Little White eBook of Homeshoring Jobs

While I was doing some research to find a few companies that hire call center agents to list in my post about having a phone and a plethora of patience just the other day, I ran across an ebook offering that looked, at first glance, to be pretty darned informative. So I contacted the publisher and asked for more information and a copy of the ebook to see for myself if it really was informative. I thought I might as well review it here on Telecommuting Journal, right! I wasn’t able to get the entire ebook free for a review (only the first 3 chapters and a few example company listings) so I purchased it for myself.

To be honest, I was not expecting this review to be very flattering. But I was pleasantly surprised and extremely impressed with what I found inside. Enough so that I feel compelled to actually recommend this ebook to anyone looking to become a home-based call center agent. Most of the work-at-home ebooks available out there are extremely disappointing, sneaky, and don’t deliver what they promise.

However, the Little White eBook of Homeshoring Jobs actually provides exactly what they promise, and then some.

Here’s what they promised:

. . .243 pages and 198 listings of real virtual call center employers. It’s truly your complete guide to virtual call center employment from home. These companies regularly hire people across North America to answer their phones and perform administrative tasks. The positions these companies hire for range from customer service to telemarketing – and everything in between.

Here’s what they provided:

• 243 pages of well-researched, solid information including sensible introductory chapters that offer additional information about the industry and about working as a call center agent.
• Company profile pages that provide a lot of relevant information (like Better Business Bureau ratings links if they’re available, typical openings, typical salaries, job schedules, a link to the company’s employment page and main page, LinkedIn profile page, etc). I counted 196 home-shoring company profiles, 8 Canada-Only home-shoring company profiles, and 4 additional home-shoring companies that prefer to hire military spouses, vets, and disabled. That’s 204 company profile listings (which is 6 more than I was promised).
• It appears that it’s regularly updated. Several of the company profiles seem to be new listings and the title page of my copy says Updated 2/10/08. The purchase thank you page notes that I’m eligible for free updates if I elect to receive them.
• They’ve listed their resources – nearly 10 pages of online resources with clickable links to each.
• It’s reasonably priced at $30

And here’s how they presented it:

• A 1-page Title Page
• A 1-page Introduction: Using this Resource
• An 8-page Table of Contents
• A 16-page Section One – An Intro to Virtual Call Center jobs that includes the following information:
  • The Importance of Doing Your Research
  • The Importance of Doing Your Research
  • So, What is Homeshoring?
  • Who Hires Virtual Call Center Agents (and Why?)
  • The Sung (and Unsung) Benefits of Working at Home
  • The Pitfalls of Working for Virtual Call Centers
  • Preparing for the Virtual Application Process
  • Preparing Your Virtual Resume
  • Things to Keep in Mind When Applying for Virtual Call Center Jobs
  • The Virtual Call Center Checklist
  • Acing the Virtual Job Interview
• A 208-page Section Two – Company Profiles – Pages 25 to 233)
• A 9-page Resources Section

Would I recommend this ebook to everyone looking for a legitimate work at home job???
Nope! Being a call center agent isn’t for everyone. It’s not a “quick fix” or an answer to your money nightmares and it’s not going to land your job FOR you. What I am saying is that IF you’re fairly certain that you’d make one heck of a call center agent, you’re serious about pursuing that, and you’re in the process of looking at the various companies who actually hire call center agents, then this eBook is a great resource to help you reach that goal. If you’re looking to learn everything you can about the homeshoring call-center industry, as well as jump-start your research on the companies that employ home-based agents, then this is a great resource for you.

Ten years ago, when I was searching for work I could do from home, there weren’t many resources out there. I learned the word “telecommuting” and stumbled across an eBook written by Rosalind Mays called The Real Deal on Telecommuting.

It, too, was reasonably priced and it not only listed several valuable resources, it also talked about the telecommuting industry, the difference between being employed by someone as an independent contractor vs an employee, and offered up some ideas for going about your search for actual, legitimate telecommuting work online. That eBook was the only purchase in my search telecommuting information and work.

While it didn’t directly give me a job, it changed my mindset and got me looking in the right direction. Prior to the reading the ebook, I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the terminology and several of the resources that were available to me at the time (such as web forums and discussion lists). My goal then was to learn how to better research and explore my options online. That ebook helped me reach my goal and I found a great telecommuting opportunity that I wouldn’t have otherwise found had I not educated myself with the help of Rosalind’s eBook.

The same is true with this eBook I’m reviewing here. It’s not going to GIVE you a job, but it will help you find your way around in the call center industry and save you hours of research looking at all of the companies and offerings that are out there to go after.

If you’re interested in purchasing the eBook, or learning more, be sure to visit their site and then click on the eBook picture on the right.

They actually offer another eBook there as well, one for Virtual Assistant jobs. I have not looked at a copy of that eBook, but I’d suspect that it’s also well-done if you’re looking for more information about working as a virtual assistant. Perhaps I’ll hop over and purchase a copy of that eBook for a review of that on Telecommuting Journal as well.

Full Disclosure:
I was so impressed with this eBook that I joined their affiliate program before writing this review. Which means, if you click on a link here from my site and actually purchase the eBook for yourself, I make a commission on that sale. I’ve actually purchased the information myself and am confident that should someone who’s looking for call center work also purchase this book, it would be a valuable resource in that particular job hunt. I’d never recommend a product or service that I didn’t first use myself and actually believe in. Any commission I might make is compensation for the time and money I spent purchasing the product, reviewing it, and writing the review.