Types of Jobs

• Many companies hire online employees to do a variety of work. Some of them are full-time, salaried positions with benefits in well-respected companies, and others are part-time and more flexible. Call center jobs are routed to people's homes, for example, enabling many to work as customer service representatives from home. Medical transcriptionists can work from home, sending their work in over the Internet. Freelance writers can blog, write articles for websites or online magazines. These are just a few examples of the many types of online work that is real and genuine.
  
  

What to Look For

• When you apply for an online job, first see if it is with a reputable company. Check the message boards of work at home mom/parent websites to see what others' experiences have been with a certain company. If you cannot find information in the message boards, join the website and post a question about the company. Conduct a general online search to see if the company has a website, a phone number you can call and an actual address.
  
  

Signs of Scams

• If you receive an emailed answer to your request for more information about a job within a few minutes of sending your email, it is a good possibility that the job is not real. You may be asked to send in very personal information about yourself, the company may not identify itself in the email (or in the advertisement) or it may ask you to send in financial information. Do not ever pay for a "kit" or "toolbox" to help you get started in your own online business (such as medical transcription or affiliate marketing). You are paying for a list of sales leads that you will have to follow up with and which may not turn out to be real opportunities for work at all. Avoid sites that seem to be too flashy and bright, promise you that you will make large sums of money overnight and that focus on selling you something.
  
  

Trust Your Gut

• If your gut tells you that a company is not answering your questions very clearly, it does not have enough reliable contact information, no information is available about it from outside sources or if you just do not feel right about the company, do not apply for the job. Visit work at home mom/parent websites for lists of positions that are more likely to be real as they are checked out by the websites' owners in many cases. Note, however, that no guarantee is made that any position is legitimate.
  
  

Other Options

• Start your own business with a website. You could sell a product or service to customers online. For example, you could be an online tutor for a subject about which you are knowledgeable. You can also hit up your real-world employer or other acquaintances you have to see about jobs they would be willing to outsource to an at-home employee.