Recognize And Avoid “Work At Home” Scams

Recognize And Avoid “Work At Home” Scams

by Diane Hamilton, Ph.D (Contact Author | Biography)

money” that you never thought was possible. Not only are they targeting the desperate, but the sick, the stay-at-home parents, the low-income and the uneducated.Evaluating Job Listings
There are things you should do if you suspect a scam. Find out more about the company and job. What kind of contact information do they supply? Use search engines to research the company’s history. Make sure you know what the job details are including how much and how often you’ll be paid. Check out scam lists. If they ask for money to work for them, beware. You can ask for references but even these can be questionable. (Find out how to spot internet fraud and protect your hard-earned money, see Avoiding Online Investment Scams.)

There are some things you should never do. 

• Deposit money and pay it back to them
• Send merchandise or checks out in the mail
• Spam others with email
• Call a 900 number for information – you will end up paying for that call which is how that scammer makes the money.
• Assemble crafts or other items – they will probably tell you that you have not met specifications and end up not paying you.
• Stuffing Envelopes – this scam that can be illegal.

Researching and Reporting Issues
To find out where you can go to research and report problems, check out the following:

• Better Business Bureau – enter the company name into the organization’s site to see previous complaints. (The BBB is one resource to help you connect with the best product/service providers in your area, read The Better Business Bureau’s Tool Belt For Saving Cash.)
• Federal Trade Commission – you can go here to find out if a company has had illegal pyramid schemes.
• Scam.com – check out this company’s bulletin board to see home scams and ask questions about companies you suspect.
• Google – do research on the companies’ background to see what others have to say.

Other Online Career Scams
In your search for the ultimate work at home job, you may have placed your resume on the internet. This may leave you open for another problem. Consulting and recruiting scams are on the rise. A career consultant may contact you saying they found your resume online. Chances are this person may try to get you to pay for updating your resume or other job-related help. A recruiter may call to send you on a job interview. Later, you may find that there is not a job opening, and the company just wanted to sell you services.  There are many ways for others to take advantage of you during your employment search. Be careful regarding jobs advertised that don’t actually exist. If you get an email from someone who is very impressed with your qualifications, be careful of phishing scams, and can result in distribution of your information to other companies. (Looking to land your dream job? Skip the entry-level position by avoiding these common errors, check out Top Job-Search Mistakes For Finance Grads.)

Conclusion
Unfortunately, with all of the unemployed out there, there is always a threat of an increase in the number of unemployment scams. Keep your guard up. Go to the above mentioned sites and check everything out. Do not pay anyone up front, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. (To bamboozle someone out of their money is an age-old ruse. Learn about some of the gimmicks modern-day swindlers use and avoid becoming a statistic in Online Investment Scams Tutorial.)

by Diane Hamilton, Ph.D (Contact Author | Biography)

Diane Hamilton’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Arts and a Doctorate degree in Business Management. She has an Arizona real estate license as well as certifications in the areas of medical representative, Myers-Briggs and emotional intelligence. With more than 25 years of business and management-related experience, her background includes working in many industries, including computers, software, pharmaceuticals, corporate training, mortgage/lending and real estate. She currently teaches business-related subjects for six online universities and is in the process of writing a book on personal finance for young adults. She can be reached through http://www.drdianehamilton.com.

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Buzz up!

via investopedia.com

I recently completed my book “How To Reinvent Your Career” where I discuss how you must be very careful not to fall for some of the scams out there. People are very anxious to find employment and sometimes they see things as job opportunities when actually they are scams praying on them at their lowest points. Please check out this article I wrote for Investopedia about these scams. Of special interest to me since I wrote the book, is a newer job that has been developed due to the social networking opportunities out there. If you have not looked into working in social media, it may be an interesting option. I liked a tutorial put together by Kate Buck at letsgetsocial.com . . . At last look, it was under $100 and gave step by step instructions about how to get into a home-based (legit) business that you run on your own. The job would include managing companies’ social media needs. I have no affiliation with Kate but I think she has a good product. It’s worth checking out.

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The end of an era, and the beginning of another

I left a job I had for 20 years to recreate myself in several different industries which eventually lead to this . . . my writing and teaching. It was very difficult to give up a job that you have been in for so long. It taught me how to reinvent myself though and it was the best thing I could have ever done. I don't miss the old job for a second!

Online Learning | 2010 Annual Letter | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

2010 Annual Letter from Bill Gates: Online Learning

 

Students working in a computer lab (New York, New York, 2009).The foundation has made a few grants to drive online learning, but we are just at the start of this work. So far technology has hardly changed formal education at all. But a lot of people, including me, think this is the next place where the Internet will surprise people in how it can improve things—especially in combination with face-to-face learning. With the escalating costs of education, an advance here would be very timely.

via gatesfoundation.org

Online learning is the future of education. In the past there have been many who have criticized the quality of online education. However, with accreditation standards, an online education is becoming the way to go. Bill Gates recognizes the importance and potential growth of this industry.

What I Like Most About My Job

I love being able to work at home. I am an early riser and like to be able to be on the computer at crazy hours!

EQ vs. IQ

I did quite a bit of research about the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) for my dissertation. I found that higher levels of EI did have a correlation with sales performance. This article brings up an interesting discussion about emotional quotient or EQ and IQ. It is often stated that companies are now looking at EQ over IQ. Mayer et al may not have stated this directly . . .however, many people do believe that EQ is extremely important. I still have some reservations about how accurately we can measure EQ, considering that the instruments are require self-assessment. For more information about this topic, check out the link below.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-personality-analyst/200909/what-emotional-intelligence-is-and-is-not

5 Things You Should Know About Personality in the Workplace

Five Things You Should Know About Personality In The Workplace

#1 Taking personality tests like the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) can be a helpful in discovering how to get along with people at work. Conflicts may arise due to a lack of understanding of personality preferences. When people understand why others act the way they do, they are more likely to accept one another.

#2 Learn the differences between how people process information. If you take the MBTI, you will learn that there is a big difference between introverts and extroverts. An introvert tends to think before they speak. An extrovert tends think as they speak. Frustrations often occur when an extrovert thinks an introvert responds too slowly or when an introvert thinks an extrovert never stops talking. By understanding personality preferences, these conflicts can be avoided. If you are an extrovert, try to give introverts time to answer questions. Don’t answer for them, assuming they didn’t understand the question or didn’t hear you. If you are an introvert, try to realize that an extrovert expects you to answer quickly. Give them something to tide them over until you have an answer. Say something like, “that is interesting . . . let me think about that for a moment.”

#3 Your emotional intelligence quotient or EQ can sometimes be more important than IQ. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your own emotions as well as those in others. Many organizations are looking for emotionally intelligent leaders. There are tests like the EQ-i that can measure your emotional intelligence quotient.

#4 It is important to consider your “concern for impact”. This basically means how much you care about what others think of you. Some companies even rate people on this as part of the annual performance review. If you aren’t paying attention to people’s reactions to what you say and do, you need to start noticing.

#5 Know when to keep your mouth shut. Many office conflicts come from people not knowing when to shut up. People know it isn’t a good idea to talk about others behind their back but it still happens all of the time. If you do this . . . it WILL come back to bite you later.

Top 10 Things Prospective Online College Students Should Be Doing

Top Ten Things the Prospective Online College Student Should Be Doing

#1 Research accreditation of prospective online universities – Just because a college is online, does not mean it is an accredited university. Be sure that the school has received accreditation from one of the 6 regional accrediting organizations in the US.

#2 Research financing options available – There are still employers offering to pay for employee education. There are many old and new loan programs available for students. You might want to consider military options or grants as well. It might be wise to check out trends in financing through collegeboard.com.

#3 Talk to your school counselor – Your counselor is one of the best resources you will have during your online experience. They can offer advice about possible degree and career choices. They can help you set up your schedules and answer many of the questions you may have about online learning.

#4 Brush up on your writing skills – If you have not been in school for a while, it is important to be sure you have strong spelling and grammar skills as well as a good understanding of paragraph and essay structure.

#5 Research APA – Most online universities require that students submit papers in APA format. Although they will teach you the specifics of these requirements, it would not hurt you to know the basics of APA before beginning courses.

#6 Research How to Avoid Plagiarism – The Internet offers so many resources to online students that it can be easy for many to not understand the rules of when and how to cite sources. Plagiarism is considered a very serious offense. One way to avoid it is to be knowledgeable of what it entails.

#7 Research Netiquette – If you have not had a lot of online experience, you may need to brush up on your netiquette skills. Netiquette is the combination of the words Internet and Etiquette. There are certain things that are considered rude such as TYPING IN ALL CAPS. The school will give you some guidance in this area, but it is a good idea to research what is proper.

#8 Set Goals – It is very important to have written, specific, measurable goals. Research how to set up meaningful goals that have measurable timelines in them for what you want to achieve with your education.

#9 Discover your preferences for learning – We all have different types of preferences when it comes to how we learn material. Do you learn the best when the material is verbal or visual? You might be a social learner or a solitary learner. By discovering your type, you can focus on learning by utilizing the information in the style or format that best fits your needs.

#10 Discover any roadblocks to your success so you can cover come them – Write down all of the reasons why you either think you might not succeed or have not succeeded in the past with your education. Next write down all of the solutions to these problems so that you will know how to confront them should they arise.

Removing Extra Spaces Between Paragraphs

I often have students ask me how to remove that annoying extra space between paragraphs in their documents. Check out this video to find out some quick tips on setting up your papers in Word.

5 Ways to Develop Time Management Skills For Online Students

5 Ways to Develop Time Management Skills

I often have my students tell me they find it challenging to manage their time wisely. We all have the same amount of time in our day to accomplish things. Why do some people seem to be able to do so much more than others? Some of it is genetics. I know I am on the hyperactive side so I tend to do a lot. Other people might find what I do to be overly stressful. For me, I find that the more I do, the better I feel. You don’t have to be hyperactive to get things done. A lot is based on how organized you are. Here are some tips that may help you:

1. Put activities you need to do into your planner or calendar. Plan for studying just like you would any other appointment. Mark out time that you will read, write papers, etc.
2. Set goals for the things you want to accomplish. If you need to write a paper by Friday, have that set up in your calendar, but also have smaller tasks set up as well. For example, you might want to spend an hour on Monday writing the outline, spend an hour on Tuesday researching the topic, spend an hour on Wednesday writing the initial draft, spend an hour on Thursday proofreading and rewriting. By breaking down what needs to be done like this it makes it easier to accomplish your goal. Remember goals need to be measurable. By writing down the due dates for each task, your final goal becomes more easily attainable.
3. Recognize your roadblocks to success. Are you afraid of criticism? Do you thrive on last minute stress? Are you a perfectionist that may avoid doing things for fear of it not being perfect? These are some of the things that hold people back from completing tasks on time. Try to keep in mind that no one is perfect. If you try hard to write a good paper that is much more important than if the paper is perfect. No paper is perfect. That is too subjective. Worry less about getting perfect grades and spend more time focused on learning. If you thrive on last minute stress, perhaps you need to schedule your time closer to the due date. But be reasonable with time expectations that it may take to complete your assignment.
4. Are you lacking motivation? Often, people really do have enough time to do the work but they lack motivation. Find ways to reward yourself for doing a good job on your work. If you really want to see a movie or do something fun, have that be a reward for finishing an assignment.
5. Are you taking advantage of multi-tasking? This is something I do a lot! You can multi-task at work and home in order to create more time in your day. When I exercise, I watch my television shows at the same time. When I have work conversations on the phone, I can type my notes about what we are talking about at the same time to remind me for later. Often times, people do one thing at a time, when they can be doing multiple things to free up more time.

from http://www.drdianehamilton.com

Career Mistakes

Top 10 Things To Do To Learn From Career Mistakes

In my forthcoming book, How to Reinvent Your Career, I include a lot of different exercises that you can do to help you progress in the reinvention of your career. In the chapter about mistakes, I include many things that you can do to get past the mistakes you feel you may have made in the past. Too often we dwell on things that we have done. Doing so may hold us back from moving forward. Is anything really a mistake if you have learned something important from it? How can you move forward and benefit from the past? If you are considering reinventing your career or making some changes, here are a few things I would recommend that you do to help you get over past mistakes, get over your fears and move forward.

1. Write down some of the mistakes you think you have made in the past.
2. Write down the things you have learned from making those mistakes.
3. Write down the things that interested you in your youth.
4. Write down the things that interest you now. How are the two lists different?
5. Write down the kinds of changes will you have to make to fit into a new company.
6. Write down the things that you are afraid will happen if you make specific mistakes.
7. Write down the things you can do to be sure you won’t make those mistakes listed in number 6.
8. Write down the ways you can overcome the problems associated with the mistakes in number 6 should they actually occur.
9. Think about how bad would it really be if you made a few mistakes? Did the mistakes you made in the past really end up so badly?
10. Think about what would happen if you don’t take the chance of making some mistakes; is it worth staying where you are now?

http://www.drdianehamilton.com