Are you a stay at home mom or dad who would like to work from home? Maybe you have a job outside the home, but you're tired of juggling your job and your kids, especially when your child is sick and needs you.

You'd like to work from home, but it seems as though there are no legitimate jobs out there. You don't really want to start a home-based business from scratch, but would love to work from home.

Well let me tell you a little secret, knowledge is power. And there are 15 strategies you must apply if you want to be successful in landing a work at home job or contract?

These 15 strategies will definitely help you beat out your competition.

Let me share with you 6 of the 15 strategies I've used and continue to use to increase my chances of obtaining home-based jobs and contracts over and over again.

o 1. You Must Acquire A Specialized Skill

The secret to landing a home-based job or independent contract and keeping it forever is to acquire a specialized skill, or start a career in a field that is completely recession proof and in high demand but has a low supply of skilled workers.

For instance, people will always get sick. So therefore doctors will always need Medical transcriptionists. Another example; companies will always have quarterly meetings and will always need general transcriptionists to transcribe reports, minutes, etc.

If you lose your home-based job today, you can apply for another one tomorrow and land another job within a week or two. How am I so sure about this? Well I've done it over and over again as a general transcriptionist, and Cyber Agent (Call Center Customer Service Rep) for the past five and a half years. The jobs and independent contracts in these fields are in abundance.

As an example, let's look at Medical Transcriptionist. Just go to your search engine and type in the keywords, "Medical Transcription Companies." You will see hundreds of medical transcription companies listed. Just visit a few of the web sites and check to see if there's an "employment," "Career," "Join us,"

"Contact," etc., tab on the web site. I'm sure you'll find several job openings.

o 2. Don't work at home for the wrong reasons.

Too many people want to work at home for the wrong reasons. Never tell an employer that you want to work at home because you need to spend more time with your children. That will certainly seem selfish to an employer, and you would never get hired. Most employers don't care whether you want to stay at home with your children or not. Wanting to work from home to spend more time with your children is not really a wrong reason, but in an employer's mind it is.

Why not look at it this way; working from home would enable you to be more productive in the sense that you would not miss work when your children are sick.

Also if some other family issues arise you can take care of it without calling in sick. Wouldn't this be more beneficial to the employer instead of saying you want to work at home to spend more time with the kids?

o 3. Be Professional At All Times

When applying for a home-based job, never respond to an ad via email stating,

"I'm interested in the work-at-home (data entry) position." This is quite

unprofessional. Once you find a home-based job vacancy, apply by sending your cover letter and resume, or fill out an online application.

If the employer didn't ask for a cover letter in the job vacancy ad, please send one  anyway. Never send a resume without a cover letter. It will get thrown in the trash. Please customize each cover letter with information tailored to that specific  job advertisement.

o 4. Never Send Your Resume As An Attachment Unless The ad States That You Can Do So

The hiring manager might never open the attachment. Also, never copy and paste your resume into the body of your email and send it to an employer. It will change format by the time it reaches to the employer, and will look like a jumbled mess.

You must create an ASCII/Plain Text resume and cover letter.

 For more information on how to do this please visit the following web sites,

http://resume.monster.com/dosanddonts/email/Index.asp or

http://www.eresumeiq.com/ABC.html.

o 5. Follow Instructions

When responding to a job vacancy announcement please make sure you follow the ad instructions. If the ad asks for specific information please do exactly as it says. For instance, if the ad says, please describe home office equipment, make sure you mention in your cover letter exactly what equipment you have in your home office.

I was once commended by an employer for being the only job applicant, out of hundreds to actually follow the specific instructions in the job ad. I was hired for this home-based job mainly because I followed instructions, not because I was more qualified than all the other applicants.

o 6. Reduce Your Job Search Time

Finding a job using the Internet can be a frustrating, time-consuming endeavor  because there are literally 1000's of job boards and work at home resources. And  don't forget the Job newsgroups and the regional newspapers.

To be current on this information is essential. Let YourJobSearcher do the work

for you. This software is not only for 9-5 job searches. You can use it to find

telecommuting jobs also. All you have to do is download and install your Job

Search Program, enter your job description (home-based job title you desire),

click and begin the search. It's that easy.

Vernette Carbon is the owner-publisher of AmazingWorkatHomeSecrets.com, and a work at home mom with two children. Discover how you can work at home for Fortune- 500 companies like Office Depot, Sears, etc. To obtain a free report sent to your email immediately visit: http://www.AmazingWorkathomeSecrets.com/intro_new.html or send a blank email to mailto:carbonv@getresponse.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vernette_Carbon

Work From Home Internet Business Opportunities-Advantage And Disadvantages

People often ask me how I make money online working from home. When I tell them, the response is usually, COOL I WISH I WERE DOING THAT! But there are some minor disadvantages of having a work from home internet job.

My number 1 disadvantage of working from home on the internet is interruptions by family members while I'm trying to do something productive. Sure there are always interruptions at the office but my work from home internet business resides in my kitchen. There are ways to get around this if you have a spare room that you can use to set up shop in. I do not unfortunately.

Number 2 is just plain laziness and procrastination. As my own boss it's easy to put off work from home business in exchange for a nice quiet day in front of the TV watching the discovery channel. It's rally hard to get motivated sometimes. Especially when everyone has left the house and you are all alone.

Number 3 is finding a good balance between family time work from home business time and my full time job. Yes I still have a full time job. One of the reasons I started a work from home business is so I would have more leisure time with friends and family. But until I am making enough to quit my full time job, it does not look like that will happen.

Number 4 is security and not knowing how much money your work from home business is going to make from month to month. Also waiting for checks to show up in the mail that are a few days behind when you need to pay a bill or the mortgage can be an inconvenience. When you are working for someone else for a set amount of hours and a set hourly rate you know exactly what your income will be.

As for the advantages, well I think the advantages far out weigh the disadvantages.

My number 1 work from home advantage is the ability to work whenever I want anywhere I want. With a lap top computer I can pretty much do business anywhere

In the world. No matter were I am, on vacation or on a business trip or whatever. The internet and today's technology makes a work from home internet business my business of choice.

My number 2 work from home advantage is not having to commute to work every morning. We have all hard the phrases rat race, no commute required and work from home in your pajamas. I have actually worked in my pajamas on the internet with a hot cup of coffee. Knowing that you do not have to get up at 6:00 am to go to work in the morning is a beautiful feeling.

My number 3 work from home advantage is not having a boss to tell me what to do all the time. The only boss I have is my consciousness that tells me to get up off the couch and go write an article on my computer or look for places to submit my web site URL to.

And finally my number 4 work from home internet business advantage is the income potential. Basically the income potential for a work from home internet business is endless. It all depends on how hard you want to work and how much time you want to devote to your work from home internet business. And with the amount of people joining the internet community every year, the future is bright.

Tom Worsley is a Work From Home internet business entreprenuer Independant representitive of the Strong Future International Affiliate Program and webmaster / owner of the Kawartha Publishing FREE content Article Directory

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Worsley

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Top 3 Basic Types of Work at Home Employment

In the past few years the interest in being able to work from home has increased dramatically. The reasons for this trend vary but it's obvious that having a work at home business has many advantages. Some people simply want to work at home to be closer to their families; others prefer the freedom they gain to become their own boss, etc. Whatever the reason, it looks as though work at home employment is becoming a fast growing market, especially in today's Internet age. If you are planning on working from the comfort of your home, you might be interested to know about the three basic types of home-based careers available right now. Having a basic knowledge about them will give you a better idea on what best suits your needs.

Work at Home Employment Type # 1: Telecommuting (also called Teleworking)

Telecommuting is not a complete work at home employment; you don't own your own business. Basically, as a telecommuter you work for someone else. However, the big difference from a traditional job is that you do the majority of your assigned work from your own home. Of course you get some great benefits with this type of work at home employment career: you usually have the advantage of company benefits, such as health insurance.

Work at Home Employment Type # 2: Freelancing/Consulting

If you want more independence, freelancing might be a good option for you. Freelancing can be considered as something between a work at home employment and a work at home business. You could almost regard it as telecommuting employment. And in a way it is. However, based on the independence you are generally afforded, it is much closer to having your own business. For instance, as a freelancer you have total control over the people you want to work with. Among the most common developed skills you should have if you're considering a work at home employment career as a freelancer are the ability to write, business advice, counseling, and others.

Work at Home Employment Type # 3: The Home-Based Business

A home-based business gives you full independence and control. There's nothing more rewarding than being your own boss. As a home-based business owner you are self-employed; you own the product, and the income is 100% yours. However, by starting a home-based business doesn't always mean that the product you sell is your own. It could be that you're selling a product with resell rights, selling products as an affiliate, and so on.

The above are the most common types of work at home employments. Although different, they all have something in common: you need to impose personality in order to have any success. If you want to work at home you have to make sure you're ready for that. If you think you have the right temperament and the discipline needed then you might be able to work from home. Explore each of the above-mentioned work at home employment types to find out more about which would be better for your personality.

Visit workathomesecrets.org to find out more about the truth behind work at home jobs [http://workathomesecrets.org/jobs] and other free work at home information [http://workathomesecrets.org/free]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tonino_X.