Most of the economies in the world are now in recession mode, and there is no exit anywhere near in sight. Economists tell us that as the effects of the recession become more apparent, more and more companies will find themselves forced to cut down on their headcounts. Many of those who get axed may find it hard to find other jobs in a short time, as the effects of an economic recession tend to be felt across all industries.

It is even harder to foretell who will fall and who will be left standing. One day the axe is swinging in the financial sector, and the next day it is falling in the automobiles sector…

no one really knows where it could fall next. Classic advice, when faced with this kind of gloomy uncertainty, is to hope for the best and prepare for worst. In line with preparing for the worst, many people are increasingly looking at possible alternatives to their regular jobs, that is, alternative places where they can take cover should the axe fall on them. 

One of the options that many people are eagerly looking at is the possibility of working at home. While there is a lot of hype about the possibilities of making millions working at home, in reality, there are relatively few legitimate work at home jobs. Most of the legitimate work at home jobs are on the Internet, but they tend to be buried deep in the web and overshadowed by the many ‘online work’ scams. Most of the legitimate work at home jobs fall into two main categories. 

The first category, which is the biggest category of legitimate work at home jobs, involves being a sort of online personal assistant, also called a virtual assistant, of one type or another. The typical skill required for this is good communication (writing and listening,) as most of these jobs involve either transcription or writing of one sort or another. The typical places to find legitimate work at home jobs are ‘service-market’ websites like Elance and Odesk. A major drawback you will have to contend with is that you will be competing in the global labor market and some of your competitors might be willing to work for much less than you can even begin to imagine. 

The second category of legitimate work at home jobs involve starting some sort of online business. In this regard you might, for example, start a website and promote a few affiliate programs on it, in order to make money. Or, if you have a specialized skill, you can also start a service-offering business, like a consultancy. In this category of legitimate work at home jobs, the competition is again the only major drawback you might have content with. As it were, chances are that there are millions of websites selling the same products or offering the same services as yours, and you will have to work really hard to move your website ahead of the pack. But with some luck, starting an online business is one of the best ways you can earn real cash from home, even during a recession. And, with even more luck, your online ventures might just succeed beyond your wildest dreams and earn you a place among the so called ‘Silicon Valley millionaires,’ if you have a great business idea that really takes hold and you are able to grow it properly. In this way, a recession would have been a blessing in disguise for you, at least for making you think about working online from home.
    
If you are interested in educating yourself about the Internet Marketing skills needed to run an online business, visit my blog at http://www.imarketings.net/internetmarketing  to learn more.

There are two types of people who havetrouble keeping their work life and home life separate: those who are labeledas "workaholics" and those who have so much work that they just can’t get itall done during the day; this last group of people don’t necessarily want totake their work home with them, but they have to. For these people, betterplanning, organization, and time management may help them eliminate thisproblem.

Unfortunately, not keeping your work lifeand home life separate can have some very real mental and physicalconsequences, especially since it likely means that you are overworkingyourself; therefore, it is important to learn how to manage your time andorganize your projects, so that you can get more done during the eight hoursthat you are at work, thus leaving less that you have to bring home.

There are two things that you can do right now to help decrease the amount of work that you bring home each day. 

Have you ever had this experience playing a ball game? You feel like an idiot the first time you play the game. You keep dropping the ball or missing the pitch.

But then after several practices, you are more like the average Joe. You’re starting to catch a few more fly balls or popping a few balls out there yourself.

If you make up your mind to continue practicing and playing for several weeks, you’ll find yourself more skillful than an average player. It’s the practicing over and over that gives you the confidence to be a successful player.

The same principle applies to job hunting. The more interviews you attend, the more practice you get, and the better you will be at playing the game of job hunting.

So let’s say that you are just starting your job hunting. Just like an inexperienced ball player doesn’t play in the big leagues until he has had a lot of practice, you should not interview at the only job in which you are interested.

But what if there is only one position I’m interesed in?

Look around for other less interesting, but related jobs to the position you really desire. Apply for those jobs first. It is better for you to attend more interviews (as warm ups) before you come to the big game – the job you really want. Get the practice of interviewing for jobs that you aren’t really that interested in so that you can enhance your interviewing skills.

What if I apply for many jobs like you’ve suggested, but none of them invite me in for an interview?

This happens especially if you are applying for positions more challenging than your current one. Search for easier or more relevant ones to your existing job. It helps the potential employer see that you have related work experience and it will boost your hit rate. It doesn’t matter if you are interested in them or not. Your aim is to maximize your job interviewing opportunities, and therefore, the experience of live interviewing practice.

The live interviewing experience will challenge you and help you develop the necessary skills you need for answering interview questions more successfully. The live experience will develop your interviewing ability even more than other practice techniques, like rehearsing in front of a mirror or asking your friend to role play with you.

I am sure hiring managers don’t like my idea of using them as your practice coaches. But as a job seeker, you need to take advantage of every opportunity you can get to enhance your interviewing techniques. Why not take this advantage of this free source of real world practice? Keep your goal in mind, getting that perfect job. And remember, practice makes perfect!

By the way, if you haven’t done so, grab my booklet “Surefire Tactics in Cover Letters, Resumes, and Job Interviews” here: http://www.itotalsearch.com/surefiretacticspage.html
From the Desk of
Damen Choy
http://www.itotalsearch.com