Part time mobile tech support professional

Hi job hunters! I run a computer support business, which you can find at cameron jones it dot com. That should give you a little bit of an idea of what sort of business it is (and yes, I know the website is VERY basic and kind of pathetic, that's part of the charm I'm not a web developer). I am looking for an assistant, hopefully who can help me for 2-3 days per week once I'm confident in your skills. So it's a part time job right now, but I hope and PLAN to grow those hours once I find someone who does a great job.

The requirements for a person applying to this position:

- you must have your own car.

- you must have REAL experience in helping users with computer problems.

- you must be able to communicate well, so that they understand what you are doing and why. That means more than just nerds can understand what you're telling them, because none of my clients are nerds.

- you must be punctual, dress (casual-) professionally, speak clearly, be friendly.

- you must treat the user as if he/she is your mother or father in law - IE, you NEVER make them feel stupid, NEVER make them feel like you are rushing through something, NEVER use sarcasm when explaining something.

The technical part of the work is not generally difficult for someone who is computer savvy. My clients have malware infections, need help organizing pictures, want to set up wireless networks, and have old, slow computers that they want to speed up. I know there are dozens of people reading this who are thinking, "I can do all that stuff, that's easy!" but in fact, doing this work is incredibly difficult if you do it right, because most geeks do not know how to communicate with normal people in a way that they understand. If you find yourself not understanding how what I'm talking about can be difficult, that's already going to be a challenge for you. Understanding why these issues are hard for "normal" people is a big part of knowing how to help them figure it all out! The other challenge is knowing it ALL - not just how to set up a new iPhone and printer, but fix wireless problems, work on PC and Mac, iPhone and Android, smart TVs and much more. At first, my plan is to train you very specifically on how to set up a new computer properly, because I do a LOT of that, and taking some of that off my hands will be the focus

I expect that the work could at first just be one or two days per week, but generally a pretty full day on those days. I will pay you hourly, and you will be a contractor - that is, you will get only a paycheck from me, no benefits. The starting pay will be $30 per hour while you train, and will increase once I find someone who I can trust to do the work well, to be reliable, etc. I will also utilize performance reviews done by my clients to judge how well you do, and may award bonuses based on positive reviews and referrals.

Please really think about yourself and ask yourself if you are really cut out for this job. Ask yourself not only if you can fix just about any computer problem you come across, but if you can communicate what you are doing to a normal person, to a little old lady, and have them smiling when they are paying for the work you did for them. When you reply, please make "I read the whole post" as your subject, so I know that you read this entire message. Messages that do not include that in the subject line will be erased without reading. Include your resume with specific information about this kind of work, but FAR more important to me will be that you write me a few sentences about yourself, your background, etc. I want to know about your actual experience helping normal users with technical issues, how long you did it, for whom, and what types of help you provided. Emails that only include a resume are similarly deleted without reading. Congratulations, if you made it this far, you have already beat about 90% of people who will send me an email.

As part of the interview process (after the initial interview stage) I will have you to "ride along" with me for a day or two of work, during which time I may ask you to do some of the work so I can watch you, and watch you interact with clients. This time allows you to see how I operate and interact, and for me to see your interpersonal skills and of course, computer knowledge. There is no set of questions that will show me if you're up for this job, it just takes time and practice.

Finally, it's very helpful if you are located near where most of my clients are - I have run this business from Arlington since 2003, so most of my clients are in and around Arlington. Very few more than a 10 minute drive from Arlington, and if you live more than that far away, this might not be the best fit for you either.

Your ability to be organized, to write clearly, keep an accurate calendar and to incorporate my suggestions and criticisms is hugely important. I don't expect anyone to be an expert at everything I do right off the bat, but improving quickly is crucial.