Question

Hi Victoria,

I'm a mother of a five year old daughter and three month old twin sons. My maternity leave is up next week and I'm thinking of working from home as a customer service rep so I can spend more time with my children. I've read about companies that hire moms to work from home for them. I want to avoid work at home job scams; do you know of any reputable companies where I can have a flexible schedule and make a decent income?

Julie C. Nutley New Jersey

Answer

Julie,

Congratulations! Welcome to the club for moms of three little ones.  While I've never worked from home as a customer service rep, there are plenty of moms who supplement their household income or support their family doing just that. The good news is ... since we have the Internet at our disposal, there are several work at home forums out there that can tell you which companies are worth signing up with and which ones aren't worth your time.

There is also an e-book available by Melissa Brewer called The Little White Ebook of Homeshoring Jobs that provides detailed information on virtual call center employers. Within its 234 pages, it provides information on companies interested in hiring home based workers like 1-800-Flowers and LiveOps and also includes the amount of compensation you will receive if you work with that company (some pay hourly - others yearly salaries).  One of the best things included is the Better Business Bureau website link so you can check up on the company before you sign up and in some cases, links to forums where current or former work at home workers for that company talk candidly about their experience with the company. Believe me, reading some of the comments on those forums are worth the ebook cost!

You didn't mention what career you were in before your maternity leave but you may also want to look at the Hire My Mom website which was started by Lesley Spencer Pyle (the founder of Home Based Working Moms).  At Hire My Mom, talented mom professionals are connected with businesses looking to outsource work to women working at home. That could also be an option for you.

Hope this helps! Let me know how everything goes.

Victoria

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