oDesk.com

I posted about this website before (here), but I didn’t know it so much at that time.

Now, I have used enough to talk about, and I love this website!

 

Before I get to the detail about oDesk, let me explain how I’m doing these days, since I don’t know when I can check back to my website next time. (Feel free to skip my story. I changed the color of the detail parts :))

I found real work at home jobs from oDesk, and became a part-time contractor for one company for over 2 years so far.

I was offered a full-time position from that company, but I chose to stay as a part time.

The reason why I didn’t’ take that offer is that:

1. The hourly pay is very low.

2. I didn’t want to burn out.

3. My resume became good enough that I started to get offers from others.

 

Like other freelancer jobs, employers are looking for affordable wages there.

If you look for a job such as “data entry” which is very popular, you probably need to be at a very competitive price.

Because, applicants are from all over the world, some people are willing to work for $1 or even less than that per hour to get hired at a data entry job. (Once you sign up, you can see other applicants’ details.)

 

If it is a web developing job, of course the price is higher. But, I am not that computer savvy.

So, I offered a competitive price, and received a job.

It was a very low wage, but it changed after I worked with one company for long enough to build trust.

Now, I have annual wage increases.

Sometimes, my company was late on payments, but they always paid my wages so far.

So, work at home jobs are all about building trust with the employer.

 

After working with the company, I started another work at home (part-time) job which I found on Craigslist.

The pay was okay.

I worked for them until last week. It ended because the company was expanding its office abroad. I knew the fact that since I am a contractor, it’s easy to let me go to the company.

So, I was always looking for a better opportunity, and taking tests constantly.

 

Now, with some luck or what, I received two better offers!

We’ll see how it goes…

 

Like my case, I suggest to keep looking even though you get a good work at home job. It’s always good to be prepared!

And even though the wages of the first work at home job is very low, we use it to build a strong resume.

 

Now, here is the part about oDesk.

 

What I like about oDesk is they have many tests available to showcase yourself.

Tests are for free to take, but unpaid.

 

Once you take it, you can add to your profile. If the result wasn’t good, you can choose not to add it, and retake it later.

 

In the beginning, I took many tests every day.

I didn’t know if I’d get a job or not, but I thought if I turned out getting one, it was worth it.

It’s all up to you if you take it or not.

 

At the same time, I looked for jobs on oDesk, and submitted my resume.

Some employers that were interested sent me more details and questions, and after that I negotiated price and hours with them.

 

Until I started getting responses, I took tests every day, and sent my resume every day.

That’s it!

The site is pretty easy to use as well.

 

Please note that if you think that you have no time to take tests and submit resumes, I don’t think this is for you.

I got a steady job from there, but I can’t promise that you’ll get one. I don’t work for them. So, please take my opinion as a consideration only.

 

I know that a lot of people are still struggling to find jobs.

I am not a special person. I started looking for legitimate work at home jobs since I made this site.

Some bloggers are successful doing affiliate programs, but I am not good at it, so it has been long to find and earn like normal jobs, but there are a lot out there :)

It’s sad to think that people want to work hard but it’s hard to find one.

I hope that this post helps someone.

 

Happy Easter Everyone!

Good Luck NEC!

I just checked NEC’s website, and I couldn’t find the refund statement regarding the kit.

I’m not sure if they still have the refund policy for the kit, I mean when you finish it.

They said when I completed so many products, I would get a refund of my initial expense.

They had it on their website before, but now it’s gone.

Personally, I have found other online jobs, so I no longer work for NEC.

But, I have tried to get my refunds for the products because I completed what they said was the minimum for the refund.

Now, all I get is the runaround.


I have the original receipts, so I sent a letter first, but no response.

So, I called them many times, but all I hear is “The owner is busy right now. We’ll call you back.”

And they did, but it was not the owner, and the person who called didn’t know about my situation so much.

Lastly, I sent 2 emails with copies of the receipts, but I‘ve never heard from them.

When I was working for them, they still had a refund policy, so I was sad that they ignored me.


Other than this problem, I liked making crafts for them.

Now, I’m too tired to deal with it, so I just let go, and moved on.

I still feel that NEC is a legitimate company, but some of their policies or managements need to be changed.

Key For Cash

Key For Cash is a data entry job.

You can work at home. Here is the link for the site-> Key For Cash.

I heard that this is a very popular job opportunity, so there are a lot of people on the waiting list. But, it's free to join, so I went ahead and registered.

After the registration, you need to take a typing test. Whoever has higher accuracy and speed in typing skills gets a better and faster chance to start working, so it's kind of important.

You can retake it as many times as you want, so you don't have to get stressed out.

After I took the test, I completely forgot about Key For Cash, but about six months later, I got an invitation email from Key For Cash.

Some people get an invitation sooner, and some people get one later. It depends on the skill of the applicants and the demand of work.

So, I started to work for them. The pay varies, but about $.30 per 1000 characters.
There are some instructions that you need to follow, but it's really a simple data entry job.

Online Survey: SurveySavvy.com

Here is another online Survey: SurveySavvy.com.

It's free to join.

After you join, they will send you invite emails whenever they have surveys for you.
In order to increase survey opportunities, they recommend that you complete "My Portrait". You don't get paid completing these questions, and it's kind of a lot of questions. But, we can answer these questions whenever we want. It's not mandatory.

In the invite email, they show you how much you will earn clearly, which I like about this site. Sometimes, I get confused how much points are worth how much money!!

There are many fun surveys, too. For example; sometimes, you are taking a survey to enter into a sweepstakes for big money!

Online surveys are a lot fun, and we can make money while we give our opinions.
Of course, you don't have to take them all just because they ask you to. We can choose the surveys we want to take.

These online surveys won't make you enough money to support a family, but if you start taking surveys from many websites, it will make you some good extra money.

Enjoy!

I've been working for New England Crafters & Magical Gift Company for a little over 3 years now...

I've been working for New England Crafters for a little over 3 years now...

I posted about NEC before (click here & here to see older posts), but I thought that I needed an update for them.

Here goes:

I will not say it's the perfect job opportunity for everyone since I can't make much money from it. But, I do get paid and I'm still happy working with them!

The positives are:
1. I can work from home.
2. I can get help from NEC by phone or email.
3. The job is year round.

The negative sides are:
1. The shipments are slow.
2. I have to buy a couple of things to complete projects. Ex) Glue gun, glue sticks, spackle, etc.
3. I can't choose the amount of products to complete.

These are my top 3s.

I really like how NEC treats each crafter's concerns.
One time, I was a little bit anxious and upset about the amount I received.
After 2 years of work, I was still receiving 100 wool sheep projects, but I was making them perfectly and on time, which NEC complimented on.

It was hard to complete projects by the due date, but I stayed awake late and made them so that the amount would be increased.
I wanted to make it up to their maximum amount as soon as I could!! But, it never happened.

So, I first called them about that, but the person I spoke to didn't have the authority to change the amount, and the owner wasn't in town at the time. But, the person was going to call the owner, ask her, and get back to me.

It didn't go well. It just went back and forth couple of times, and I decided to send an email to the owner, so I wouldn't have to bother NEC workers. And hopefully, the owner would give me time whenever she had a spare moment. (I know that the owner is extremely busy.)

About 5 days later, the owner responded to my email with a complete explanation which she said that it's the demand of the projects which determines how many I can produce.
Also, she offered me a full refund if I was still unhappy with them.

Of course, I was happy with them and still work for them.
Like in my case, sometimes it is hard to reach the right person. But, I eventually got my answer.

Some people might get upset that it's not fast enough to get a response. I think it's good considering NEC receives phone calls and emails from customers & crafters all over the US.

I was approved on 6 projects, and I'm working on 1 project to be approved, but I don't make 3 of them anymore due to the demand of the projects. NEC sent me replacement projects.
But, of course, I have to go through the inspection before I can start working on them. The kit is free (replacement projects), but it's a bit sad. (I worked hard to be approved on them!!!) Well, the projects never bore me, though!

NEC always tries to keep everything clear which is why they strongly recommend reading their policy before people start working on their projects.

I never felt that I was ripped off at all.

The beggining is definitely the most difficult part. I practiced a lot of times. Now, I can make them fine!

I hope that their forum will be back soon. I didn't really use it, but I think it's good opportunity to get help and talk to other crafters.

I hope this article helps some of the people who are considering working for NEC!