If bills continue to chew through your budget after you cut back on household expenses, it may be time to think about a second job.

Moonlighting can be a good way to tuck a little extra money in your pocket, and it doesn’t have to be just a mindless slog through spreadsheets and bent paper clips.

You can use a second job to acquire new skills and sharpen your resume. Expanding your key competencies is a smart move in a downbeat job market because even major companies are cutting back, including Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Dell (DELL), and Microsoft (MSFT).

Moonlighting is more than just lining up a second job and working longer hours. If you’re not careful, you may find yourself in trouble at your primary job and facing additional stress at home.

Think about what the extra hours will mean to your home life and discuss it with your spouse or partner before taking a second job. Here are 10 things you need to know about moonlighting:


1. Inform your current employer
Always be upfront with your current employer. Tell your supervisor and personnel office that you’re planning to take a second job -- and put it in writing. What you do on your own time is your business, so this shouldn’t be a problem. Make it clear that your decision to take a second job isn’t a criticism of your current company or your pay, and stress that you simply need extra money for tuition, braces for your kids, an addition to the house, or whatever.

2. Never work for a competitor
Your employer trusts you with details of the operation, even if you don’t participate in the weekly skull session with the pooh-bahs in the corner office. Assure your employer that your second job won’t compromise your performance at your day job and you’ll keep all company secrets. Use your smarts to tackle other tasks and consider a second job in an unrelated field to put your current employer at ease.

3. Keep the jobs separate
You must scrupulously keep your primary job separate from your second job. Never handle moonlighting tasks at your day job, not even seemingly little things such as taking a phone call or sending an email. You primary employer deserves your full attention during the day. If nothing else, remember that your employer may monitor your email at work, and you don’t want to be seen to be disloyal. So, always perform the second job away from the office and on your own time.

4. Manage your time
Clearly, you’ve got to give yourself time to get from your first job to your second. But more than that, you’ve got to have a backup plan if your primary job suddenly requires extra hours. Be sure to discuss this possibility with your second employer. Rule of thumb: Never jeopardize your primary job for a part-time job -- unless you aspire to reduced pay, no benefits, and, if it's a second- or third-shift job, hours of mind-numbing daytime TV.