~*~*~ THE RAT RACE REBELLION TELEWORK BULLETIN ~*~*~ Dear Reader, A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR This issue arrives in in-boxes a few days later than anticipated, as Chris and I dig out from an avalanche of work, and recover from the heinous sin of having taken a few days off with our families. Chris was also out in the field, delivering our Virtual Assistant training program to military spouses at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base. (We do try to practice what we preach on the de-Rat Racing theme, and we resolved some time ago that if work threatened to steal us away excessively at any point from our loved ones, loved ones would come first.) So, before I pull the curtain back on yet another triumphant bulletin (bow to waves of applause; ouch! Rotten tomato!), I should take a moment to add that we’ll be moving to a “We’ll Try to Publish Every Two Weeks” schedule. That way, we won’t disappoint you, and we can still grab some family time when our children turn to ask their friends, Who are those zombies sitting at those dusty computers? Thanks from Zombiedale, VA! CHRIS SMACKS “ROBO CALLERS” ON CNN One of the worst scams in recent memory has been computer-generated phone calls warning prospective victims that their car warranties are expiring, and offering to extend them – for a fee. (I just got the same pitch this morning in my email, too.) Chris reported on the scam Saturday on CNN with Randi Kaye, here: http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2009/05/23/kaye.robocall.scam.cnn SMARTHINKING CONTINUES TO RECRUIT TUTORS IN AND OUTSIDE U.S. Despite the recession, e-learning firm SMARTHINKING is recruiting part-time Tutors in 10+ subjects, including Online Writing, Spanish, Nursing, Biology, etc. The company’s clients include schools, universities, businesses, and the US Army. For more, see lead no. 1, below. CONGRATULATIONS TO L. STRICKLAND – WINNER OF OUR REFER-A-FRIEND GIVEAWAY AND $100 AMAZON GIFT CERTIFICATE We wrapped our Refer-a-Friend contest on May 17, and L. Strickland came out $100 ahead. Thanks to everyone who participated, and be sure to check back on our home page for more! SITEL SEEKS HOME-BASED CALL CENTER AGENTS IN NM AND NEVADA Sitel, which hires home-based agents to handle incoming calls, is looking for candidates in the Albuquerque, NM and Las Vegas, NV areas. Like Alpine Access, Convergys and others, Sitel hires agents as employees rather than independent contractors. For details, see lead no. 20, below. WOULD YOU LIKE TO APPEAR IN OUR NEW BOOK? SEND US YOUR BEST “WAH” TIPS! As Chris mentioned in an earlier email (this note is one of those annoying “ticklers”), our new book, “Work at Home Now: The No-nonsense Guide to Finding Your Perfect Home-based Job, Avoiding Scams, and Making a Great Living,” is coming out from Career Press in November. If you’re game, we’d like your BEST WORK-AT-HOME TIPS for possible inclusion in the book. Specifically, we have a whole chapter in which successful home-based workers will share their most effective tips, techniques and tools for “making home-based work work.” If you’d like to participate, please send me (mhaaren@staffcentrix.com) your BEST WAH SUCCESS TIPS for: -- Managing time, tasks and/or priorities -- Family management (managing children, spouse, pets and others who share your home, so you can get your work done, too) -- Combating isolation -- Communicating effectively across any distance -- Saving money on your home office -- Making the most of a small office space -- Maintaining a healthy rapport with bosses or clients, despite the distance -- Any other "ah-hah!" advice you feel the new home-based worker could benefit from! Please reply by MAY 31, 2009, and include: Subject line: WAH TIP Your name (as you’d like it to appear in the book): FIRST LAST; FIRST + LAST INITIAL; FIRST INITIAL + LAST – Whatever you’re comfortable with. How long you’ve been working from home Type of work you do (i.e., customer service, data entry, medical transcription, writing, etc. Company name not necessary) Your email address (so we can write you with any follow-up) If your submission is a good fit for the book (our editor at Career Press also has a say, of course), we'll contact you via email with the final copy, so you can proofread the text and approve it for publication in the book. We hope you’ll join us, and we look forward to hearing from you! LIVEOPS RECRUITING BILINGUAL HOME-BASED CALL CENTER AGENTS Venture-funded LiveOps, one of the fastest-growing of the “homeshoring” companies, continues to advertise for bilingual English-Spanish and English-French agents. Agents handle in-bound calls from infomercials and other sources, and some sales experience is preferred. Like Arise, VIPdesk and others, LiveOps hires agents as independent contractors rather than employees. Among other pros and cons, independent contractors are often paid at a higher rate than employees, but benefits (i.e., medical, dental, etc.) are not provided. For details, see lead no. 18, below. FROM THE R3 MAILBAG -- QUESTIONS ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME, AND OTHER RAT RACE TOPICS DEAR R3: I just got laid off from our mall’s big department store. I worked at the Customer Service counter. Is there anything I can do at home with that experience? R3: Many home-based positions require a background in customer service. The virtual call center industry in particular values experience such as yours. (See our chart of employers at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/CS_Comparison.html .) Customer service experience is also a plus in concierge positions, help desk jobs, Virtual Assistance, tutoring, recruiting, travel-related posts, and others. Wear it proudly! MOST INANE EMAIL SUBJECT LINE OF THE WEEK It’s been a tough week for email inanity. Promising spam has been arriving by the hogshead: notifications of bogus “who’s who” honors, fake watches and instant graduate degrees (of equal value), pills to elongate or slenderize. (Chris is a lot luckier than me. She gets marriage proposals. I get emails asking questions like, “Do you look stupid in bed?”) Anyway, since I sometimes bemoan the work-at-home isolation that sets in when I don’t get off my rear and go out and socialize (Chris and I both work from home offices), I kind of liked this one, which seemed to hold a vague promise of Soviet Union-breakup, vodka-sloshing Cossack revelry: “You are welcomed at party” Though I don’t drink – defying the Rat Race is intoxication sublime – I wished the Cossacks well, but alas, when I scrolled down, it was just another ad for guy pills at a Canadian pharmacy. FRUGAL AND SIMPLE LIVING Herewith this issue’s Freebies & Cheapies, brought in by our hard-working researchers. If you see something you like, be sure to grab it fast, as free stuff goes quickly on the Net. (Sorry, but we have no control over supplies, or when the vendors decide to halt their offers or fulfillment.) Enjoy! Free Sears Portrait Collage: http://ebm.cheetahmail.com/c/tag/hBKE-DPAOzTrPB7t6GxA0TATT1j/doc.html?email Free sample Cheirinho de Bebe shampoo (with free registration): http://www.cheirinhodebebe.com/servlet/Service Free sample Head & Shoulders shampoo: http://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/en_US/jsp/EDS_Page.jsp?pageID=UMLP&brand=headandshoulders_brandsampler Burt’s Bees “Burt Day Gifts” with registration tomorrow, 9AM-Noon EDT: http://www.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/GiveawayView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1 For more freebies, go to http://www.ratracerebellion.com/freebies.htm RAT RACE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “One father is more than 100 schoolmasters.” -- George Herbert 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! 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. SMARTHINKING Seeks Online Tutors / “Work from anywhere” US-based e-learning firm SMARTHINKING continues to recruit part-time Tutors. If hired, Tutors must complete an online training program (paid), and are requested to commit to a minimum of nine hours of teaching per week. Tutors may be located anywhere with a reliable Internet connection, provided they have a US-based bank account. For the FAQ page, see http://smarthinking.com/static/e-structors/positions/estructorfaq.cfm . For the positions themselves, see the link below. For more: http://smarthinking.com/static/e-structors/positions/ 2. Freelance Writers Mahalo is looking for "work-from-home writers to help us build excellent search result pages." Four-hour shifts; $10-12/hour. For more: http://www.mahalo.com/Mahalo_Freelance_Writer_Positions 3. K-12 Social Studies Asessment Writer and Editor Quarasan is looking for a freelance Social Studies Assessment Writer and Editor for grades K-12. For more: http://tinyurl.com/pc4xrw 4. Legal Experts Just Answer seeks Legal Experts -- active members of a state Bar -- to answer questions in a paid forum. Current needs include: General Legal, Employment Law, Family Law, Criminal Law, Real Estate Law, Business Law, Military Law, Consumer Protection Law, and Estate Law. For more: http://tinyurl.com/qjs3rt 5. TV and Electronics Experts “JustAnswer is currently looking for quality TV and Electronics Experts to answer questions in a paid forum." For more: http://tinyurl.com/p7cy6h 6. Part-Time Instructional Systems Designer - Human Capital ICF International seeks a part-time Instructional Systems Designer for its Human Capital Solutions practice. For more: http://tinyurl.com/o89sp6 7. Primary Grades Reading/Language Arts Writer and Editor Quarasan is seeking a freelance Primary Grades Reading/Language Arts Writer and Editor with textbook writing/ editing experience. For more: http://tinyurl.com/qtetp9 8. Professional Project Managers / US and CAN SilverKey Technologies seeks Professional Project Managers in the US and Canada. Must be organized and have experience managing web projects. For more: http://www.authenticjobs.com/jobs/3622/ 9. Freelance Writers Demand Studios is looking for Writers to create high-quality articles for a broad network of websites. “Work as much as you want, on whatever you want, from wherever you want with Demand Studios. To apply, please upload your resume and writing sample via our online application.” For more: http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=89422&page=1 10. “Freelance Writers from Canada” EBSCO Publishing is looking for freelance Writers from Canada "with a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Ph.D. degree, and/or relevant professional experience in the following fields: Business, Economics, Education, Environmental Science, Law, Medicine, Political Science, Sociology, and Psychology." For more: http://tinyurl.com/o3r8fn 11. Medical Transcriptionists Acusis is seeking MTs with at least 3 years’ experience. “[W]e offer a great benefits package...” For more: http://www.mtjobs.com/job_detail.cfm?RowID=17606 12. PHP Developer Wide Eyed Media is looking for a PHP Developer who has "a firm understanding of MVC-style development." Work from anywhere, US or Canada preferred. For more: http://www.authenticjobs.com/jobs/3624/ 13. Account Executive - Government (Software Solution Sales) Everbridge, Inc. is seeking a "seasoned Hunter/Closer, with a demonstrated track record of sales achievement in Federal DoD and state and local government sales to build a large base of clients in assigned Government Sectors." Some travel. For more: http://tinyurl.com/p4o8fo 14. Client Enablement Consultant - Canada American Express is looking for a Client Enablement Consultant to "monitor, drive and improve upon processes governing Card implementation and operations." For more: http://tinyurl.com/ofwhtf 15. Expert, “Flea Markets & Yard Sales” / “Work from anywhere” Information supersite About.com, owned by the NY Times, continues to seek a part-time Expert (“Guide”) in Flea Markets & Yard Sales. “He or she will have extensive experience shopping at flea markets, swap meets, and/or yard sales and will be an expert haggler.” For more: http://beaguide.about.com/applynow.htm 16. Web / UI Designer / “Anywhere” SpectrumDNA seeks a Web / UI Designer. “We are working on some of the sweetest social networking applications and are in need of somebody that can rock XHTML, CSS, Design, JavaScript and jQuery.” For more: http://www.authenticjobs.com/jobs/3626/ 17. Online Instructor, “Fire Science” Kaplan University seeks a part-time “Fire Science Online Instructor.” Must have a Master’s degree and experience in the field. For more: http://tinyurl.com/r5ck5v 18. LiveOps Seeks Bilingual Agents California-based LiveOps continues to recruit bilingual Agents, for in-bound calls. “Applicants must be fluent in both written and conversational Spanish or French, and previous selling experience is preferred… The times when call volume for these calls is highest are weekend mornings and afternoons on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.” For more: http://www.liveops.com/become-agent/current-opp.html#bilingual 19. Expert, “Online Business / Hosting” (“Work from anywhere”) Information supersite About.com, owned by the NY Times, seeks a part-time Expert (“Guide”) in Online Business / Hosting. “The ideal candidate… will have experience with an online business – either as a business owner, consultant, or key employee.” For more: http://beaguide.about.com/applynow.htm 20. Sitel Seeks Home-Based Call Center Agents in NM and Nevada Sitel is recruiting for home-based Agents in the Albuquerque and Las Vegas areas. “Typical client interactions supported include customer service inquiries or product technical support for some of the world’s best known brand names.” References to geographic requirements will be found at https://www.clientlogic.com/global/olapp/default.asp . For details on the position, see the link below. For more: http://www.sitel.com/Content.asp?id=866 ******************************* 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.