Headsets, headsets and headsets

To all of us that have worked or are still working in the BPO industry, headsets are our best friend, constant close companion and everyday tool.

There are a lot of headsets available in the market today. From 3.5 jacks, USB's, to RJ 11 jacks. Choosing the best headset that fits your needs is very important.

Here are some of the brands available in the market today.

Plantronics

Jabra

VXI

STH

Logitech

A4 tech

 

Each of these brands have their own unique models and differentiators for the headsets. Knowing what you want and what you need is very important. Along with the budget that you're willing to spend.

The newest entry in the Philippine market is the STH brand. Distributed by Sagabay Technologies who is dedicated to providing quality, affordable and durable headsets for all types of call centers. Sagabay Technologies has a wide array of different models to choose from based on your needs and your budget.

Check out their most affordable noise cancelling headset the STH00235. The STH00235 is a 3.5 mm jack headset which is stylish, comfortable to wear, durable and most importantly affordable.

 

How to get your money when you get paid when you are working at home

So now, you've started working at home. Got a good paying client. Agreed to the working conditions and everything. Next question is how to  get paid?

There are a number of options you can use to get paid. Aside from the standard wire transfer between banks. Usually, employers who use work at home personnel don't do wire transfers.(based on my experience.) Here are the usual methods they like to use.

Paypal -https://www.paypal.com/ - unfortunately it's not that easy. You can receive and send money with paypal. But you can't withdraw the money to you bank account until you have verified your paypal account. To verify, you would need a credit card. Withdrawing money from your bank usually takes 2-4 business days.(not counting weekends and holidays. Based on my experience with BDO - transfer funds from paypal to my account wednesday night, the funds usually are deposited friday night (might be different with other banks.)

Note: make sure your account name in paypal and your bank is the same. If not, you get charged 250php for return fees and it takes about a month to turn around.

Moneybookers - http://www.moneybookers.com/app/ - moneybookers.com - works almost the same as Paypal. Not sure about withdrawal methods as i haven't used this. Most Filipinos who work at home use Paypal as to my knowledge.

Debit cards - if you dont have one - website partners will give you one for free(usually) like odesk, if you are members. There are maintenance fees a transaction fees. But good thing is you can use it like a credit card or atm.(as long as you have funds available.)

xoom money transfer -  https://www.xoom.com/sendmoneynow/home?receiveCountryCode=- bank transfer. direct to your bank of choice. usually takes just a couple of hours at most. Unless you run into their  security checks which turns out into a couple of days. Also, they made some changes with their policies.  check out their website for updates.

Did i miss anything else???

How to start working at home....

Part 1
How do you get started working at home? What do you need? How do you get paid?

These are the questions I usually get when friends find out that I work at home. I've worked at home since 2009.

 

Working at home isn't for everyone.

Technical things that you need to work at home.
Decent computer. - what I mean by decent computer is that the PC you use should at least by 2-3 yrs old. Ram should be around 1gig at least. Processor?? None of those Intel Atom stuff. At least a dual core processor.
Headset - should be comfortable. You can try STH series.  Very cost affordable and durable headsets. (since you will most likely be wearing it for a couple of hours.)
Internet connection. - at the very least 512mbps. Preferably, 1 gig.
Back up isp -even if its one of those usb types - at least you can check your emails.
Work area. - you will need at least an area you can work at everyday with minimal interruptions. And as quiet as possible. (No dogs barking, No cocks crowing. No children shouting in the background.)

Skills that you would need to work at home.
Computer skills - familiarity using Microsoft Excel, Word, Powerpoint. Various web-based programs, like skype, ym and crm's.
Phone skills - most work at home jobs are call center based.(outbound/inbound calls)
Patience
Active Listening

Hope this helps those who are thinking about it.

Watch out for part 2.