Women from all around the globe are turning to the Internet in hopes of bettering their life style, spending more time with their family while sitting in the comfort of their home. The Internet levels the playing field for all people. Everyone has an equal chance at becoming successful utilizing the access due to the growth of the Internet.
One of the few problems that come along with this mass potential is that there are many companies that promise the moon, yet will only take your money and waste your time. Anytime you get a lot of people making money there will always be someone looking to take advantage of unsuspecting prospective customers. The bottom line is that if you see something that is to good to be true than it probably is. If you get an email that, you did not subscribe to, promoting something you should delete it immediately. That is exactly what I do. If I wanted to be on their list I would subscribe to it. I do not like being scammed and will not support it in any way.
How do you protect yourself from this? It's called research. You need to research the web looking for Top Home Based Moms Jobs, investigate thoroughly, narrow down your choices and join the best one. It takes a lot of time, which is why I always recommend using a website like mine, but not necessarily mine, that has done some research for you.
When looking for the best mom jobs on the Internet I found many choices for moms or women in general to choose from. I found Work At Home programs and I found many good Home Based Business programs.
You will find good programs that offer the following:
* Be your own boss.
* Flexible hours - work when you choose.
* Unlimited income potential.
* Reliable Income - Financial Security
* Free step-by-step guidance.
* Work doing things you enjoy doing.
* No Selling, stocking inventories, employees, hosting home parties.
* No experience required.
These are just a few of the areas that I think are desirable when looking for a work from home opportunity. You can find many good programs to choose from. Many moms will narrow down the choices to 2-3, join & work those, then later focus on the programs they enjoy the most. It's important to join programs that meet you income expectations, skill sets, comfort level and time constraints. Give yourself the best chance for success.
Do your research, join the programs you choose, take some time to learn the task required and start earning real income from home. I believe with a little time and patience you can be working full time from home rather that working in the typical rat race. The good news is that you have a choice and can be your own boss.
Avoid the following pitfalls:
* DO NOT join the first program you see promising the moon.
* DO NOT join programs, whereby you will not enjoy the task required.
* DO NOT join programs that do not have a proven track record.
* DO NOT think that you will not have to work at home.
* DO NOT give up on your dreams.
Many people are having great success. In my opinion the time required is much less than working a day job, but it takes a little time and effort to get your work at home endeavor up and running. Please feel free to read both this article or one of my many others by visiting my link in the resource box below. I always enjoy getting emails pertaining to my articles or my site. Your feedback is important to me.
Choose your programs wisely, join and start earning today.
Michael Comeau has been owner of many successful businesses over the years including his current online business which can be viewed at http://www.workfromhome4dollars.com/ArticlesMomsJobs9.php You may also find more articles by Michael Comeau at http://www.workfromhome4dollars.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Comeau http://EzineArticles.com/?Top-2008-Moms-Jobs&id=994964
Setting Up Your Home Office
Ideally, you will have a spare bedroom or a den where you can locate your home office. It is really helpful to be able to close the door to your work space. Especially if you have children or pets that can be left alone in the next room for short periods of time. It also helps to keep a balance between work and the rest of your life.
If you don't have a spare room, you could always set up your office in the basement. That is probably the last place I would want my office, but as they say: You gotta do what you gotta do!
When I started my job working from home we did not have any kids yet. So I set up my office in a bedroom on the 2nd floor. That was not ideal, because it was sort of weird working in a bedroom. Then when we had our first child I re-located my office to our dining room. This worked out okay. I purchased a roll top desk so that I could close things up at night and on the weekends. Then we moved, thank God! The house we bought had a spare room on the first floor, right off the kitchen and living room. It really is the ideal spot for a home office. The kids can be in the living room if I am working late, and I know what they are up to.
No matter what you do, find a little spot to carve out that is exclusively your office space. Try to place it in a quiet spot in your home.
The supplies, furniture and equipment you will need depends on the type of job you will be doing. I was working as a claims adjuster and my former employer was not paperless. That was problematic to say the least. I had over 150 open files and I had to store the closed files for months on end. They bought me a file cabinet that was way to small. Then I convinced them that I needed a larger cabinet to accomodate all of my files. I also put some shelves in the basement to store closed files and items that I don't use every day. A closet in the room I use as an office was filled with other supplies, as was a trunk. If you're lucky your employer or business is paperless!
You also may need to arrange to have a separate phone line. This is important if you receive a lot of work related calls. You are not going to want people calling your home or cell phone during evenings, weekends or vacations. I needed a separate fax line as well. I tried having a combination phone/fax and it just didn't work out. My employer paid for all of the extra phone bills. The job that I currently have doesn't require phone calls or faxes, so when I switched jobs I cancelled the fax and extra phone line.
If you don't have a spare room, you could always set up your office in the basement. That is probably the last place I would want my office, but as they say: You gotta do what you gotta do!
When I started my job working from home we did not have any kids yet. So I set up my office in a bedroom on the 2nd floor. That was not ideal, because it was sort of weird working in a bedroom. Then when we had our first child I re-located my office to our dining room. This worked out okay. I purchased a roll top desk so that I could close things up at night and on the weekends. Then we moved, thank God! The house we bought had a spare room on the first floor, right off the kitchen and living room. It really is the ideal spot for a home office. The kids can be in the living room if I am working late, and I know what they are up to.
No matter what you do, find a little spot to carve out that is exclusively your office space. Try to place it in a quiet spot in your home.
The supplies, furniture and equipment you will need depends on the type of job you will be doing. I was working as a claims adjuster and my former employer was not paperless. That was problematic to say the least. I had over 150 open files and I had to store the closed files for months on end. They bought me a file cabinet that was way to small. Then I convinced them that I needed a larger cabinet to accomodate all of my files. I also put some shelves in the basement to store closed files and items that I don't use every day. A closet in the room I use as an office was filled with other supplies, as was a trunk. If you're lucky your employer or business is paperless!
You also may need to arrange to have a separate phone line. This is important if you receive a lot of work related calls. You are not going to want people calling your home or cell phone during evenings, weekends or vacations. I needed a separate fax line as well. I tried having a combination phone/fax and it just didn't work out. My employer paid for all of the extra phone bills. The job that I currently have doesn't require phone calls or faxes, so when I switched jobs I cancelled the fax and extra phone line.
Save Your Receipts
If you have an expense account or submit expense reports you probably will need receipts in order to be reimbursed. If your employer will reimburse for telephone bills or long distance calls you will need to document that. You also will probably need to document any fees you pay for internet service.
If you will not be receiving reimbursement from your employer it is still important to save all of your receipts for tax purposes. You may be able right off the purchase of office furniture and equipment, office supplies, internet service, and even a portion of your utility bills and mortgage payment. You should speak to your accountant about this.
If you will not be receiving reimbursement from your employer it is still important to save all of your receipts for tax purposes. You may be able right off the purchase of office furniture and equipment, office supplies, internet service, and even a portion of your utility bills and mortgage payment. You should speak to your accountant about this.
Office Hours
I was a full time employee of an insurance company. The job I had required that I have normal office hours. People called me all day long and I had to be there to answer the phone. I found it helpful to have regular office hours. That way I rarely worked nights or weekends.
If you are self employed or you have a more flexible job then you may be able to vary your hours. For me it was helpful to have a daily routine.
I would say to do what works best for you, your employer and your customers.
If you are self employed or you have a more flexible job then you may be able to vary your hours. For me it was helpful to have a daily routine.
I would say to do what works best for you, your employer and your customers.
Self Discipline
Okay, this one is easy. If you are not independent and self disciplined then working from home is not for you. If you think you would spend your days cleaning your house or running errands all day long, you should probably stay in the office. Sure, when you work from home, it does make running an occasional errand easier. And yes, if you want to throw in a load of laundry go right ahead. But you have to be able to understand that you have a job to get done. If you spend your days cleaning or watching tv you won't get your job done. It won't take your customers or your employer long to catch on.
What to Wear
I read a lot of articles about working from home. There seems to be some sort of debate about what to wear, or what not to wear if you work from home. People are all different and what works for you may not work for somebody else. I would say wear whatever you are comfortable wearing while you are being productive.
When I began working from home I thought it was the greatest thing! For the first few days I would get out of bed early and start working almost right away. Yes, I was still in my pajamas. I would then take a shower and get dressed at lunch time. One day the UPS guy came to my door before lunch time. I was in the ugliest pajamas and my hair was sticking up all over the place. I looked in the mirror and was embarrassed and disgusted with myself. After that, I started taking a shower first thing every morning and getting dressed. Even if I was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I just felt better about myself.
So, if you're comfortable looking like a slob, then don't sweat it. But if you're like me, you might want to make yourself presentable, even if it's only to keep from throwing up when you look in the mirror.
When I began working from home I thought it was the greatest thing! For the first few days I would get out of bed early and start working almost right away. Yes, I was still in my pajamas. I would then take a shower and get dressed at lunch time. One day the UPS guy came to my door before lunch time. I was in the ugliest pajamas and my hair was sticking up all over the place. I looked in the mirror and was embarrassed and disgusted with myself. After that, I started taking a shower first thing every morning and getting dressed. Even if I was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I just felt better about myself.
So, if you're comfortable looking like a slob, then don't sweat it. But if you're like me, you might want to make yourself presentable, even if it's only to keep from throwing up when you look in the mirror.
Continue to Network
If you are lucky enough to land a telecommuting job, congratulations! If you're like me you will love it. But don't forget that nothing lasts forever. It is very easy to become isolated from co-workers and colleagues when you never leave your house.
See if there are any trade associations you can join. If you get invited to any holiday parties or summer clam bakes make sure that you show up. These could be the only opportunities you have to interact with your peers and keep your name circulating. Also, make sure you keep in touch with any friends and acquaintences you have met during your career. You just never know when you may need to find a new job.
Networking can also help you land a telecommuting job if you don't have one already.
See if there are any trade associations you can join. If you get invited to any holiday parties or summer clam bakes make sure that you show up. These could be the only opportunities you have to interact with your peers and keep your name circulating. Also, make sure you keep in touch with any friends and acquaintences you have met during your career. You just never know when you may need to find a new job.
Networking can also help you land a telecommuting job if you don't have one already.
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