Familiar Brands with Work from Home Jobs

New work from home jobs seem to pop up every day as more and more big-name companies embrace the work-from-home job option. While some corporations, like Xerox, have had work from home programs for a decade or more, others are slowly warming up to the idea of setting their workers free from their cubicles and allowing them to work from a home office.

While there’s a lot of startups and other forward-thinking companies that have built a distributed workforce into their company’s DNA, most people don’t know these companies. And while they do offer legitimate jobs, job seekers tend to overlook companies they aren’t familiar with — especially when it comes to work from home jobs.

That’s why it’s great to see familiar businesses and brands offering work from home jobs — it lends credibility to the entire remote job market and sets the tone for other companies to adopt a remote workforce — win, win.

1. Apple

You’ve probably owned an iPad, iPod, iPhone or Mac at some point in your life. If not, you’ve probably at least heard of them 🙂 The large technology giant regularly hires customer service reps and chat agents to work from home as part of their Apple At Home Advisor Program.

This is part tech support, part customer service helping Apple Product owners with whatever questions they may have. But don’t worry, you don’t need to be technologically savvy to be considered for the role.  You will however need to have a flexible schedule since Apple offers 24/7/365 customer support.

The position pays well (as much as $16.00/hour), comes with benefits, and even product discounts. For some of the positions, Apple will even send you a Mac to use, but only for work purposes.

2. Disney

The most magical place on earth can be your home office, if you become a remote Guest Service Representative for Disney. While they’re not always hiring, they do occasionally offer work from home customer service positions for their online shop, The Disney Store.

Your primary responsibility? Ensure all guests have “The Best Online Retail Experience in the World” This mostly includes answering inbound calls. You may also need to follow-up with customers by placing outbound calls, too.

Usually there are full time and part time positions available. However, you must have a pretty flexible schedule with the availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays.

If Disney isn’t currently hiring home-based Guest Service Representatives but you still have your mouse-shaped heart set on making Disney part of your work, consider becoming an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. Check out my Work from Home Travel Jobs post for a list of travel agencies that hire people just to plan magical Disney vacations and getaways.

3. American Express

Known for their credit cards and amazing travel awards, American Express frequently hires Customer Care Reps and Travel Counselors to work from home. Both positions are usually full time and require pretty flexible scheduling — the Customer Care Department operates 24/7.

But the pay is pretty good at around $16.00/hour and you also get all the employee benefits of working for American Express. There’s also the opportunity for advancement as well as scheduled raises.

The Travel Counselor position is a bit more selective. You must have previous travel industry experience to apply. American Express helps you get your home office setup and will even pay for your monthly internet as part of their home based servicing.

4. Amazon

The world’s largest online retailer usually has positions available in their Virtual Contact Center (VCC) during the busy holiday season. However, their seasonal position can lead to permanent work:

Seasonal employees may remain with Amazon in a temporary capacity for up to six months, depending on business need. There may be opportunities for regular long term employment.

Full time and part time opportunities are available in the following states:

• Arizona
• Kentucky
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Minnesota
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kansas
• North Carolina
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

You must go through 3-4 weeks of paid training. Pay rate starts at $10.00/hour but there are opportunities for bonuses. If you’re interested in this position, start looking for ads starting in September. Amazon lists openings both on their website and on Craigslist.

You can also set a custom job alert and be notified the next time Amazon is accepting applications for their VCC.

5. Home Shopping Network

You probably know the Home Shopping Network (HSN) as the cable TV channel that lets you buy all sorts of things just by calling a 1-800 number. It also happens to be a great place to find work at home customer service and sales jobs, if you live in Florida, Tennessee, or Ohio.

HSN runs sales 24/7, so they have a need for phone reps around the clock, too. If you live in one of the states they hire in and need a late night or overnight work from home job, HSN may be a good fit for you.

Sales Rep and Customer Service are the two positions they frequently have openings for. Both require you to field inbound calls from customers  while maintaining a quiet and distraction-free home office.

6. Hilton

Hilton is a popular global chain of hotels. They shifted the majority of their reservations department to a virtual call center environment. This means there are often available positions (in most states) to take hotel reservations from home.

As a Reservations Sales Specialist, you will help customers book custom hotel reservations. This includes offering products and services that are specifically targeted at each guest based on their travel needs.

The pay rate starts a little low, usually $9.00 to $10.00/hour to start. However, there are incentives and other bonus opportunities that can bring your hourly wage up to $12 or more.

7. Groupon

Your favorite daily deals site hires seasonal customer service representatives to work from home during the busy holiday months.

Groupon only hires home-based agents in select cities and states:

• Milwaukee, WI
• Augusta, GA
• Austin, TX
• Provo, UT
• Cincinnati, OH
• Kansas City, MO

During the season, you can expect full time work and earn $11.00/hour. As a seasonal position, however, you won’t receive any benefits. Although the job is currently expired, you can read all about it on Groupon’s hiring page.

If you live in one of the cities they hire in, it’s a great opportunity to make some extra holiday cash. When you’re hired, you set your part time or full time schedule and get to keep it all season long — pretty nice, huh? The start date is usually mid-November, but expect to see ads as soon as September.

8. Hulu

Do you live within 75 miles of Santa Monica, California? Then you may be able to work from home for popular online video streaming service, Hulu.

This is a full-time position as a Virtual Customer Care Representative. Although it is work from home, you will need to come into the office from time to time for meetings.

As a Virtual Customer Care Rep, you’ll help Hulu customers via phone, chat and email resolve their account questions. This is another position that requires a pretty flexible schedule since Hulu operates 365 days a year with customer support available 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. PST.

9. U-Haul

U-Haul is the place to go when you want to take the do-it-yourself approach to moving. But they also have storage units for rent on a monthly basis, too.

To help customers with their moving and storage needs, U-Haul often hires part-time work from home agents. This includes Roadside Assistance, Center Sales, E-Customer Service, and E-Storage Sales.

If you have a full time job and are looking for a work from home moonlighter position, U-Haul is a great place to find one! In fact, U-Haul provides flexible schedules specifically for work from home agents working multiple jobs. The pay rate can start as low as $9.00/hour but there are usually bonus opportunities that can help increase your hourly rate.

Familiar Work from Home Jobs

These are just some of the companies that you’ve probably heard of before who also happen to advertise work from home jobs. Be sure to bookmark this page and keep checking back — as more big-name companies add work from home jobs to their lineup, I’ll be sure to add them to this list.

Don’t forget to like Work from Home Happiness on Facebook for daily job leads and plenty of practical advice to help you find (and land) a remote job!