Leapforce: Search Engine Evaluation

Leapforce is a company that employs home-based, independent contractors as search engine evaluators and quality judges.  For the prospective homeworker they bring flexibility and high pay.  The job also does not require a telephone or interaction with customers which is a big bonus for some people.

"Search engine evaluator" is the most commonly offered position by Leapforce.  As a search engine evaluator you are contracted to compare search terms to a specific result and rate the result on how relevant it is to the search term taking into consideration the native location, language, and presumed intent of the searcher.  The goal is to provide the best possible "intelligent" results when a user types a term into a search engine, instead of just regurgitating results based on an algorithm that can be gamed by spammers.

How much does it pay?

I have only just completed the test for qualification, so I don't know myself, but according to reputable sources the pay is between $13 and $15 an hour.  Keep in mind that as a contractor and not an employee that this pay rate does not withhold any taxes, you'll receive a 1099 from them at the end of the year and are required to pay any taxes due on the income when you file.

Leapforce pays out once a month, though checks are said to be sent out quickly once hours are submitted.  Work can be irregular, so the pay cannot always be relied upon, but everyone I have spoken to has reported that there is plenty of work to keep your contract active with them as well as earn an excellent, part-time income.

Are there any benefits?

In short, no.  As a contractor you don't get anything beyond a paycheck.  However, the flexibility of the work can be considered a benefit as there are no set schedules, you just pick up the tasks that look good to you, complete them, and them submit your time.

What is required to work there?

The folks at Leapforce prioritize applicants with some college education, though it is not a hard requirement, particularly if you have some previous work at home experience.  You need to have good analytical thinking skills, as being able to make decisions quickly and accurately based on the criteria they outline is a core part of the job.  Reading comprehension is also a very important part of the skill set you'd need to be successful with this job.

The biggest requirement for the position is successful completion of the test.  It comes in two parts, the first is a few dozen questions designed to verify your understanding of the guidelines.  If you pass the first part you move on to the second which is 144 search queries that must be evaluated using those guidelines.  They give you plenty of time to complete the test (seven days for study and completion) but it is not something you can complete on autopilot.

Do I need any special equipment?

Nope.  Since this is not a phone position, you don't even need a phone.  Just a basic high speed internet connection and up to date antivirus / anti-spyware software since you'll be browsing all sorts of sites.  If the test is a good example of the work and interface this job should also be thoroughly possible using even a "budget" DSL connection as the system and bandwidth requirements are pretty low.

How do I apply?

Dust off your resume and head on over to Leapforce's "Become an Agent" page to apply.

Any more info?

You can read some reviews, both good and bad, at glassdoor,  ripoffreport, and the WAHM forums.

The Work at Home Toolkit: What You Need to Get Started

Accurate depiction of telecommuting from the Oatmeal.

Today I wanted to go over a few tools you'll need in your kit if you plan on getting started working from home.  Some things are self explanatory like a phone and a computer, others are a little harder to buy at wal-mart like time management skills.  

This is by no means an exhaustive list, you may find out that you need only the bare essentials, or add another 100 things to this list, but I think this is a good start.

A Computer

Self explanatory.  If you are reading this post, you have one.  You don't need a top of the line gaming rig to work at most home-based jobs, but you do need something that is reasonably up to date and capable of multitasking.  At the average call processing job you'll have to run a program that manages the incoming calls, another that accesses the company interface that allows you to process those calls, a web browser to access reference material (possibly in several tabs), an instant messaging program to ask questions, and possibly a virtual desktop interface.  If your computer hangs up while you are listening to itunes and playing bejeweled you may need to upgrade.


In addition software compatibility can be an issue.  Backwards compatibility for windows operating systems is usually great as long as the version you are using came from this century.  However, companies are often rather slow to upgrade internal systems when a new OS version comes out, so if you are an early adopter you may need to keep that old operating system around either on a different machine or a dedicated work partition until they catch up to you.  In addition, very few home-based jobs are Mac friendly.  Nearly all require windows to operate, and even if you run a windows install via an emulator, if you find yourself in need of the company IT department they may flat out refuse to troubleshoot when you tell them you are running windows on Bootcamp.

An Internet Connection

This is another obvious one.  You need a high-speed internet connection.  Ideally a cable line, but good quality DSL at a minimum.  If you do not have an actual download speed of at least 2 mbps you will have issues and may not pass screening tests.  

Cellular and satellite-based connections are rarely stable enough for long term telephone-based work, and even if you manage to pass screening tests with those sorts of connections you are setting yourself up for heartache and unemployment when dropped calls and attendance issues pop up down the road.  However, some web based work like "search engine evaluator" may work.

A Phone

You need a good, old-fashioned corded phone with a headset jack for any telephone-based work.  Personally, I use a Panasonic Business Phone.  It wasn't too expensive and the big, labeled buttons that I can hit easily while it sits next to my keyboard where a big plus for me.  Avoid cordless, they will inevitably run out of juice in the middle of your shift and that just sucks.

You'll also need a no-frills, dedicated phone line.  No call waiting or voicemail as these can potentially cause problems with the interface the company uses.  These days both digital and analog phone lines are acceptable, but VOIP is not.  Don't expect to skate by with skype, the software most companies use doesn't play well together with skype's interface, and there are often sound quality issues.  

A Headset

You need a headset that can plug into your phone.  Again, I went with panasonic for this with a Panasonic Over The Head Headset.  It was cheap, light, and is still going after over two years of abuse.  Don't be tempted to try and use speakerphone instead of a headset, and find one that is comfortable since you'll be wearing it for hours.  Again, avoid cordless.  You'll be on the phone constantly for long periods of time and batteries have a way of running out at the worst possible times.

A Desk & Comfortable Chair 

You need this.  As much fun as it may seem to sit in your bed with your lap top and get paid, just don't.  If you have never worked a clerical job before you don't know how much difference a comfortable office chair and a desk at the proper height makes for back and wrist pain.  

You'll be seated and typing for long periods of time.  Sitting up straight with lower back support and keeping the keyboard at the proper height make worlds of difference.  It's hard to deal with difficult people when you are in pain, and trust me, as a telephone customer service operator you will encounter difficult people.  Pick your battles, buy a comfortable chair.

Office Supplies / A Printer

You should always have a pad and writing utensil handy.  Phone operator jobs often require a lot of multitasking.  On top of that things often change such as greetings, promotions, and policies - so take notes.  It's often easier to jot something down rather than forget it, and when dealing with customers you can note their name or other details quickly to earn brownie points with them and management.

In addition, the interface used to actually conduct your work is usually designed by the IT guys rather than the operators.  Their idea of efficiency and your idea of use friendly usually don't mesh.  A quick "print screen" can often make your life much easier.  At nearly every job I have worked at I end up with my own custom reference book of disparate screenshots of the company website stapled together for my personal use.

A Work Space

This calls back to the desk & chair point, but takes it one further.  You need a space in your home designated for work.  Ideally it is a space behind a door where you can isolate yourself from noise, friends, and family members.  Although your job is real, and you may take it very seriously, it's hard for your family to resist asking you where they put their keys, or blabbing about the joke they just heard if you're sitting there on the couch.  Most companies have strict rules about "noise pollution" from your work environment.  A barking dog or screaming kid could be hazardous to your job security.

There's also a powerful psychological effect for you if you have the ability to set up a dedicated office at home.  That way you can still "go to work" instead of just heading to the kitchen table to help get you primed and ready to be productive.  I also suggest having a dedicated user desktop setup for your job, particularly if your work computer and your home computer are the same machine.  Logging off of "home" and onto "work" helps to reinforce the mental separation between work and home.  I recommend leaving the work desktop free of bookmarks, links, and video game icons.

Time Management Skills

I could write a whole article on time management, particularly for jobs that are task based rather than shift based, but for this entry I am speaking primarily about phone operator jobs where you will log on and work a set shift.  You'll be amazed at how easy it is to be late to work when work is across the hall.  The number one offense that gets people fired from work at home jobs is failure to meet attendance guidelines, and the bulk of attendance issues are from being late, not missing work.  

If you lived across town you wouldn't set your alarm clock for 10 minutes before you were scheduled to work so don't do it even when your commute is 20 seconds.  Due to the nature of the job your attendance is tracked automatically by the system.  If they say log on at 8:30 and you log on at 8:31 the system pings you as late and you accrue an attendance violation.  

Arrive to "work" early.  Sit down at your work station with your cup of coffee and check your email / facebook / whatever while you begin opening up the programs that you need to log onto work.  Most places allow for you to log on 5 - 10 minutes early.  Take advantage of that.  It means extra money at the end of the week, and you don't have to be in a frantic rush.  Network congestion can often cause an issue for company systems when a ton of people are trying to get into the system at the same time, don't let that trip you up.

Speaking of Facebook, don't get caught in the trap of the internet and lose track of time during breaks.  Set an alarm for yourself.  If you don't have a cell phone handy there are tons of web based sites that can help you out with this.  

Realistic Expectations

For a lot of work at home jobs the pay is low and the benefits non-existent.  The benefits are that the jobs is usually more flexible than traditional employment and you can save a lot of money on eating out, gas, and even clothes.


Going into a work at home job for the first time is a culture shock.  Working as an independent contractor means that you may wake up tomorrow unemployed regardless of your quality of work.  Even as an employee you are essentially a serial number to most employers.  Your boss has never seen your face and you may only interact with them via instant messenger.  This means that psychologically you aren't "real" to them.  Turnover is high at home based positions so managers don't often make an effort at actually getting to know the folks they have working for them.  


Without a face to attach to the names you basically become a collection of stats like average handle time, recall percentage, and attendance value.  What this means for you is you can never get comfortable.  If you have a bad week you get a warning that your average handle time has climbed above acceptable numbers.  You can tell your boss had a death in the family and you'll get things back on track soon, but on week two your stats are still out of line so he files termination papers and moves on with his life.  To him you're not Sherry, the funny gal from the customer service department, you're faceless employee number 442 who has received 2 warnings in the past six months for the same issue.


Can you make a career working from home?  Certainly, but it's not easy.  Most companies pull promotions from their brick & mortar call centers due to the nature of the job and the extra weight carried by folks who they interact with in person every day.  Some are better than others about promoting from within their work at home ranks, particularly as technology gets better and face-to-face meetings easier to moderate via webcam, but these positions are the exception rather than the norm


If you are seeking advancement the only way to set yourself apart is raw performance.  Networking may sometimes play a limited role, but when the order comes down to promote four new managers from the work at home crowd the computer runs the numbers and spits out the names of twenty top performers and they go from there.


All that aside, I have truly loved working from home the past two years.  By reclaiming hours a day from commuting it's given me back my time.  I was untouched while gas prices spiked over $4 a gallon and I have saved thousands of miles of wear on my vehicle.  I've gained freedom and met people all over the country, some going on to become good friends.  Best of all I get to go to work wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a beard that would put a hobo to shame.  

Sedgwick CMS: Good Pay, Great Benefits for Work At Home

Sedgwick is a claims management service that has begun to offer work at home positions for telephone based work.  What sets Sedgwick apart from a lot of other virtual call centers is their excellent benefits package.  Most home-based opportunities offer very few benefits past a paycheck and an infinite number of casual Fridays, however Sedgwick has received several awards, including an employer's choice award, for offering things like medical insurance on the first day you begin working.

What is it like at Sedgwick?

As far as I know all home-based positions at Sedgwick are phone related.  As a customer service agent you'll be processing claims for a variety of customers after a fast-paced two week training course.  You'll also be an employee, not an independent contractor (with all the headaches attached to that), so they are already ahead of several similar employers.  I have not personally had the pleasure of working with Sedgwick, and I believe there is an NDA in effect for their employees, but the pay has been confirmed to start above $10 an hour.

You said benefits?

Yup.  And great benefits indeed for a home-based position.  Some high points include:

• Health Insurance - Day 1! (awesome).  I don't have the specifics but it includes medical, vision, and dental, and others I have spoken to claim the costs are competitive with similar policies.
• 401k with employer match.
• Short and long term disabiliy.
• And the cherry on top, they actually reimburse you $75 a month towards phone and internet costs.

I have also seen some discussion of life insurance and educational assistance.  Honestly, the benefits they are offering home-based employees rival the benefits I received while working as a general manager for a casual dining restaurant.

What's required to work their?

A high speed internet connection and dedicated phone line of course.  In addition they require a high school diploma or GED and at least one year of customer service or clerical work.  Great communication skills are something they look for in the interview.

What's the catch?

In short, growing pains.  Some reports from employees suggest that there are still some kinks to be worked out with chain of command, IT, and home-based managers.  All of this is anecdotal of course, and for anyone who has worked in customer service knows the folks with the most incentive to complain are the ones who are disappointed, however the people that I have spoken to who still work their are quick to apologize on behalf of the company and stress what a great group of people they are even after telling me about poor experiences.

The other downside is the stiff competition for positions.  A lot of folks stuck at home would love to secure a Sedgwick position, so there are no shortage of applicants.   If you have your sights set on Sedgwick you had better apply, apply again, and follow up.

Finally, if you are looking for a flexible schedule this may not be the place for you.  As an employee you will apply for a specific schedule and are locked into it.  I have heard that you can bid on different schedules every six months but I don't have any information on that process. 

How do I apply?

1. Visit Sedgwick's Career Center.
2. Select "Customer Service / Call Center" from the "Areas of Interest" menu.
3. Leave everything else blank and click "Search"
4. Look for positions labelled “Service Center Assistant- Work at home”.

These positions can go fast, so come back often if you don't see any.

More Information

Visit Glassdoor for some candid reviews from former employees and please feel free to post comments below if you have experience with the company.

Amazon's Mechanical Turk: a Time Waster That Pays

Some of you are likely already familiar with the original mechanical turk so it is easy to see where amazon got the inspiration for their crowd-sourcing platform.  They refer to their mturk service as "artificial artificial intelligence".  Basically it is a way for people who need small, automated tasks that are easy for people to do, but tough for computers to accomplish to farm those tasks out to willing workers for a small fee.  At least that's how it started.  Like all things online the service has grown and evolved since its inception.  Mturk still offers the sorts of crowd-sourcing tasks it was set up for, but you can now find other sorts of jobs (as well as a few scammers).  

How Do I Become An Mturk Worker?

It's easy, just sign up.  You'll be asked for some basic info like every other account you have ever created online, as well as being asked to set up an amazon payments account so you can receive you cash.  Once signing up you can immediately start working.  Amazon refers to the jobs as HITs (which stands for Human Intelligence Tasks) and you can click on them for an explanation.  If you see one you like you simply click on it to read an explanation of the task, and accept it and follow instructions to begin working.

Some types of HITs require certain criteria associated with your account.  If a HIT is unavailable you will not be able to view it, however you can click on "why?" to receive an explanation as to why you are denied access to it.  Some HITs require you to maintain your approval rate above a certain percentage, while others require short certification tests or profile reviews before you can begin working on them.  In that case you can click on "request certification" and follow the instructions given.

What Sort of Tasks Will I be Asked To Do?

There are a huge amount of different HITs you might find at any given time on mturk, though most fall into a few categories.  Some common tasks you'll see a lot of are transcribing voice mail, translating text, product reviews, and surveys.  You'll also occasionally see mystery shopper type tasks like calling a business for customer service and reporting on the experience or actually going to a location and verifying advertising placement or employee product knowledge.  As more businesses become aware of the possibilities of crowd sourcing you can expect to see more varied tasks popping up.

How Do I Get Paid?

You have two options for getting paid at mturk, you can have the money transferred to your bank account or get it in the form of amazon gift card credit.  If you withdraw it to an account you have to transfer at least $10 and it takes a couple of days to complete.  If you choose gift card credit there is only a $1 minimum and the money is applied to your account instantly.

How Much Can I Expect to Make?

Not a lot to be honest.  The vast majority of available HITs pay just a few cents.  Some tasks pay considerably more, but require either special skills unavailable to many people (such as foreign language transcription) or may be few and far between.  Since you are competing with a thriving community of Mturkers for the choice assignments, the best jobs go fast.  

However, you can easily make an extra $20 a week by spending a few minutes a couple of times a week while watching a movie or during slow periods while working other home jobs like virtual call center work.  It's a great way to waste time and actually see enough return on it for an extra tank of gas at the end of the month or keeping your kindle full of fresh reading material.  

You Said Something About Scams

The sad fact of the internet is there are always a few bad apples trying to spoil the bunch and take advantage of the unwary.  Mturk is no exception.  Fortunately, it is pretty easy for the internet savvy to spot these scams.  If it looks to good, it probably is.  There are a few general rules that will save you some headaches when weeding the good HITs from the bad:

• Be wary of hits that are requesting you to "test" their email system or enter a "valid email address".  Generally all they really want you to do is sign up for their spam mailing lists.
• Be wary of a HIT description like "We need people to help test our signup form" or "Test our form -- must enter valid information."  These sorts of HITs are just another sneaky way of getting you to sign up for services or mailing lists that you probably don't want.
• Never sign up for a service as part of completing a HIT.  No one is really going to pay you $100 to try out their "free" service.  All that will happen is you will be left with the headache of trying to discontinue whatever subscription you signed up for before they charge you while the person offering the HIT disappears into the aether of the internet.  These sorts of HITs are a violation of Amazon's policies and can be reported to them by clicking on "Report this HIT" on the bottom right of the HIT webpage.
• Red flags should go up for HITs asking you to complete a survey that pays more than 50 cents.   Generally the only legitimate exception to these surveys are those conducted on a .edu domain.  Educational surveys are conducted as part of university research and may pay a couple of dollars or more, but they usually require a much larger time commitment.  Some may take over an hour to complete or require multi-part commitments to follow up surveys.  
• Avoid HITs that ask you to "Test our homepage", "Click on our link, stay on the page at least X seconds", or "Help test our software".  These are almost always underhanded ways to attempt to install tracking software or malware onto your system.  Legitimate companies are capable of testing their own websites and software, and even if they chose to farm this testing out to a crowd sourcing platform they would need to collect a significant amount of information about your system and hardware configuration for that information to mean anything.
• I know I don't have to warn folks about this but never, ever, ever, enter any of your financial or credit card information for a HIT.  Requestors will never need to "verify your identity" over the course of completing a task, and these sorts of requests are against Amazon's terms of service and should be reported.

Where Can I Find More Information

The mturk community is a large one.  You can just dive right in and get started without any real preparation, but if you are serious about learning more and benefiting from the trials and tribulations of those who have come before you, please check out the mturk forum.  They have a very helpful community and a huge base of knowledge that can help you maximize your time and earnings.  

If you have questions about my own mturk experiences, or stories to offer others please post a comment below.

And so it begins...

I have been un(der)employed for two years.  I was laid off from my last job when the economy finally tanked in my area and been struggling ever since.  At first I resisted going straight back into the field I left.  I wanted something different at first, but as time dragged on I just wanted something.

To my horror I discovered that I am nearly unemployable.  Let me explain what I mean by that.  I don't have a 4 year college degree, way back when I left college a few course hours shy of an associate's to take a promotion at the restaurant I worked at.  At the time I told myself I would complete my degree or pursue one in business when things settled down (I was going for education at the time).  Fast forward 10 years and I was working for a great restaurant chain in Louisiana and headed for a six figure income factoring in some lucrative bonuses.  Things were grand and I was making a lot of money for myself and my bosses.  then the aforementioned sucky economy.

We went untouched for a bit, but the decree of downsizing finally came from on high.  I could go into a long winded rant about politics and other nastier things, but my busy location with it's lucrative bonuses ended up in the hands of my boss and I ended up in the unemployment line.

So back to the unemployable part.  Apparently I am "over-qualified", at least that's what I keep getting told (so many times that I lost count).  What I think they means is that my prospective employers are not comfortable paying me anywhere near the salary I have become accustomed to when they can have a fresh-out-of college graduate who will fall on their knees and worship them for a quarter of my old salary, nor are they willing to bring me in so far below my "worth" only to have me abandon them when something better comes along.  That's not saying I wouldn't be content to work my way up in a new company, just the thought process of the folks I have been interviewed by as I understand it.  As the gap between my last "real" job and the present grows, the interview calls become less and less frequent leaving me, an old fogey (at 33), out in the cold.

I have always toyed with working for myself.  I have already proven that I can manage a successful business.   I have made (and saved) a lot of money over the year for my employers, unfortunately I don't have the wealth or investors to drop one in my hands.  I've toyed with a few things, a bit of writing here, some savvy ebay selling there, and I have thus far managed to keep my head mostly above water.

Now I turn to blogging as an outlet and possible source of income.  I have learned a lot about the growing work at home job industry over the past two years, and I think that I may have a bit of information and anecdotes that others may want to have access to.  I have also been slowly working on turning a hobby into a business which I will go into later.

Work at home jobs are different than "traditional" jobs in that they are are often pretty much willing to take anyone with very few questions asked, and those questions are usually along the lines of "do you have a phone and a computer that runs windows?".  They tend to be a revolving door as old people leave and new people are hired so fast that there is a lot of opportunity to secure a position for the folks who are persistent.

Unfortunately for folks just looking into the possibilities of working from home there are around a dozen scams for every legit work-at-home employer, and the scams seem to be waaaaay better at advertising and search engine optimization.  In the coming days I will be posting some tips, leads, and reviews on legitimate work at home jobs and opportunities to hopefully save a few folks some of the headaches I have had to deal with and time I have spent weeding through the bad guys.