This is part three of my week long series about the ground rules of working from home. If you missed the previous blogs, check out part one and part two. Otherwise, read on!
You have to chant “If it’s too good to be true, than it is” 7 times a day. Okay, so you don’t actually have to chant that 7 times a day, but writing this phrase on your forehead might be helpful. I’m sure that if someone had the time and inclination to do the math, the ratio of true work-at-home jobs to scams would be astronomically out of balance. There is probably one real job to every one hundred scams. It is easy to be taken in by promises made. Who wouldn’t want to make thousands of dollars while only working an hour a day? The scammers are getting tougher and they’re getting smoother. It is easy to be taken in by them, and that is how they stay in business. If you have any doubts about a particular job offer or company, double-check with the Better Business Bureau. Also, go to the Families.com forums–they have a specific board for jobs. You can post the opportunity there to see what kind of response you get. Many posters have been around the block more than once, and they will help steer you in the right direction.
While chanting things, also try chanting “To Thine Own Self Be True.” Just because a job fits someone else perfectly, doesn’t mean it will fit you perfectly. Out of just my family, my father works at a car dealership in the warranty department (I don’t think so!) my brothers work at Micron doing incomprehensible computer stuff (I don’t even understand their job descriptions let alone know how to do what they do) and my sister stays at home and home schools her five children (which I definitely don’t have the patience for.) So if the jobs being held by my own family would be difficult for me to do, why would I believe that a job being done by a complete stranger would be any easier? If you are looking to do a job and the requirements for that job are “strong English skills” and “a great phone presence” and you “right likk thes” and hate talking on the phone, save yourself the time and energy in applying for the job. You will be miserable. It might help to sit down and write out a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Write out a list of things that you have interest in, or have experience doing. To thine own self be true.
Tomorrow I’ll be covering the personality traits that you have to have in order to work from home effectively. You may be surprised!