Everyone knows that we owe those who have served in our military a great debt but the unfortunate reality is that often enough our veterans come home to find that they don’t have the same employment opportunities that they need to support their family.
It’s a travesty to say the least, and while it will remain so until the problem is resolved entirely, there is one company that is doing their part to help.
Xerox.
Last year alone Xerox has employed over seventeen hundred veterans and they are a company that appreciates the leadership skills, confidence, and problem-solving experience that military service provides.
Today we will be taking a look at a very particular and unique position that they offer veterans: The Xerox Heroes at Home program.
Heroes at Home is what it sounds like: An opportunity for veterans to spend time with their families at home as they earn a livable wage.
Let’s take a closer look to determine if the Heroes At Home program is a good fit for you.
The Company
You are probably aware of Xerox, or at least aware of their products and services.
They make office equipment: scanners, printers, fax machines, etc.
Office equipment may not be the most exciting products in the world, but Xerox has clearly turned them into a sustainable business model.
Like any company, they have had their ups and downs but for the most part Xerox has enjoyed tremendous success since their earliest beginnings all the way back in 1906.
Of course, the office supply industry has grown considerably since then, and they have grown with it, consistently landing on the Fortune Five Hundred list each year.
In other words, this isn’t a startup company that you need to worry about going belly up in a couple of years.
Xerox is well established, and if you choose to pursue them for an opportunity at employment, you can more or less count on them being around for as long as you need them to be.
The Job
So what exactly will you be doing through the Heroes at Home project?
Actually, there are a couple of positions available and which one that you get hired for will depend mostly on your previous skills and experience.
A lot of the work that the Xerox needs done on the home front is customer service type stuff.
If you have any experience working at a call center you know what I am talking about.
You answer calls from customers, respond to their problems as you are able to, and redirect them as needed.
To perform this job successfully you need both patience, and the ability to retain a healthy and helpful understanding of Xerox’s products and services in order to be of the most possible help to the customers.
There are pros and cons to this sort of work, of course.
For one thing, the job is fairly repetitive: you do mostly the same thing all day every day.
There is nothing wrong with that of course but if you are looking for a little bit more variation in your work life it may not be the best position for you.
There is also the nature of the calls to consider.
People don’t usually call into a customer service line to explain in detail how happy they are with their experience.
If you decide to take advantage of this employment opportunity you can expect to hear from a lot of angry people, which will probably not sit well with you grunts.
The hope is that they are able to compartmentalize that frustration and understand that they are upset with the product and not you, but as we all know, people aren’t always the best at doing that.
You can expect to get yelled at regularly if you decide to go the customer service representative route. It’s an unfortunate truth of the job.
They also have data entry jobs available. If you are unfamiliar with data entry the name more or less explains what the job entails. Date entry requires that you take information from one document, such as a spreadsheet, email, or even a note, and compile it into another document.
To be successful at this job, you need to have focus, and a lengthy attention span.
There is a lot of reading involved, so you also need to be quick in that department.
Perhaps most important of all you need to be a quick typist. The objective is to enter as much data as possible throughout the course of your work day which means the faster you can type accurately, the better the fit you will be for the job.
If you do not have the patience to respond to the insults and grievances of frustrated customers with a smile, this may be the better job for you.
While it is still repetitive work you are mostly left alone to do it.
Compensation
Compensation varies from position to position, and will of course be impacted at least impart by your qualifications going into the job but that said you can expect to bring somewhere between $25-30,000 with either job.
Most work from home opportunities are classified as freelance work, meaning you are on your own as far as benefits are concerned.
One of the big benefits with these positions is that you get to enjoy Xerox’s insurance and retirement plans.
Conclusion
While data entry or customer service may not be your dream jobs the pros are still apparent.
Working from home gives you the opportunity to spend a lot more precious time with your family.
You are able to work at your own pace and in an environment that you are comfortable with—It’s hard to beat that!
It’s also worth noting that, as far as work from home jobs go, what Xerox is offering is very stable.
Guaranteed pay and benefits isn’t always something that you can count on as a freelancer, but you can through the Xerox Heroes at Home Program.
There is no question that you deserve a stable income and comfortable workspace, and if the jobs described above interest you, you know where to go for them.
Visit the official Xerox website to learn more on how you can become their next employee.