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.”
4. American Express (http://www212.americanexpress.com/dsmlive/dsm/int/amexjobs/amex_jobs_country_us_travel_jobs.do?vgnextoid=0ffe2c1808e00210VgnVCM200000d0faad94RCRD) – American Express is, of course, primarily known for their credit card, but in some cases they also hire home-based travel agents. From their website: ” …American Express operates 2,200 travel offices and many call centers around the world. Some Travel Counselors work on-site at our clients’ businesses, while others may even work at home.”
5. West at Home (http://westathome.com) – Another customer service related employer, West at Home has been employing home-based workers for over twenty years. From their website: “Greater staffing flexibility, better educated, highly motivated and more productive agents – it all contributes to what makes West at Home the leading provider of home-based agent solutions.”
There are many home-based positions available today. It does take time to sift through them all to find the “diamonds in the rough” yet in the end the flexibility and comfort offered by a work-at-home position can be well worth the effort. So, polish up your resume – make it as professional and current as possible as you’ll be competing with hundreds if not thousands of other job candidates – and get to work.
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Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. She is a co-author of the upcoming book So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom (Beacon Hill, Sept. 2009). Jill welcomes work-at-home questions at http://AskJill.cwahm.com. Learn more about working from home at http://www.cwahm.com/work-at-home/ .