Guys I Need A Job, Preferably From Home

All-

I am kinda new to this kind of job hunting. The prior jobs I’ve had I held for long periods of time, so now I am a servant of the internet to job hunt.

As many of you know, I have a compromised health situation, so jobs lifting heavy objects or standing for long periods of time are out, so I thought I would try to find something I could do from home.

Sadly, it seems like so many of these jobs are total bullshit or some type of scam, like having to buy inventory from some flighty company to sell online, accompanied by what appears to be bogus testimonials, etc.

Do any of you work from home? What is the best avenue to try and find something? I am getting kinda tired of slogging through indeed.com and their ilk but those job sites seem like the only way to apply for something anymore.

Anyone that can help with tricks, tips and guidance for something like this would be appreciated. Hell, I will even work for you, should you be so inclined.

What’s the dope?

How good are you with the computers? I have a friend that works from home because he’s a programmer. He programs the shopping cart sections of web pages.

I’m pretty good, but certainly no programmer. I have helped design websites in the distant past but those were all with the help of templates and I was mostly responsible for the text, fonts, language, etc content rather than anything too technical.

I have an older Gateway FX machine that I’m running Win7 on, 4GB RAM, old ass Core 2 processor. I have very fast internet and a landline phone if that matters.

Many of the companies that have call centers will let their employees work from home. They route calls to them.

What types of skills do you have?

I’m a good communicator, decent typing skills, good organizational skills…I’m not uncomfortable in an office type environment, nor is speaking to strangers live or on the phone an issue. I used to sell cars for a living and grew up a military brat moving all over the country, so instantly engaging someone I’ve never met in conversation comes pretty naturally to me.

Man, I need something though. I am poorer than I’ve ever been.

A couple years ago, when the wife and I went to Denver to visit her parents, we went to Enterprise to pick up the rental car and we were directed to a new kiosk machine. We pressed the button, entered the confirmation number, screwed something up, and immediately got connected via a camera on the kiosk to a guy at a computer. We could tell from the scene behind him that he was working from home – probably in a basement or garage or something*. He was very courteous and quickly helped us get the car reservation sorted out. The kiosk ended up spitting out a receipt of some kind which we took to the counter and someone showed us a bunch of cars from which to choose.

It’s looking like more and more rental car agencies are doing this kind of thing.

–G!

  • There was a huge audio speaker and a garish-looking animal-skin print behind his right shoulder. We joked that, even though we could clearly see the telephone headset and the respectable-looking white shirt & tie, he probably wasn’t wearing anything else beyond the camera’s view :eek: and his girlfriends were busy cleaning up in the bathroom down the hall :cool: and trying not to giggle too loud so his microphone wouldn’t accidentally divulge his secret…

Maybe, a telemarketing job would suit you. Do you live in an urban area?

I found this list of firms that hire home-based call center (virtual call center) workers. The pay isn’t great at all, and I can’t vouch for the accuracy, but it’s a place to start.

You might look at being a sales rep for a software company. Many of those jobs are work at home, with a ton of time on conference calls. You may have to travel to client sites, though. Dunno if that’s an issue for you.

My company has C/S folks who are HBA (Home Based Agents) 4 days a week, in the office 1 day. As far as I know, though, they are folks that have put in their time at the company and are trust to work remotely.

Where is it that you live?

StG

I live in the Cincinnati area. I am certain that I can help guide your company’s footprint in this unexplored market!

:slight_smile:

Couple of suggestions.

Try going through a temp agency. I’ve been doing temp work for years, sometimes direct to hire, sometimes unlimited temp timeframe or sometimes, what I’m doing right now, project based.

Also I just thought of it when I posted in another thread, you might give fiverr.com a try to see if there’s a market for your skills or interest. Just about anything you can think of (the thread I just posted to was about scanning and copying print books and magazines) is available there. Prices for most services start at $5 as a come-on, with add-ons or additional work being more profitable.

I don’t know what’s required to setup there, but I’ve had a few Chinese and Korean translations done and I’m very satisfied.

I know a lot of personal lines (home/auto) insurance companies are moving the claims jobs toward work from home situations. It’s not a bad gig once you get used to the fact most of the people you’re working with are a bit stressed. StG has a point though, odds are there will be an expectation of at least some office time while you get trained up. Still, worth a shot. Good luck.

Also, consider paralegal work. I don’t know what certifications Ohio might require, but a lot of paralegal work is paper shuffling and organizing. Stuff that can be done at home and transmitted electronically to the attorney. You’d start by just calling personal injury defense and plaintiff lawyer offices and saying, “Hey this is me and what I’m after, whaddayagot?” I’d be willing to bet you get a foot wedged into a door within a day. Based on my experience working with them, you’re qualified if you can fog a mirror and operate a telephone. If you can also do your ABCs and are aware of the concept of correct spelling and grammar you are case manager material.

A lot of medical transcriptionists seem to work from home, transcribing physician dictation. Not sure what it pays or what the requirements might be.

Do you have any foreign language skills? There are companies that have home based jobs providing translation service for 9-1-1 centers, hospitals, doctor’s offices and the like.

And Tom Tildrum ninja’d me about medical transcription work.

I’m a public servant who has been working from home for the past five years or so. You should post a resume at https://www.usajobs.gov/.

Coincidentally, I’ve also started looking for other work this month. My employer has been talking about automation and it’s unclear how much longer I’ll have this job. I’m just hoping not to get demoted.

Here are a couple links from Clark Howard’s page that you might find useful:

Link 1
Link 2

You can have my job if you want it. I plan to retire soon, I keep facing health problems and I don’t want to spend all the productive time I have left just working for someone else.

Are you collecting SS benefits? I don’t know how it works but if you have been forced to retire for medical reasons you can collect full benefits before reaching the age normally required.

As an aside, I just saw an article about states offering cash to workers moving there to work remotely. Vermont was highlighted, offering people with remote jobs in other states up to $10,000 to move there so that they can collect more state taxes. I don’t know if something like that is possible for you, and it doesn’t get you a job, but if you were looking at moving anyway it would be something to look into.

In case anyone’s interested: my job is safe.

Yes, we are interested. Good!

Out of curiosity, what do you do - manufacturing? Legal research? Exotic dancer?

Regards,
Shodan