telecommute

Google sites is a new free website creation tool that Google claims can be used for such things as sharing information on a secure company intranet to connecting with family members to collaborating on a team project.

You can choose website themes and can edit the website just like a document. Attachments can be uploaded as well, links can be added, images can be inserted, and documents can be embedded. Pages can be added through the create pages feature. There are different pages with different features. Pages such as announcements, lists, dashboards, and others. It’s single simple click creation with no HTML needed.

There is site sharing and you can decide who and how many people can view or edit the site. In other words, the website can be public, semi-private, or private. You can allow access to view or edit the website by email addresses. In other words, you can allow multiple people such as students of a classroom or members of a club to submit and edit content.

Check out Google Sites today!

Unfortunately, it is for the UK, not the US. On May 15th, 2008, the UK had a National Work from Home Day. It was their third year of doing so.

The goal is that by the year of 2011, they will give about 14 million people, about half the working population, the ability to have smarter working practices.

This is not supposed to be a day off to play hooky, if you will, but a day to prove that an employee can be more productive without the stresses of a long commute or just plain workplace.

Here in the US we have the “Take your Daughter to Work Day”. I wonder if the US will ever have a National Work from Home Day? Let’s hope so!

You can find the full story on UK’s National Work from Home Day here:

Source: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/03/12/3323536.htm

Idapted.com is looking for Trainers to guide students from around the world to improve their spoken English.

Right now, all students will be professionals, college or high school students from China. You will be working with these students that want to learn English. From what I understand, you speak to the students through a headset via your computer.

Additionally, from what I understand, mornings and evenings are needed the most - hours between 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 9:30-10:30 p.m. everyday. You can commit to as many hours as you can in half hour intervals. The only minimum is that you have to take one call every 30 days.

There are lessen plans and you correct students when they make a mistake. The work sessions are in 15 minute intervals.

You need a headset to speak to students of all ages via the computer in China who want to learn English.

So if this sounds like a fun and interesting job, check out the Become a Trainer link on the Idapted.com website.

Ok, I have to admit it. I heard the word “staycation” for the first time this weekend and became curious. Google already has 46,200 hits on “staycation”, this new media buzzword, and it will be interesting to see how much that hit count rises by the end of the summer. Perhaps we will see a big jump in this staycation search engine term even as soon as gas prices crosses that $4.00 mark in the majority of the country.

With the cost of fuel nearing $4.00 a gallon, fees for checked luggage and baggage, and the price of food increasing, are you looking for ways to save money on your vacation? Perhaps you are an overscheduled family and just need the downtime. Whatever the reason, many families are opting for a “staycation” this summer.

Staycation is the new buzzword that has been getting a lot of press recently. – a stay-at-home vacation, if you will. Basically, it means staying at or near home for vacation. Many families are opting to stay local for their vacation this year. More time spent at bbq’s, family gatherings, local swimming pools, or nearby attractions. Many retailers are banking on more families taking staycations too with the increased promotions of tents, grills, inflatable pools, patio and deck furniture.

According to a recent Newsweek article, almost 60 percent of Americans are skimping on their vacation expenditures due to soaring gas prices.

So, if you are planning a staycation this year, perhaps there are some local attractions that you haven’t visited ever (think Museum, local theater, nearby lake) or perhaps there are some that you haven’t visited in 5-10 years (think Zoo, Amusement Park). These can offer fun and relaxation. Sitting around a back yard fire pit making Hobo Pizza Pies and roasting marshmallows can offer almost as much fun as driving 3-4 hours to the closest campground doing the same thing - right?

One thing that won’t be missed is the repetitive “Are we there yet?”. Or will it?

I like to think of vacations as not only offering relaxation and fun, but also creating memories. Perhaps with the surge of these staycations, more emphasis will be placed on creating memories - realizing that it is who you are with that matters most, not where you’ve been?!

Source: Newsweek.com

Legacy.com is looking fro people to screen online condolence messages through their at home computer. These telecommuting/work at home positions will start at $10 per hour.

In a nutshell, Legacy.com hosts online Guest Books for newspapers where friends and family members can leave messages to express their sympathy or other personal messages. The Reader will be responsible for screening these messages prior to them being posted online to ensure that the message is appropriate and does not contain any offensive information.

The positions are part-time – 20 hours a week. All shifts are generally available, but evening shifts are usually needed the most. Shifts are typically 4 or 5 hours.

To be considered for the telecommuting position, your computer must have Windows 2000 or XP and be running high-speed internet. You cannot be using Microsoft Vista or a Mac.

The Reader should possess strong reading and decision making skills. The Reader should be self-motivated and have a 4 year degree or equivalent.

Currently, the telecommuting positions are only be offered to residents of Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin.

I wrote about Indeed.com, the mega job search website, yesterday. Well, they added a new search criteria that is sure to be very popular.

Now, you can search by estimated salary. That’s right, by salary that Indeed.com estimated for the search terms in addition to by job title, company name, keywords, and location all in one spot. And you still get results from all the major job boards, company career web pages, newspapers, and associations.

For example, to locate all Office Manager positions estimated to earn an annual salary of at least $40,000 per year, just key in Office Manager $40,000. Indeed.com will do the rest.

Per Indeed.com, they estimate salaries by using a proprietary methodology. Since many job postings don’t contain salary information, the proprietary methodology that Indeed.com uses is based on an analysis of similar job listings that include salaries.

This estimated salary feature is still in Beta, so they are requesting your feedback.

Have you heard about the job search site called Indeed.com? It was ranked one of the Top Ten websites of 2007 by Time Magazine.

Indeed.com is a job search engine. But not your ordinary job search engine. Indeed searches multiple major job boards, newspapers, associations, and company career web pages to report on your search terms and criteria.

You can search by job title, keyword, or company name as well as the optional city, state, or zip code. It compiles all results from many different sources such as Career Builder, Pro Blogger, Monster, Yahoo, Dice, newspapers, and company websites.

A nice feature of the site is that you can save your search criteria (keyword, job title, company name) and you can have the results delivered to you through an RSS feed or email.

It’s great! If you are looking for a job, try Indeed.com. You may just find what you are looking for!

So you just landed your first home-based position that you have been dreaming of, but now reality sets in and you are wondering how you are going to make this transition from an office job to a work at home job. Working from home isn’t for everyone. You need self-discipline, a high level of motivation, ambition, organization, and great time management skills to name just a few traits. Loving what you do helps too.

Now, there is a misconception out there that working at home in your PJs is all fun and games. I am here to say that it is not. It’s work – real work. If you don’t do the work – you don’t get paid. Simple as that! It’s like any other job – except that you do it out of your home office versus the company’s office. However, a few tips can help you stay on track while working at home.

Mini Goals

Are you one of those telecommuters that are prone to being distracted? Do personal phone calls, tv, kids, pets easily pull you away from your work? If so, having mini goals can help. For example, you can say to yourself, or better yet write down, that you won’t go down to the kitchen to get that second cup of coffee until you have written 2 articles, transcribed 30 minutes of audio, coded 25 medical records, logged 2 hours of customer service time, or written 5 blog posts.. Whatever your job is, make these mini goals before taking a break.

Take breaks/Eat Lunch

On the flip side, there are some telecommuters (like me) who tend to work too much. For some of us who love what we do, pulling ourselves AWAY from our work is actually tough. This is actually a common telecommuting habit. Some of us need to be forced to take a break. A tip here is to make it a point to have lunch, BUT eat it away from your desk. Try to do this at least 3 times a week instead of eating in front of the computer everyday.

Set and Stick to a Schedule

For both types of telecommuters, sticking to a schedule is key. Get up the same time every day and “arrive” at the office at the same day each day. Try to maintain the same lunch hour and “leave” the office around the same time everyday.

So, if you find yourself struggling at your telecommuting job either by being distracted or by working too much, try some of these tips. Either way, they could help.

If so, you may be interested to know there is now a virtual equivalent of those yellow “sticky” notes to add to your addiction. The manufacturer of this ever popular office staple, 3M, now has a virtual version of the post-it notes to use on your PC’s desktop. And best of all, it is free!

The virtual post-it note freeware is aptly named Post-it Software Notes Lite. It mimics the famous classic sticky pad notes. You can link an alarm to a note, change font size and color, but you stuck with the classic yellow color of the notes. You can even add pictures to the notes and print the notes as well.

The small program sits in your system tray. To pull up a new sticky note, just hover you mouse over the icon and use your mouse to peel off the new sticky note. It even mimics the actual sound of peeling a real post-it note.

Keep in mind this is a very basic software program. There are other programs out there that offer more extensive functionality and features but come with a price tag or monthly subscription fee. However, if you are just looking for a free basic “virtual” version of the classic post-it notes, then this free tool may be for you.

To download this freeware program, head on over to Cnet.com and search for Post-it Software Notes Lite. As of the date of this writing, there has been 1,703,538 downloads.

Obtaining a work at home or telecommute position can be difficult. Competition is fierce for these jobs. Oftentimes, the hiring manager or recruiter gets substantially more resumes for a telecommuting/work at home/remote/virtual position, that he or she gets for a traditional outside of the home job.

So, what can you do to help you stand out from the crowd? Brainbench is there to help. There are about 20 free certifications that you can get including MS Excel 2007, MS PowerPoint, 2007, MS Word 2007, MS Windows Vista Desktop, Java 2 Fundamentals, and many others. A lot of the free certifications are in the IT area. There are about 600 other Certification Tests, including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe PageMaker, Internet Research Techniques and Resources, QuickBooks, Quicken, and many, many more. Most of the fee based certifications come with a $49.95 fee.

Besides the individual skill certifications, Brainbench offers Job Role Certifications. I
saw quite a few that were relevant to the telecommuting world. Positions such as Editor, Financial Analyst, Market Research Analyst, Web Administrator, Web Designer, Legal Secretary, IT Manager, Human Resources Professional, Technical Writer, and the list goes on.

So, if you want to stand out from the crowd, a Brainbench certification, may just help to give you a leg up on your competition.