Dear CareerBabe:

I want to work from home. Do you have a list of associations or leads that will help me do this?

Dear Helpless:

There are plenty of jobs listed in the local paper for people who want to type or sell from home. The problem is that these jobs are all usually minimum wage jobs. They are easily available. All you have to do is call in response to these ads! But please be careful. If you need work right away, you must be sure you are not getting involved with a scam. (Ditto if you get involved with direct sales companies.)

Getting a higher level job, however, requires more research time and effort on your part. You can begin earning some money right away with one of the fast jobs we listed above. But for the higher level jobs, these are the steps:

1. Identify your skills and abilities in specific areas. Are you a great typist? Do you work on the Internet? Can you sell on the telephone? Can you recruit? Can you do research, write, do art work or animations? (If not, then you will have to go to school to get some of these skills.) Are you a software developer or tester?
   
   
2. Once you have a skill, then you must identify companies that need what you have to sell. Once again, start reading. Are there companies that you feel you can help? If you have read an article, who is identified in that article that you can contact? Write or phone that person.
   
   
3. You can also network with associations. Since you have a computer, perhaps these will interest you:
   • Women in Multimedia, Contact http://www.wim.org for more information.
   • The International Interactive Communications Society, contact 1-503-620-3604.
   • The National Writers Union (873 Broadway Ave., Suite 203, NY, NY 10003)
   • Women in Communications (2101 Wilson Blvd, Suite 417, Arlington, VA 22201)

   Also go on the Net and look through all USENET listings. If you are a contract programmer, contact "DICE", http://www.DICE.com

4. For more Associations, go to the Library. In the research department, there is a Directory of Associations that will help you identify all the pertinent associations in your field. Call each and ask if there is any service that lists jobs that you can work from home.
   
   
5. Call the Convention Bureau in your town. You can easily find part-time work doing registrations and convention work, not from home, but these are immediate part-time hits.
   
   
6. Since you are already a computer user, go to Alta Vista or any of the other search engines. Type in "working at home" (don't use the quotes), and you will find 40,000 documents related to your search. For opportunities regarding "telecommuting," go to: http://www.eastcoll.nf.ca/articles/tele3.htm
   
   
7. Contact career advisory groups and or take a course given at a community college, local university or highschool. This will also help you begin networking with people in your area.
   
   
8. Last, if you are interested in a multi-level marketing opportunity (a company like Avon, Amway, Shaklee or Herbalife), contact the Direct Selling Association in Washington, DC for a complete list of these organizations. Usually you will be required to invest in a distributor kit. Here you must be extremely careful here that you do not get involved with a scam. The Better Business Bureau also can help you contact reputable direct sales organizations through this web site: http://www.hbn-intelinet.com/bbb.htm.