At any given time, there are hundreds of free work-at-home jobs posted online. In fact, to be a job, as in employment, it has to be free. Legitimate employers never charge to hire. Further these jobs are not hard to find if you know how and where to look for them. This is where many people get into trouble. They search for the wrong types of work such as typing and data entry in the wrong types of places. Home-based jobs are prevalent, but to avoid getting scammed, you need to take some time to learn about these jobs and how go get them.

1. Work-at-home jobs are like traditional jobs. Employers are looking for people with skills and experience to fill a specific job. As a result, you need to conduct a work-at-home job search like a regular job start by starting with the skills and experiences you have, and search for job types that need them.

2. Stay away from any “job” that says it’s typing, data entry, envelope stuffing, mailing, payment processing, rebate processing, repackaging agent, assembly work, and any job that asks you to use your personal bank account to help it do business. Most of these are scams, and others are deceptive work-at-home schemes. None of them are jobs. Occasionally you may find a typing or data entry project on a freelance job site, but its one-time project, not an on-going job.

3. Never pay money to get hired. While you can spend money on services that can help you get a job such as hiring someone to help with your resume or accessing a good telecommuting job database, you never want to pay money to get hired. Legitimate employers never charge to hire people.

4) Look for work where jobs are posted. Don’t use your search engine to find work-at-home jobs. Visit free job sites such as Careerbuilder.com. You do have to watch out for scams and business opportunities on the free job sites, but if you focus on your skills and follow the rules in the previous steps, you can weed out the non-jobs. There are also reputable work-at-home sites that frequently post screened work-at-home jobs.

5) To get hired, submit a professional resume that outlines all the skills and experience that make you a perfect fit for the job. Avoid giving a sob story about poor health or finances. Employers don’t care about that. They want someone who can do the job, so focus your efforts on showing what you have to offer an employer.

Today, the opportunities to get hired to work from home are endless and continue to grow. But if you are to get hired, you need to understand what work-at-home jobs are, why companies offer them, and how you can position yourself to get hired. By understanding the five telecommuting rules outlined here, you will find legitimate jobs faster and improve your chances of getting hired.

Check out WAHS resources for work-at-home jobs. Several include a list of over 400 companies that frequently hire home-based workers:

Jobs Online: How to Find and Get Hired to a Work-At-Home Job (book and ebook versions) (includes 400 companies)
Jobs Online Toolkit – Complete resource providing information, tips, video tutorials and includes over 400 companies that hire home-based workers.
Get A Work-At-Home Job: Email course through Work-At-Home Success University