Independent Contractor Or Employee Jobs That ARE Hiring:
Alpine Access (www.alpineaccess.com) hires virtual agents as employees.
Other companies, including Willow CSN (www.willowcsn.com),
LiveOps (www.liveops.com), and VIPdesk (www.vipdesk.com), among
others, require agents to incorporate, and they're hired as independent contractors.
Companies With Telecommuting Programs
Virtual Customer Service Jobs
A growing work-from-home opportunity is to answer the inbound customer calls for companies like J. Crew, 1-800-flowers, Virgin Atlanta or Walgreens. These major players and many others like them outsource their customer-service calls to companies that hire U.S.-based virtual agents.
Set your own hours and pick an account that's ideally suited to your knowledge and interests. In addition to having a pleasant voice and strong customer-service skills, you must have high-speed Internet access, a computer, a landline, and a quiet place to work -- all of which you pay for on your own.
Expect to make an average of between $8 and $15 an hour depending on your experience, call volume and accounts. Be prepared to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, although some agents work 40 hours to 60 hours when their schedule permits.
Among the companies that hire inbound and outbound agents to explore:
Alpine Access hires virtual agents as employees. Other companies, including LiveOps, West and Arise, Working Solutions, Accolade Support, Customer Loyalty Concepts, Sci@Home, Reps for Rent, Overflow, ACD Direct.
Each company has different needs based on location, hours, clients, payment schedules, skills, knowledge, etc., so be sure to check with a few of them to determine the best match for you. Some pay hourly wages, while others require that you incorporate in order to work for them.
