Work from home

ruffuss99

Hi There,

I am due to finish my maternity leave in May, but I am in a pickle, it wont be financially viable to go back to work and pay for child care, I would actually be at a loss every week, I would ideally like to work from home and have my own working hours, does anyone know where or how I would start looking for jobs from home? Any help appreciated? And if anyone might have something available, I am completely computer literate , QFA qualified, years of sales/customer service experience. I also have huge experience in administration and have worked for multi national companies.

Thanks Again

Riccan

Hi there,
I am looking for similar myself, but there is a few options out there. I was made redundant last october, but had no problems getting an interview with Amazon, who are situated in Cork. They offer work from home programs as long as you can get decent broadband. I live in the middle of nowhere so the speeds they require weren't available by any of their agreed providers. You need to be able to receive about 10Mbps, Check with them who exactly the suppliers they deal with are.
The Cork centre seems great, I went down to an interview and actually considered commuting, they seem so nice. I have a friend who is doing the work from home program now, he loves it anyway.
They mainly want customer service and online chat associates I think, so you would be perfect I'm sure.
The only thing that might cause you issue is that you have to complete training at the site, I think It's up to 6 weeks, so depending where you are living it could be a nightmare. However after the 6 weeks they provide all the equipment for you to work from home.
Here's the link to one of the jobs anyway. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Jobs-Careers/b/ref=amb_link_160565047_2?ie=UTF8&node=203036011&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1Z389N3Z62J5N4490G30&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=249321927&pf_rd_i=202594011 Good look with it, and congrats on the new arrival

Delancey

A muti-national I used to work for had a working from home policy document , the very first line read as follows - '' Working from home must not be seen as an alternative to Child Care '' .
The fact is that you cannot work and look after children at the same time , I've seen people try and fail at it . I saw people lose their home working priviliges because they thought it was a solution to their child care costs and they simply were not able to balance the work and childcare issues.
Phones going unanswered , dropping out of conference calls to change a nappy , etc is not acceptable.

If you can work your own hours then thats a dandy though such jobs tend not to pay all that well.

Riccan

Delancey wrote: »

A muti-national I used to work for had a working from home policy document , the very first line read as follows - '' Working from home must not be seen as an alternative to Child Care '' .
The fact is that you cannot work and look after children at the same time , I've seen people try and fail at it . I saw people lose their home working priviliges because they thought it was a solution to their child care costs and they simply were not able to balance the work and childcare issues.
Phones going unanswered , dropping out of conference calls to change a nappy , etc is not acceptable.

If you can work your own hours then thats a dandy though such jobs tend not to pay all that well.

You're probably right about it not being seen as an alternative to child care, however that does depend a little on individual circumstances. For me for example the main reason is location. Living in the middle of nowhere, I had about 2-3 commuting hours per day. Which would be extra hours that I would be paying for child care but not being paid myself. Also I'm not sure about WFH wages in General but the Amazon wage scheme was exactly the same as the onsite staff.

dubdub123

Hi Riccan, Do you mind me asking if you know background people would need for these positions? I worked in IT for years and worked from home for a couple of years, full time and also provided on-call support. Do you know if Amazon may still be recruiting for these positions? And if so, approx what the rate of pay is ? I'm currently not working as I had been contracting but the company got rid of most contractors and had layoffs a couple of years back. Is your friend working part-time for Amazon? Do you happen to know if they have set hours or do they get changed around week to week? Any pointers would really be appreciated. Thanks

Riccan

for Hi there,
Your background sounds great, similar to my own. They are looking for their WFH staff to have a certain pedegree of self management, so if you've worked from home before that sounds great for you. They still have the positions advertised on the careers page of amazon.co.uk so I would think they are recruiting for Virtual Contact Centre(VCC), Customer Service Associates, if you go to their careers page, select Ireland- Cork for the location and select all jobs you'll see it there. It's currently part-timers they are looking for.
If I recall correctly there is some guideline they have that they want people who are within 30miles of cork, but I know they make excpetions to this if they trust the candidate.
The base pay was ok as I remember and the bonus (which is based on customer satisfaction ratings) was very good, up to about €2000 per month on top of the base pay. I asked a few associates there and they said the top rate of bonus is acheivable, ie one agent had hit it 3 months running, and even if the top rste wasn't acheived, a decent bonus was still available.
I listened to calls and saw emails for a day down there and the customer experience is very good, so a decent satisfaction rate didn't seem hard to hit.
If you apply, the whole company ethos is based around customer experience, so demostrating great people skills is a must. Good sales skills helps to and having some inititive. If you decide to go for an interview / assesment let me know so I can give you a run down of the layout/ style

dubdub123

Hi Riccan, Thanks so much for all the feedback. I've been pulling together an updated C.V. in relation to these positions. I've basically trimmed it right back removing most of the technical terms in relation to programming, and saying moreso what my role was .. developer, providing on-call support and mentioning that I worked from home for a couple of years previously. I hope you don't mind me asking but if you have any pointers could you please share ? And if I get further down the road on this application, would definitely be great to hear about the assessment. Thanks for all the info on this so far, really appreciate it.

Riccan

Hi There,
No problem at all, happy to help as I was disappointed that I couldn't get the necessary broadband speeds here.
The structure of your CV sounds perfect.
The basic structure is typing speed and accuracy test, interview and calibration call... The questions on the call ask you stuff that's on the website, so go to amazon.co.uk and look up...ipod nano purple (the amounts of songs, photos and videos it holds) the twilight books and their return policies on their merchant sellers, the interview is just a chat... Why amazon? Why you want to work from home? etc
Your technical writing skills may end up working well for you though as they seem to really promote interdepartmental moves etc. So they may offer you the opportunity to move to that in the future if they trust you working from home. For example, I speak decent spanish, mentioned this down there and they were all for me working with the spanish writing team down there, to help improve.
Hope this is of some help

trinityhotshot

Hi sorry for butting in on your conversation. I got word from amazon today I have an assesment next Friday on line and I was just wondering if you could fill me in and what to expect please Im rather nervous as I have never experienced anything like this before any advice would be greatly appreciated:D

dubdub123

Hey Riccan, Thanks so much for the info on that. I'll go ahead and take a look. Was going to submit my C.V. yesterday but then realized that there was a request for a cover letter. Going to pull that together in the morning and send on.
trinityhotshot, did you just recently apply for that position? What was the turn around time? Any pointers on the application and have you gone through interview at this stage?

helimachoptor

There is an ad for apple customer support but working from home on boards jobs

Riccan

Hi all,
@DubDub123: No problem at all, glad to help out, let me know if you want to know anything else and let me know how you get on.

@trinityhotshot: oh congratulations, hope it goes well for you. Well the basic run down of the day is they bring you down there and give you a tour, let you sit in with different departments listening to call sand seeing advisors in action. If you are applying for working from home you'll probably meet one of those guys on site. The assessment itself is very straight forward.
A computer based competency test. Checking you can type, use the internet etc, really easy. just a couple of paragraphs.
A practice call, where the interviewer (or available manager) will ask you some questions such as; Could I order the twilight books please from amazon and can I get some info on the purple 8GB ipod nano. Also the returns policy for the merchant sellers may come up. Just familiarise yourself with the amazon website as that is what you will be using.
The interview part just revolves around why you want to work for amazon and hat you know about them. A little research on them as a company wont go amiss, the wikipedia page is great. Just remember to point out how amazon offer a fantastic customer experience etc, the give satisfaction from a-z (hence their logo) and you'll be fine.

dubdub123

Riccan - appreciate all the help on this. Have just submitted the CV to their site so hopefully will hear back. Will let you know how it goes . Will take a look at the Amazon site in case they give me a surprise call as well. Thanks so much for those pointers.
helimachoptor - thanks for the heads up. Will take a look at the apple site and look those up as well. Would be great to get a position in this field
trinityhotshot - best of luck with the assessment. if you don't mind could you let me know how you get on when you get a chance.
Thanks for all the help. Would make a huge difference to me if I got one of these positions so fingers crossed..

MommySquish

Waiting 15 minutes for my interview for Amazon.co.uk VCC team (work from home). I currently worked for Tesco, stacking shelves. But I did work for Amazon previously for 3 years and it was great. They are a very GOOD company to work for and really take care of their workers. Lots of incentives and things. I will let ye know how the interview goes. But do go for it! It's worth it and they pay better than Tesco or most other jobs atm for entry level.

MommySquish

Ok, it was a typing assessment which wanted you to retype the passage and change any incorrect formatting.

Then general questions about the website. 2 about the Marketplace and 2 about Express delivery.

Took less than 10 minutes and then received this message 'Thank you for your interest in a career with Amazon, we will be in contact in due course.' Fingers double crossed! :cool:

trinityhotshot

Hi Guys,

Sorry just getting back now thanks for all the information my assessment is friday eek.
Did you just do it today I presume it was the online one is it ok how does it all actually work sorry for all the stupid questions. :rolleyes:

trinityhotshot

@dubdub123 I applied for the job less than 2 weeks ago so turnaround time is rather quick. I will be sure to let you know how I get on friday:eek:

MommySquish

Very simple, they gave me a passage to retype and format. Simple enough right? And then 4 random questions about Amazon.co.uk. Which I already knew the answers in detail from working there anyway. So very simple. Done in less than 15 minutes.

trinityhotshot

Thanks for the info sounds easy enough must start my research last exam tomo so will start then thanks again

dubdub123

Has anyone heard any further on this? I submitted my cv on sunday and it's still "under review".. Will this status change on line if they are not going to contact me? It's been a week so I'm guessing if I don't hear something this week it's not looking good.. Really would love to get a chance to interview for one of these positions.

trinityhotshot

Hi dubdub123 heard this morning got to next stage of telephone interview am delighted will let you know how it goes hope you hear soon.

dubdub123

That's great trinityhotshot, well done : ) Do you mind me asking what the assessment was like? Did it cover typing and formatting like people mentioned earlier? Did they ask you questions about amazon or your experience or is that for later, for the telephone interview? My status online remains as "under review" but the date of last update is today.. Not sure what that means mind you . Think they'll either be in touch in a day or two or there'll be nothing..Fingers crossed for everyone : )

oretti2005

sorry to push in but how did your telephone interview go Trinityhotshot. I have applied and am hoping to hear something soon. Would be great to work from home.

efoley

Hi,
I did the online assessment last week. It was 30 minutes (you got to pick your slot) and consisted of typing/formatting, and three or so questions from the Amazon.co.uk website Help Section. Honestly, it was very straight forward - the only trick thing was that the time was v tight. I got a reply that I was thru to the next stage and had a phone interview today. It was 20 mins, and she asked me about my broadband. and flexibility, and then we did a role play where she was the client, and again you could use the website with your answer.
I feel I did fine, but unfortunately I don't think I can take up the training (if i am offered it. The next stage is a face to face interview, and the offer of training would be after that). The training is 40 hours per week for four weeks (from home) from 8.15 to 5.30, and I cannot do that with childcare issues. also, I got the impression that Amazon choose your shifts and not you, and I can really only do primary school hours, so I would HAVE to be able to choose my own 20 hours.
Hope this experience helps - has anyone done the training, and could they share about the hours / flexibility, etc??
Ta.

oretti2005

Thanks for the info. I'd be the same as you Efoley , I'd love to choose the hours I'd work myself but am hoping that if I was offered a job that I'd get some shifts that would suit me. The training would be a long four weeks but it'd be an investment. It's so hard to find any work with flexible hours. When did they say they'd let you know about face to face interview, at least you might have bit of time to think things through.

efoley

The training starts on June 15th, so I'd guess I'll be called next week for an interview before that? She also mentioned that there are no holidays in Nov or Dec as that's their busy period, so that type of thing would be a problem for me.
Hope you find something.

dubdub123

Hey guys, do you remember how long ti took between submitting your CV and hearing something? Did they call you directly or email or what? I submitted my cv monday week ago and was really hoping to her something. I've worked from home for approx two years in IT and would really like to get the opportunity to interview for one of these positions. For the online assessment, do you just log onto a particular web site and complete a typing exercise? Then reformat a paragraph? And they include the queries about Amazon during that phase - others have mentioned they ask about ipod nano, twilight books, returns policy etc. Anything else covered? I wonder if the June 15th date is the only group that are being taken on? Does anyone know what sort of salary they are offering ? Everytime my phone has gone I keep hoping it's something on this but no joy as yet : (

efoley

Hi,
I applied on 26/4 and on 11/5 was called (by email) for the online assessment. For this, they emailed a link and you do the assessment 'live' on a part of the Amazon website. I was asked about express delivery, but whatever you are asked, the answer is in the Help section of the website - it is about your skills finding this information, not knowing this information. The salary mentioned was eur10.10 per hour.

oretti2005

Hi just wondering has anyone heard anymore about these jobs. Are they still interviewing?

3dollys

I did the typing assesment two weeks ago, did a phone screen this day last week and have heard nothing since. I was told on the phone all about the training, the wages, the shifts etc. I thought I would have heard something by now. Wondering does that mean Im out of the running? Im not sure how well I did, I though I did ok and the girl was very easy to deal with.

dubdub123

Guys, I still haven't heard anything on this and my CV is still "under review" dated May 21st. I think these jobs had been advertised a few weeks when I stumbled upon them, and they are no longer online. Are the spots filled now? I would really like a chance for these but if they are gone, I'd like to know. They may have reached their quota now, or doing checks on people. Has anyone had any update recently? Or can anyone tell me what their amazon job application status was, when they got further through the process? I will be gutted if I don't get past the CV screening part of this. This setup would be perfect for me as I've worked from home before.. Would be good to hear any updates : ) Thanks

3dollys

I have no idea. I did my phone screen one week ago exactly, and heard nothing yet. I will be gutted if I hear nothing at all, its right up my alley, Im totally flexible re their shifts etc and god knows I could do with the job. At this stage tho I dont hold out much hope. i thought I would hear by now, I think I would have if it was a yes.

efoley

I have passed the phone screen and am waiting for a full phone interview (you were given the option of skype, face-to-face and phone call). S
No idea why some applications are slower than others, sorry.

3dollys

So what will you do if you cant take up the training?

efoley

I have emailed them to ask if there was any flexibility in the training, but if not, I will just withdraw from the application. Shame,, but I did not get the impression that there is a lot of flexibility (anyone know if I am right??) and I need that with school going kids.

oretti2005

Efoley, you'd think that there would be flexibility in the training. My friend is waiting on full interview as well (although she hasn't heard anything this week yet) and she was told the training is done from home so maybe they can do something for you. No harm asking anyway:)

efoley

Yes, it seems a bit nuts that a 20-hour-per-week job has four weeks of 40-hour-per-week training! If I could do 40 hours per week I wouldn't be applying for a part time job!!

oretti2005

I know, (4 weeks training full time seems to be standard with call centres) but maybe they'd give you a longer timeframe to get it done. They must have training sessions going on all the time. Hopefully I'll hear something next time they are recruiting (think I applied too late). Best of luck with interview anyway. Let us know how you get on.

dubdub123

HI oretti2005, I was just wondering when you submitted your cv? I put mine in 2 1/2 weeks ago, and the status was updated a week and a half ago online but I haven't heard anything, regarding even the online assessment : (

Are there a few people waiting on phone interviews now? I wonder if it could be something as mundane as a HR person being out of the office and no one is hear back for a bit or has anyone had updates this week?

These positions aren't being advertised on the site anymore. Would be nice to know whether they are still going to be contacting people regarding assessments or whether they have enough folks at this stage..

oretti2005

I applied about 2 weeks ago. Not sure what's happening really but got e-mail when I applied that they keep cv's on file for 6 months. My friend is through to final interview stage but is waiting to hear back when interview will be, she hasn't heard anything this week so far.

dubdub123

Hey, I got that automated email as well but nothing since. Was wondering if they might phone but another poster mentioned receiving an email regarding the online assessment. Do you happen to know whether your friend applied earlier than yourself? It's possible that they are going through a certain number of applicants now and seeing how many posns are filled before contacting anyone else. If people are still waiting for final interview I would take that as a good sign. HR might be busy with filling other posns as well.. Fingers crossed on hearing something back. Best of luck

oretti2005

Hi Efoley, did you hear anything back about training?

efoley

Not yet, I emailed accepting their offer of an in-depth interview, but asking also about whether there is an flexibility in the training hours. No reply since, so maybe they have struck me off. Which is ok with me, as I could not possible do the 40 hours x 4 weeks.

oretti2005

Maybe not, that's the kind of thing they'd probably want to chat to you directly about. So you never know. Good luck anyway.

dubdub123

Has anyone heard anything back over the last few weeks, or does anyone know if the positions have been filled at this stage? Thanks

3dollys

Well I did my phone assesment on May 22nd. Heard nothing until last Fri, I got an email saying that according to their records I had not completed my phone assesment and am I still interested in taking the recruitment to its next step.? Most strange. I emailed them to say I had done a phone screen, I was interested in the next stage of recruiting and that I am fully available for all the training and any shift time.
Heard nothing again, so this morning I emailed again. We shall see.

black__bamboo

Hmmmm...sounds like they are muddling things up a bit. Wonder how many people they have shortlisted? Must be quite a few if they are getting all confused about things lol

dubdub123

Hi, what email address did you use to contact them? Do you happen to have a specific persons name? My cv is under review since May 21st and have heard nothing since. I've a few years of experience working from home in IT and was really expecting to hear something. Maybe I would be better to phone them?

black__bamboo

I have been receiving emails from: cs-vcc-corkrecruitment@amazon.com

3dollys

My emails were from a specific person. Not sure if I should put the name up her or not, but it was from a named person, not a customer service email.

oretti2005

Just wondering, has anyone been actually offered a job yet?