__3. INDICATE WHAT POSITION YOU'RE APPLYING FOR. Be specific; company may be hiring for more than one job.

__4. PROVIDE A BRIEF SUMMARY OF YOUR RELEVANT SKILLS. Keep it short and to point.

__5. CHECK YOUR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR. It takes just a few minutes. If you are not confident about doing this yourself, ask a friend or family member to check it over for you.

__6. BE COURTEOUS! Don't make demands. Remember that *only* thing hiring manager sees is your email - he or she can't see your facial expressions or body language, so take extra care in words you select and how you put them together.

__7. FORMAT YOUR EMAIL TO 60 CHARACTERS PER LINE. Many email programs automatically 'word-wrap' somewhere between 60 and 70 characters. Add a hard return when you reach 60 characters on a line; this will ensure company gets a nicely formatted application, just like you intended.

__8. TELL THEM HOW TO CONTACT YOU. As bare minimum, leave your phone number and email address.

__9. AND FOR GOODNESS SAKES, TELL THEM YOUR *NAME*. This is so obvious it's painful, yet I've seen dozens of applications there are not signed. End your letter with 'Sincerely', 'Regards' or 'Yours Truly', and then sign your name.

Competition for home based jobs is fierce, and companies can afford to be choosy. Don't give them a reason to pass you by! Professionalism still counts - even on web.

__Are Claims and Testimonials Verifiable?

Is contact information provided so that you can verify a testimonial? Can you find people who actually make what opportunity claims you can make?

Don't take income claims too seriously. Everyone's different, and although one person may think it's a perfect opportunity, it might not be for YOU. A blanket statement of 'You can make up to $5000 a month or more' can be safely ignored. A statement of AVERAGE earnings is more useful.

Exercise caution if an opportunity 'guarantees' that you can make money. How could they possibly know? It is completely beyond their control; it's your efforts, your skills, and your motivation that determine whether or not you'll make money.

__How's Service?

One thing I like to do is ask a bunch of questions by email or phone (they DO have contact information posted, right?). If they answer me quickly, courteously, and in detail, that's another point for them. Emails that are ignored or phone calls not returned are a bad sign; if they treat YOU that way, how do they treat rest of their customers? Why are they hiding?

But keep in mind that just because they may answer your emails or phone calls, that does NOT necessarily mean that they're 'legit'.

__Does Opportunity Fit YOUR Interests?

There's no point in doing something you hate (heck, some of us left JOBS that we hated - we don't need to start a business that we also hate!). For example, if you would rather dig out a tooth with a butter knife than sell face- to-face, then don't join a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) opportunity. If you love talking to people, look into something like party planning, children's book sales, etc. If you're quiet, shy type, look for opportunities that will allow you to work nose-to-nose with your computer most of time. You get idea.

Sure, it's time-consuming to do all this investigative work. But it's a necessity: prudence and planning now may pay off by saving you money and frustration later.

There's simply no such thing as a simple 'business in a box'. However, there are many legitimate opportunities, both from other companies and those of your own dreams. Happy huntin