A few days ago I posted on leaving your corporate job to become a consultant. But not everyone who wants to leave the corporate world wants to consult - many folks want to do ANYTHING but corporate work. If you are in this situation and casting about for alternative ways to make money, you'll want to check out this article Beware of Work at Home Scams on the CareerBuilder website. It offers great advice for screening out "opportunities." My personal fave is point #6:
6. You don’t know anything about the job other than the fact that you work from home. If the job posting is full of hooks but fails to explain the actual duties or even give the position’s title, move on. You probably wouldn’t give a second look to a job posting that said, “Work from an office!” but nothing else.
I don't know...depending on your current work situation, "work from an office" might sound pretty good to some folks! But still...he makes a good point!
Check out the rest of the article here.
Anyway, how good is it to base a life change and/or job search on a negative thought---that you don't want to work in an office anymore?
Better to figure out what you do want, as opposed to what you don't (though that can be a part of it), and then build on that.
What do you think?!
Posted by: Working Girl | March 11, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Yes: I liked his reminder that "Work from home" is not a job title (any more than "Work from an Office!" is. "Hello. I'm Almostgotit. I work from an office. And what do YOU do??" Tee hee!)
It's so hard just to use our heads, sometimes. Three year olds play "going to the office" and also expect people to give them cookies for no good reason. Eventually, most of us stop living that vague (if delightful) economy, however.
A job which requires no resume, no skills -- and no demonstration, even, of the ability or willingness to acquire skills, is extremely unlikely.
Moreover, it's also hard not to let our own secret senses of entitlement (or just naked greed) get in our way. E.G: things that look too good to be true generally *are* too good to be true. While it would be wonderful to (a)suddenly be chosen as heir by a deposed Nigerian prince, (b) be selected by the universe to win the lottery jackpot in defiance of all mathematical odds, OR (c)
to have someone out of magical nowhere offer one large amounts of money for doing hardly anything, that's just not the way the adult world works.
Damitol, anyway, though! :)
Posted by: almostgotit | March 11, 2008 at 12:34 PM
The Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) both have excellent suggestions for avoiding work at home scams and how to check out potential employers and find out if they're on the up and up.
Anita Bruzzese
www.45things.com
Posted by: Anita Bruzzese | March 17, 2008 at 08:35 PM
While exiting, remember it takes hard work.
- Avoid any offer that promises you’ll make a lot of money for very little work.
- Don’t rely on a money-back guarantee. Con artists rarely give money back.
- Be wary of testimonials or endorsements.
- See if the Better Business Bureau has a Reliability Report on the company.
- Never give a credit card, debit card or checking account number to any person or company that promises employment. If they wantyou to pay them it’s a scam!
- Keep a positive attitude. You are likely to fail a few times before you learn the ropes.
A comprehensive list can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/WorkTipsOnline
Posted by: Kari | June 20, 2009 at 10:23 PM