Recently I decided to start applying for some ‘remote’ jobs, also called work from home positions or flex jobs. Being the analytical social scientist that I am, haha, I am finding this experience very interesting and educational. It would be great if I could get paid for all of the research and writing that I do on this blog. But anyway, I thought I would share my journey with my readers.
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A few things I’ve learned so far
– the pay averages $15 an hour for most remote call center jobs which isn’t too bad considering you don’t have commuting, clothing, and food expenses.
-these companies usually rate around 3 out of 5 stars on Indeed from former employees and get bad reviews.
-the job application experience has changed a lot since I last worked in 1990.
-they ask questions about race, ethnicity, disability, gender, that I would have thought were off limits. They are considered optional, but we all know that there’s no optional on job applications.
I’ve realized that many of the people who need and want remote jobs do not qualify because they don’t meet the internet and computer requirements. Also, most employers want some customer service experience, which not everyone has.
Here are two examples:
On a typical day, you’ll
Answer incoming communications from customers
Conduct research to provide answers for customers to resolve their issues
What You Bring to the Role
High speed internet connection ( >15 mbps)
6 months or more of customer service experience
Integrity to follow HIPAA guidelines on maintaining patient privacy (just as you would expect if it were your private information being shared)
High school diploma or equivalent
Computer savvy
What You Bring to the Role
6 months or more of customer services experience
High school diploma or equivalent
Recognize, apply and explain your product or service knowledge
Computer savvy
High speed internet connection ( >25mbps). A hardwired connection to your home router is recommended.
The Equipment You’ll Need
Your own computer with these technical requirements (sorry no Apple, Chrome OS or tablets)
Internet speed > 15 Mbps. A hardwired direct connection to your home router is recommended. Wi-Fi connections are permitted on some assignments
While we recommend a USB wired headset, if you have a headset already, you may be able to use that (except for Bluetooth headsets)
Smart phone or another device that runs IOS or Android (iPad etc.) for your daily log-in
I understand the requirements are necessary, just pointing out that not everyone qualifies even though the jobs don’t pay much and most of us might assume they are easy to get.
I would qualify for this one, but I don’t have the one year call center experience. I have real life experience with medical terminology and behavioral health and I have a Bachelors degree with a major in Psychology. I think I will apply anyway.
Application Question(s):
Do you have prior healthcare experience, and have medical terminology knowledge?
From 1-10 with 10 being excellent, how would you rate your conflict management skills?
Do you live within 50 miles of Houston, TX?
Do you have access to a hard-wired connection to your internet at your house?
Experience:
Call center: 1 year (Required)
Behavioral health: 1 year (Required
The hard part of getting a job seems to be getting past the computer screening process. In the ‘olden’ days you had a slightly better chance because humans actually looked at the applications. I also applied for an in-person job at Davita Dialysis Center and completed the required ‘assessment’ screening. I understand why employers do all this, to save money and time, but it makes it hard for someone who has been out of the workforce a long time to get a job.
Indeed.com is free for job searchers, but expensive for employers, based on what a friend told me whose company uses Indeed. There are plenty of other websites. Like Monster.com, https://www.jobs.com/, https://www.ziprecruiter.com/ , https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/ and you can even just type in a job title in Google search and it will show you listings.
Some jobs require a security clearance. If you’re interested, here’s the website just for those jobs. https://www.clearancejobs.com/jobs/
They claim that employers are hiring and that there are many open positions. I have a feeling that most of those open jobs are either low paying or highly skilled. I’m going to find out just how difficult or easy it is to get a job. I’m sure hundreds or even thousands of people are applying along with me. Wish me luck!
UPDATE: 11/2/2022
I have not found a job yet, however I did get a couple of emails from the companies I applied at on Indeed.com. They wanted me to fill out more information. On another note, my 81 year old mother who recently retired has FOUR different job opportunities at the moment. I think the key to getting a job quickly is having recent or current job experience. Other than that, it just takes time. Good luck!
Blue Skies and Green Pastures 
Oh my goodness, it’s a brave new world isn’t it? I used to just bring my resume and drop it off, but now you have to go through this elaborate computer screening process, fill out an online application, make sure you have a cell phone for authentication, prove you’re not a robot…..
Online interviews, checking your social media , demanding vaxxines, blah blah blah
I agree it’s tougher to get through the computer screening. My daughter is going through the process and she’s lucky she got a live interview after so many applications. Her frustration is “entry level” usually asks for three to five years of experience!
Exactly! Best of luck to her !
Thank you. She’s made it through three interviews for the job she wants and is schedule for the fourth on Tuesday!
That’s ridiculous. 4 interviews?!!
First one was phone, second zoom, third in person and fourth with the boss.
I can’t even. Does this job pay very well?
Her job now pays well but doesn’t have benefits. This is at a UC so it has great benefits and decent pay.
I hope she gets it! It’s definitely an employer’s market. Job seekers are having to work hard to to get a decent job.
It’s been tough for her since COVID.
Getting past a computer program is really tough. Their algorithms will kick out potential applications over certain words. If I were an employer, I wouldn’t want that at all. AI isn’t human and can’t really make good judgement calls.
I think I need to revise my resume . I’ll have to be creative to get past AI with zero recent paid experience. But I do have a degree . 🤷🏻♀️
I worked in the call center field and I can tell you it is not for the faint of heart because it doesn’t matter who you work for many customers will be hateful, but if you can stick it out sometimes you can work your way up. My man started out as a rep in a call center within 6 months for his first promotion and within 4 years for his promotion now. He has worked from since the pandemic started and they have allowed him to continue to do so which is good since he is on dialysis now and in fact goes to Davita.
The best advice I can give you is just be careful and pay attention to the wording when reading the description of the job because there are some really shady call centers out there. The first one I worked for was so stressful the ambulance was there at least once a month. Turn over is usually high in those jobs because people are verbally abused on a daily basis. Good companies allow call disconnection when that happens bad ones don’t. As for experience many times they will over look lack of experience if they feel you will work out. I was 44 when I reentered the workforce and had zero call center experience and I was hired after explaining that I spent years raising kids.
My first job was making reservations for Harrah’s casinos and I loved the job minus the idiots, but the company I worked for I could not stand their politics and policies. The second was a company that sold alumni books and though they tried to say they had no quota they lied about that.
Lastly it is fast paced work and usually you have a limited time for each call and after call and some places punish you for going over that time. Expect to talk to a lot of people in a day, and know a good deal of them won’t be nice. I am not trying to discourage you, but many people do not know what they are getting themselves into when they first work in those fields. Best of fortune to you.
Thank you for sharing your experience and advice. I’m not really sure a call center is the job I want but I need something remote so I can stay home with my disabled daughter .
I completely understand that. There is a Christian-based company that is good to work at it is called SMI you would start out as an agent, but they are a really good company. They are only hiring in Texas, Georgia, and Florida at this time though.
I’ll check it out , thanks.
You are very welcome and I will be praying for you.
Just looking on indeed.com you can see all the potential work from home opportunities. The overhead these companies can save by hiring people to work from a home office to do many parts of the business.
Yes, but from the reviews I read, many of these companies still treat you like a slave.