Each week I find hundreds of work-at-home job announcements from companies looking for qualified employees to hire. Despite the abundance of work-at-home jobs, millions of people who want a work-at-home job continue to fall victim to scams and deceptive schemes. If you have been struggling to work at home, here are the three steps you must follow to be successful.

Step One: What can you do?

You wouldn’t use a search engine and sign up for the first thing that sounded good in a traditional job search; yet, so many people take this approach to finding a work-at-home job. One of the most important ideas you need to understand is that work-at-home job searches are just like traditional job searches. Employers are looking for people with specific skills and experience to fill specific jobs. You won’t simply sign up for a work-at-home job. Instead you’ll need a professional resume or application that sets you apart from the competition. All this starts by listing your skills and experiences. Don’t limit this list just to job skills. Also include volunteer experience, hobbies, and interests. Note the duties and activities your “jobs” involved and the things you’ve learned from your experiences.

Step Two: Look for jobs

Most people get in trouble in their work-at-home job search because they look for the wrong jobs in the wrong places. In Step One you learned that work-at-home jobs are no different from traditional jobs and as a result you’ve made a list of all your experiences. In Step Two you need to begin to search where employers post jobs. You can find work-at-home job announcements on job sites such as Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com by using “telecommute” as your keyword. You still need to watch out for deceptive job ads on general job search sites. The best way to avoid them is to remember two rules: 1) never pay money to get hired and 2) never give or use your personal bank to help a company do business.

If you’re serious about finding a work-at-home job, consider using a work-at-home job database. These services are not free (you’re not paying to get hired, you’re paying for the service of having someone else screen work-at-home jobs and allowing you to access their database), but they make finding jobs fast and easy.

Step Three: Apply, Apply, Apply

A successful job search requires creating a stellar resume or application. Remember, you’re competing against hundreds, maybe even thousands of other applicants. You’re resume or application needs to set you apart from all of them. You do that by tailoring your resume to the specific skills and experiences the employer is looking for. If the ad is for a transcriptionist to help a public speaker, share how fast you type, whether or not you have transcribed for other speakers or in the topic area the speaker specializes in. Indicate specific equipment or software you have experience with. Fit the resume to the job and you’ll be showing the employer you’re the exact person he’s looking for.

Also, do as the application says, no more, no less. A common complaint with employers is that the applicants don’t follow the directions. Don’t try to be cute or creative. Use strong, active verbs to outline your skills instead of crazy font or gimmicks.

Finally be ready to apply to many jobs over time. Work-at-home employers are notorious for not getting back to applicants about their submissions, so you need to keep applying, following-up, finding more jobs and applying some more. Successful home-based employees find their jobs by never giving up the search.

With hundreds of employers looking for qualified home-based workers, the would-be telecommuter has many opportunities to find a job. However, like traditional jobs, work-at-home jobs are earned by showcasing skills and experiences.