What You May Need For Your Work At Home Office

The most important piece of equipment for your office is your computer of course. But what you may not know is that most all companies may want you to have at least 512MB of ram and an XP operating system. Some companies may allow you to have a Vista operating system but if you don't at least have Windows XP, you may have a harder time getting a job. So when applying for jobs, you may want to look if a company has specified what computer requirements that they may want you to have for the job. You may not want to lie about your computer system because some companies might have go through an online check which will tell them about your computer.
When it comes to computer software, companies may ask that you have Microsoft Office (some may accept Open Office) installed on your computer. If you need Microsoft Office you may want to see if you can get the student's version which may help you save money. Other software that they may ask you to have is some sort of virus protection, ad-ware blocker, and spy ware protection.
A printer is another must have for your home office. Most of the time when you are accepted for a position the company may ask for you to mail in certain documents and may ask you to fax the documents in. This does not necessarily mean that you will need a fax machine because you may live close to a place or someone that can do this for you. Sometimes companies may also give you some training materials or a manual which a printer can come in handy for this.
If you are applying for customer service jobs you may need to have a headset that connects into your computer, some companies may require a certain type and others may not specify on what type you need. Or you may need to buy a headset that will plug into your phone. It really depends on the computer because either the calls will come through your computer or the calls will come through your phone. If you have the calls come through your phone, companies usually require that you have a land-line phone with no other options on it such as calling waiting, calling forwarding etc.
In the event that you are applying for transcription jobs you may need to have a foot pedal and headphones. I am not sure if any other equipment is needed but from what I read, this seems to be the only two things mentioned.
When it comes to your internet connection, most companies require that you have high speed internet such as DSL or cable. Many will not accept dial up or even satellite internet. This is something you may also want to look for applying, many jobs will state what you state this under their requirements.
If you need to purchase things for your home office, be sure to save your receipts! You may be able to claim these purchases on your taxes at the end of year. For more information on this, I highly recommend reading the IRS website.
I realize that there may be jobs out there that don't require any of the things that I have listed but it may be in your best interest to read the job requirements or to directly ask any employer so that you will be prepared!