~*~*~ THE RAT RACE REBELLION TELEWORK BULLETIN ~*~*~ Dear Reader, A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR A lot of folks get our bulletin as forwards, and that’s great. But if you’d like to get it at the moment we publish (and keep your competitive edge), just enter your email address at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/spring.html . No strings, no spam, no kiddin’. (Well, we do kid a bit, but all in good fun.) This week’s issue runs to 13 pages on my computer. That’s over 50 pages a month! On Thursdays, when we finally wrap and publish, I lurch out into the night, as spent as an old kopeck. On a brighter note, today we bring you news of the UK’s “National Work from Home Day” (impressive projected numbers); a scam tip, for those emails we get that purport to come from banks; a stirring piece on the rising tide of Dilberts; advice on marketing a home-based business; freebies galore; “and much more!” Hirers this week include Apple, publisher Houghton Mifflin, the March of Dimes, Google, and a host of smaller firms. As always, Enjoy, and Good Luck! 4,500 SCREENED HOME-BASED JOBS AND COUNTING We passed 4,500 screened leads on our RatRaceRebellion.com work-at-home jobs page today, approximately 1,000 of which first appeared here in the bulletin before appearing on the site. (All jobs published here are embargoed from the website for seven days, to give readers an edge.) Since many of the job leads involve multiple openings, as do the 700+ screened links to periodic hirers that appear on the site on the left, under “WAH Job Leads / Hirers by Field,” we estimate that 15,000+ jobs have been uploaded to the website since we launched in February 2007. “I FOUND WORK AT THE RAT RACE REBELLION” -- HEARD ON THE NET “It really is a good site for wah [work at home] jobs of all kinds. A few weeks ago, I found a job listing for a work-at-home accountant job for my nephew there.” Good luck to the nephew! Glad we could help! 5 MILLION STAYING HOME FROM WORK ON UK’S “NATIONAL WORK FROM HOME DAY” British Telecom, Transport for London and the Confederation of British Industry are among the organizations supporting the UK’s “National Work from Home Day,” with an estimated five million workers to skip their usual commute and work from home May 15. “This is not a day off to those participating,” said Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, in a press release. “It’s the chance for hard-working, open-minded people to demonstrate that without the stress induced by the workplace environment, with the often long commute many have to endure, people can be even more productive by occasionally working from home.” According to the release, this may be “the largest mass absence from work for a generation.” Sounds like a good milestone to us. I wonder if the car, oil, and road lobbyists would let us have one here in the US. For more, see http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/03/12/3323536.htm . WANT A VIRTUAL CALL CENTER JOB? BE SURE TO TRACK THE INDUSTRY NEWS Regardless of the job or business niche you’re interested in, diligent research will always pay. The more you know about the subject, the more likely your success. A good source of information on the call center industry is the online publication, Customer Management Insight. I subscribe to several of their free e-newsletters, which can carry valuable tips on how hiring managers are thinking, the staffing needs of individual call centers, new applicant evaluation processes, tech news you’ll want to be aware of, and more. For Customer Management Insight, see http://www.cmisight.com/ For a sample article on home-based agents, see http://tinyurl.com/5htgja For more on the e-newsletters, see http://www.callcentermagazine.com/shared/newsletters.jhtml Don’t Forget Google Alerts You’ll also want to use Google news alerts to track the industry. To do so, go to Google, click on “News,” and on the next page, on the left, you’ll see a “News Alerts” link. This will take you to a page that lets you specify your search terms. (Employer names such as Arise, LiveOps, VIPdesk, etc., are good places to start.) You’ll need to fill out a form for each search term. As you fill out the “Search terms” field, be sure to use quotes with any phrases, to target the searches. Google will then continuously scan the Net, looking for new references to your terms, and will send you brief emails with the results. (Of course, you can also use News Alerts to track mentions of Hannah Montana, Judge Judy, Crazy Frog, William Shatner, etc., but that’s for another day.) Tiny Tip: In the drop-down menu in the field next to “Type,” click on “Comprehensive.” This tells Google to include blogs, groups, videos and more in its searches. “THE DILBERT FACTORY” -- A STORY OF CONTEMPORARY LIFE Here in the US, we begin institutionalizing our children when they’re babies, when we hand them over to “daycare centers.” From there, they proceed to “elementary school” (also an institution), “middle school” (ditto), “high school” (ditto), “college” (ditto), and increasingly, “graduate school” (ditto). By the time they turn 21, and assume the mantle of adulthood to stride forth into the Great Contest of Life (they’re also licensed now to play tag, dodgeball, and other life-threatening sports they couldn’t play as children), they have usually enjoyed 20 years -- the most formative of their lives -- in institutions. Institutions, which by definition respect institutions, often recommend other institutions to the institutionalized. Hence, as our children pass through the institution of “schools,” they are rhythmically guided and nudged and channeled, overtly and subtly, toward another institution, that of “the Career,” usually in the form of a job. (Schools rarely encourage entrepreneurship and self-employment, and even more rarely speak of them.) When the institution of our career is finally done, we are close to completing the institutional circle as we return nostalgically to daycare and diapers in that fun-filled institution, the “assisted living facility” (old folks’ depot), where we can watch the institution of daytime TV with our convivial fellows. Alternatively, depending upon our physical state, we can transfer into that other daycare institution, the “hospital.” We have one last institution to live through (so to speak), that of funereal care, after which we lay down our institutional narrative, and hope there are no more institutions -- or at least no warmer ones. (But on that theme I gladly yield the floor.) To conclude our tale, even as we readily acknowledge that institutions can be good as well as otherwise, let me leave you with this one final thought. If a foal is raised with people alone, he will fear horses. Isn’t that odd? But it’s true. Even when his handlers might often be jackasses. SLOGANS WE LIKE A reader sent us an ad slogan that she spotted recently, for mass transit, on the back of a Washington, DC, Metrobus. The text was next to a photo of a slender, smiling woman in business-casual wear: “I lost 2,000 pounds!” (“It’s sitting in my garage.”) “DON’T LIVE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPPI” SAYS U.S. MAP OF CO2 EMISSIONS Scientists at Purdue University have uploaded a worthwhile YouTube video showing carbon fumes as they pool and flow across the US. (You can’t see the mouths, noses, beaks, muzzles, leaves, etc., underneath the miasma, but they’re there.) Judging from the graphics, most of the stuff seems to glom around my home in Northern Virginia. (My county, Fairfax, enjoys the distinction -- accent on the second syllable -- of having some of the dirtiest air in the US.) You’ll see that the project was funded by NASA and the Department of Energy. One hopes that telework policies at those agencies duly reflect the facts portrayed in the map that the agencies (or rather, taxpayers, who pay, as they breathe, through the nose) financed. The map is at http://tinyurl.com/4l622t . For more on the counties and cities on the list, see http://tinyurl.com/4o45m5 . SCAM TIP OF THE WEEK You may often receive email purporting to be from a bank, alerting you to a security issue or some other news that requires your action -- and your personal information. Here’s one (verbatim) that I received today: ----- Congratulations! Dear Customer, You've been selected to take part in our quick and easy survey In return we will credit $80.00 to your account - Just for your time! Please spare two minutes of your time and take part in our online survey so we can improve our services. Don't miss this chance to change something. To continue click on the link below: http://www.bankfranklin.com/special_promotions/special_promotions.htm © Copyright © Franklin Bank 2008 N.A. Member FDIC ----- What’s wrong with the email, apart from the fact that I have no account with the Franklin Bank, and the unbankerly omitted period after “survey” and the phrase “Don’t miss this chance to change something”? (Bankers don’t usually worry too much about changing things, unless it’s upping the rates on credit card balances.) The big giveaway here was one you’ll see often in scams of this kind. To gain the victim’s confidence, the hyperlink in the text appears to lead to the bank’s website at www.bankfranklin.com . (This is a legitimate site.) However, when I moved my cursor slowly over the hyperlink in the body of the email, a different hyperlink appeared at the bottom of my email window. In other words, the link in the email was disguising the true link. The result? Victims click on the link in the email, but they’re taken to the scam page instead of the bank’s. Long before this point, of course, your best action would have been to delete the email. But I wanted to look at the scam. So I copied the “real” scam hyperlink into the window of a browser that I rarely use, and went to the scammer’s page. There, sure enough, was a “Franklin Bank Member Satisfaction Survey” form (bogus, of course). I completed the “survey,” then clicked on “submit.” And this is where the payoff comes -- for the scammer, that is, since the next form asks you for full credit card information, so you can receive an $80 “credit” for your “survey fee.” Before you ask if people fall for this kind of scam, the answer is yes, and often. (If you’ve been a victim, don’t be embarrassed. We all fall for scams at some time or another.) If it weren’t paying off, the scammers would drop the scam. Moral of the story? To borrow a line from the email, “Don't miss this chance to change something” -- the scammer’s odds of bagging you. (To see the scam survey page, go to http://405673738:84/franklinbanksurvey/ ) MEDIA BEAT The media, too, is stepping up its coverage of work-at-home cons (Chris just finished another interview on the topic with a national media outlet), and that’s good news for jobseekers -- since the media is the primary educational resource for adults these days. (It used to be “Seniors,” but we don’t listen to them any more. After all, if the rest of us are getting older but no smarter, how could they know more than we?) Florida-based nonprofit Christian station Z88.3 FM recently gave us a nice mention as a resource on work-at-home scams. Thank you morning show hosts Ellis and Tyler! (Online at http://zradio.org/index/mornings/ .) FROM THE R3 MAILBAG -- QUESTIONS ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME, AND OTHER RAT RACE TOPICS DEAR R3: I have a home-based business and I put up a website, but no one shows up. What am I doing wrong? R3: “Build it and they will come” only works with freeways. You need to market your site, market it hard, market it for a long time. And if we haven’t mentioned it lately, do marketing. A good source of marketing advice (besides, of course, our own masterpiece on growing a home-based business, “The 2-Second Commute,” amazingly cheap at Amazon) is Seth Godin, who maintains a blog at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ . For more basic advice, see such classic books as Ries and Trout’s “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” and Og Mandino’s “The Greatest Salesman in the World.” And while you’re reading, don’t forget that marketing. FRUGAL AND SIMPLE LIVING Our freebie and cheapie cowboys have herded in some pretty decent dogies this week, including 20% off makeup ordered online at CVS. (No, our cowboys do not wear makeup.) (US-only, I’m afraid, unless otherwise noted.) -- Scotch-Brite bathroom cleaning products; samples and coupons: http://www3.3m.com/qfrm/ShowSurvey?surveyid=JODPHRP0&WT.mc_id=www.scotch -- John Frieda / Frizz-Ease shampoo and conditioner samples: http://walmart.triaddigital.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid31244.aspx -- Dial Antibacterial Soap sample: http://tinyurl.com/yo29nw -- Gold Bond Powder (skin powder) sample: http://fsisolutions.com/goldbondpowder/ -- 20% off beauty items at CVS: http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/promotion?pid=6267 -- Caress Body Wash sample: http://msncaress.onlinepromo.com/index.aspx -- Gilden Tree Organic Foot Cream sample: http://www.gildentree.com/nourishing_foot_cream_challenge.php -- Free “Earthbound Farm” tote bag for high score on a basic conservation quiz (US and Canada): http://www.ebfarm.com/AboutUs/Environment/ConservationQuiz.aspx -- John Frieda / Blondes and Brunettes shampoos and conditioners samples: http://walmart.triaddigital.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid35848.aspx RAT RACE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Individuality is freedom lived.” -- John Dos Passos Rebelliously Yours, Michael Michael D. Haaren, Editor-in-Chief The Rat Race Rebellion =>=> New Leads for Home-Based Jobs and Projects <=<= *Editor’s Note: All positions are screened, but we can’t of course “guarantee” the legitimacy of any hirer or lead, so please do your own ‘due diligence’ as well! All positions are paid unless otherwise noted. The amount of compensation is included in the summary when given in the underlying lead. Also, please note that on occasion the hirer will decide to change the description or the availability of the job or project shortly AFTER the summary is published here. (Unfortunately, we have no control over this.) Therefore, be sure to read the underlying ad carefully, and apply promptly for any job that interests you. ||||| 1. “Communications Specialists” for BzzAgent ||||| US-based BzzAgent, which specializes in word-of-mouth marketing and related services for such clients as Ralph Lauren, DuPont, and Penguin Publishing, seeks part- and full-time Communications Specialists to support its word-of-mouth campaigns. “Training provided.” “[T]he ideal candidate’s background should directly relate to, the following company needs and opportunities: • Reading and analyzing Word-of-Mouth marketing reports • Writing large volume of responses to Word-Of-Mouth marketing reports” Pays $8 per hour. “Four-year college graduate preferred, but not required.” => Learn More: http://www.jobcentral.com/viewjob.asp?jobid=10025965 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 2. “Ticket Pullers” ||||| TicketPuller.com, a fee-based service that helps people get tickets to high-demand events, seeks Ticket Pullers. Ticket Pullers purchase tickets online for TicketPuller.com’s clients with credit card accounts furnished by TicketPuller.com (Pullers never use their own cards or funds), and are compensated by a percentage of the price of the ticket. Requirements include AOL Instant Messenger and Skype (both are free). For more detail, see the discussions at http://www.wahm.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=520705&KW=ticketpuller => Learn More: http://ticketpuller.com/application/rules <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 3. Acute-Care Medical Transcriptionists (US) ||||| US-based OSI Outsourcing is looking for full-time acute-care MTs with at least 2 years’ experience. “Very strong ESL skills” needed. “Computers available for FT employees.” => Learn More: http://www.mtjobs.com/job_detail.cfm?RowID=15264 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 4. Health Care Industry Bloggers ||||| Blog aggregator b5media is looking for Bloggers to cover the health care industry. Minimum of 6 posts per week. “The ideal candidate will have inside knowledge about the health care industry. Content would include news about the industry as a whole as well as specific focus on pharmaceuticals, Medicare, health care reform, health care insurance and the like where appropriate.” => Learn More: http://jobs.problogger.net/view/1198 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 5. Home-Based Customer Service Representatives (US; people with disabilities) ||||| US-based National Telecommuting Institute is advertising for Home-Based CSRs. “This position is a part-time, year-round role, working as a customer service representative answering calls for an employer's 24-hour/toll-free phone line.” Requirements include HS diploma, sufficient English to be understood over phone (bilingual English-Spanish a plus), 6 months’ customer service or related experience, commitment to work 27-30 hrs. per week, with alternating-weekend work. Training (200 hrs.) provided. => Learn More: http://www.nticentral.org/apply/tbe/CS-08-03.shtm <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 6. Google Website Raters (US or CAN) ||||| Google continues to seek temporary, part-time Quality Raters to evaluate websites. “The ideal candidate would encompass the following qualities: * In depth, up-to-date familiarity with English-speaking web culture and media. * If you have knowledge of other languages cultures, please indicate this on your resume. * Broad ranges of interests. * Strong ability to read and write in the English language. * Excellent web research skills and analytical abilities. * Excellent written communication skills.” => Learn More: http://tinyurl.com/yzgf4z <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 7. Technical Customer Service Reps for Apple (US; possibly Texas-only) ||||| Apple is looking for Technical Customer Service Reps for in-bound tech-support calls. Must have flexibility to work varied shifts on a 7-day schedule. “The ideal candidate must be passionate about Apple products and technology! Qualified candidates must have strong understanding of technical concepts, must be self motivated and interested in working independently in a home office environment.” => Learn More: http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&method=mExternal.showJob&RID=20807 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~Advertisement~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chris and Mike here -- Do you need writing experience to qualify for freelance writing, blogging, proofreading or editorial jobs? Want to demonstrate your expertise for hiring managers or prospective clients? We recommend Helium (it’s free). You can get writing experience with an easy-to-start blog, and be eligible for compensation while you learn. You can also choose among many popular topics, and build your credentials while you write about what interests you. For more, click here. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 8. Freelance Indexers for Houghton Mifflin ||||| US-based publisher Houghton Mifflin is looking for freelance Indexers with trade book experience. “Must have excellent language skills and the editorial judgment to create well-structured, consistent indexes that are accurate and reader appropriate. Must work comfortably within parameters of line length and character count. Must be able to meet deadlines.” => Learn More: http://bbboston.org/pageJobs_view.cfm?jobid=6642 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 9. Expert in Container Gardening (Work from anywhere in the world) ||||| Information supersite About.com, owned by the NY Times, seeks a part-time Expert (“Guide”) on Container Gardening. The ideal candidate will be a seasoned gardener with container experience, an instructor on container gardening, or writer who covers the topic. “Guides in the first two years of their contract - are guaranteed to make at least $725 per month, and it's likely that they will make much more than that over time.” => Learn More: http://beaguide.about.com/topics.htm <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 10. Programmer (Location appears to be Japan, though not certain from lead) ||||| Japan-based IT firm Frontier International seeks a part-time Programmer with a Ph.D. in Computer Science for site development, SEO and other work. “Well-versed in PHP, MySQL, HTML, and javaScript, Familiarity with AJAX, Smarty, Linux, Apache, WAP, and Plesk.” Must have at least 3 years’ experience. => Learn More: http://jobs.phds.org/job/8398/frontier-international/work-at-home-part-time <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 11. Bloggers on Urban Gardening ||||| UrbanGardenCasual.com seeks two Bloggers to cover urban gardening. “In particular, we are looking for two bloggers with serious urban gardening experience to help our readers grow vegetables (and cook them up), design their urban garden landscapes, and bring style to sustainable living.” Two posts per week, $4.16 per post. => Learn More: http://jobs.problogger.net/view/1197 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 12. Ghostwriter for Book on Child Behavior Problems (*US) ||||| US-based Legacy Publishing Co. is looking for a Ghostwriter for a book on child behavior problems. “The successful candidate will have an accomplished journalism and/or feature writing background with demonstrated ability to write compelling stories. Knowledge of child behavioral issues -- either through personal experience or work with social service agencies -- is a definite plus.” *”This job can be done from anywhere in the United States as long as you can travel as needed.” => Learn More: http://www.jobsinme.com/seek/resultdetail.aspx?jobnum=365752 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 13. Renewal Specialists for American Automobile Assoc. (US) ||||| US-based Intrep Auto Club Renewals, which services AAA clubs exclusively, is looking for Renewal Specialists (employees) to call existing members. Requirements include “Extensive Inbound / Outbound Calling Experience.” Pays $12 per hour plus bonuses. Work schedule “Monday-Friday 3:00-9:00 p.m., EST and every other Saturday.” => Learn More: http://www.aaarenewals.com/i_careers_RS.htm <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 14. Expert in Garages and Storage Spaces (Work from anywhere in the world) ||||| Information supersite About.com, owned by the NY Times, seeks a part-time Expert (“Guide”) on Garages and Storage Spaces. The ideal candidate will be a contractor, home-improvement professional, or writer, with related experience. “Guides in the first two years of their contract - are guaranteed to make at least $725 per month, and it's likely that they will make much more than that over time.” => Learn More: http://beaguide.about.com/topics.htm <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 15. Freelance Senior UI Designer for March of Dimes (“Anywhere”) ||||| US-based nonprofit March of Dimes seeks a Senior UI Designer to join existing team and help build MoD’s online fundraising engine “from the ground up.” Requirements include “experience designing complex and highly functional web-based applications.” => Learn More: http://www.authenticjobs.com/jobs/2135/ <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 16. Senior Application Developer, RoR (“Anywhere”) ||||| US-based Intrepidus Group, and information security consultancy, is looking for an RoR expert for an anti-phishing site. “The role will entail tasks related to optimization of our current web application, enhancing logging and monitoring functionality, assisting in customer support, and developing features for future releases.” => Learn More: http://gigs.37signals.com/gigs/3475 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 17. Expert on Grandparents (Work from anywhere in the world) ||||| Information supersite About.com, owned by the NY Times, seeks a part-time Expert (“Guide”) on Grandparents. “The ideal candidate is a strong writer with experience in the consumer space writing about the role of grandparents in the lives of their grandchildren. It is essential that the Guide is a grandparent, so that he or she can write about relevant issues, plus have the knowledge of all options available to grandparents today.” “Guides in the first two years of their contract - are guaranteed to make at least $725 per month, and it's likely that they will make much more than that over time.” => Learn More: http://beaguide.about.com/topics.htm <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 18. Technical Support Specialist (Ability to commute periodically to San Francisco, CA) ||||| International recruiting firm Harvey Nash is advertising for a full-time Tech Support Specialist for a large law firm. “[Will] provide in-depth technical support and lead problem-solving/troubleshooting efforts for internal customers in all domestic and international Offices.” Requirements include “Associate's Degree in Computer Science or completion of a program at a recognized technical institute required or minimum of 4 years of Help Desk Work from Home experience preferably in a Law Firm.” => Learn More: http://tinyurl.com/49f8j9 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 19. Managing Editor for Native American Journal ||||| US-based (Flagstaff, AZ) publication Native American Journal seeks a part-time Managing Editor “to produce 10 issues a year that appeal to a readership of leaders in tribal business and government. Candidates should have strong writing skills and the ability to secure diverse stories, photos and press materials for publication.” Pays by the hour. Potential earnings of $15,000 per year. => Learn More: http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=905538 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ||||| 20. Freelance Proofreaders for Houghton Mifflin ||||| US-based publisher Houghton Mifflin is looking for Proofreaders with trade book experience. “Must have complete working knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.) and the American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Must have a meticulous eye and good editorial judgment. Must be able to meet deadlines.” => Learn More: http://bbboston.org/pageJobs_view.cfm?jobid=6641 <= ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ******************************* That’s this week’s issue, Dear Reader. Until next week’s issue, don’t forget to visit us for fresh job leads at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/job_postings.htm ! Rebelliously Yours, Michael -- Michael D. Haaren, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief Staffcentrix, LLC Email: mhaaren@staffcentrix.com Co-author of the bestseller on working from home as a Virtual Assistant, THE 2-SECOND COMMUTE, now available at Amazon.com or http://www.2secondcommute.com. See what else we’re up to on the Web, at http://www.WAHBoom.com (our new work-at-home site for Boomers), http://www.msvas.com (our Military Spouse Virtual Assistant community), and http://www.fse-entrepreneur.com (our Foreign Service spouse e-Entrepreneur community). ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ All contents copyright 2008 Staffcentrix, LLC, "The most trusted name in home-based careers."(TM, SM) All rights reserved.