Long-Term Employment Secret

Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most notable architects in the last century, once stated "Business is like riding a bicycle. Either you keep moving or you fall down." The same can be said about jobs. If you are stationary - not progressing - you are actually slipping backward as the world passes by you in our fast-paced society.

The secret to maintaining employment even in a tough job market is to be proactive. Too often we cruise on autopilot and accept what a company or job hands us. We are not noticing what's going on around us in our company, industry, or the economy in general - let alone the corner office. How is my performance compared to co-workers? Am I looked upon as a go to person - someone who gets things done? Do I anticipate the needs of customers before they have to ask? Do I seek out new assignments before my manager has to delegate them?

In the macro sense, we have to study industry trends. Are our products/services still going to be viable in 5 years? If you are in an industry or particular position in your company that is losing its relevancy, start now to make a change to a new department, a new company, or even change careers. You've got to always consider how stable will my job be in an economic slump? Don't do anything rash - use you current job to fund your effort to find a new long-term endeavor. But make sure you are still giving your current employer 100 percent of your time and effort. Don't give your boss a reason to hand you walking papers.

It's too easy to accept the status quo until it's too late. Someone makes the decision for you - and that is usually unemployment. Make a change on your terms and timeframe. Start actively networking to see what other career choices exist. What do friends and colleagues say about their jobs and companies? What research are you doing about your company or a prospective employer? There is a great deal of public information available especially on publicly traded companies - both long and short term business risks. Information is power - power you need to ensure job stability.

What other skills do you possess? What would additional schooling do for your career - either an advance degree or additional course work? We must continually be educated on new and changing job requirements or we are slipping behind. Act now if you see red flags in your company or industry. Take the bull by the horns and direct your own career and life!

Richard S. Pearson is the Author of 5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track available on Amazon. He has held vice-president positions with four multibillion dollar travel industry companies and three Internet early stage companies. He has a BA degree from Regis University in Organizational Development. His experience has given him a unique perspective on how to navigate the organizational structures of both large and small companies. He has hired and trained hundreds of employees from frontline salespeople to vice presidents, and coached many through their careers. He is currently working on facilitating the large increase of travel between the US and China, which is taking place.http://www.5necessaryskills.com

How Do I Land a New Job in 2011?

As we inch back to full economic recovery in 2011, companies will begin adding new employees. But it will take time for business owners to regain confidence that the country is really in a sustained growth mode. There are still five unemployed workers vying for each job opening – but that is an improvement from the 6.3 per open job a short time ago.

First, let’s deal with the magnitude of the bad news: If you are currently part of the 15 million unemployed, the 9 million forced to work part-time because of no full-time work, or the 2.5 million discouraged workers who have (at least temporarily) given up looking, there is no absolute, guaranteed method to get you back into the mainstream workforce. Add to this the fact that a 2010 survey found that one-half of US workers believe they are in stagnant jobs and the 3 million new workforce entrants – graduating from high school and colleges annually – and you are going to find fierce competition in the jobs marketplace, as people jockey for newly created positions.

Now for some good news: We are seeing signs of jobs creation – perhaps some of the residual growth promised by the stimulus plan – but most likely because the tax cut issue was settled and business owners can better forecast their company and personal liabilities (for the next couple of years). Small businesses have been the jobs growth engine of our economy for the past two decades – creating about three-quarters of all new jobs – and this will get them back in the expansion mode.

In any crowded marketplace, you must differentiate your product from the masses to get noticed and make your sale. There are some proven steps to take to set yourself apart from others in your field and get you in front of hiring managers.

The first thing needed to fast track your job search is to re-tool your resume. Keep in mind it's not about you - but about the skills required by a potential employer, with your skill set overlaid to determine the most qualified candidate. You will want to tweak your resume to mesh with the unique job requirements of each position you are interested in. You've heard it before but it's worth repeating - always maintain an up-to-date resume. The last thing you want is for a friend or colleague to "open a door" for you and ask for your resume, then not receive it for a week or two. It needs to be in their hands while you are in top-of-mind awareness.

Secondly, just about everyone reading this article can find a volunteer position directly or indirectly related to their career, within a week or two. If you have financial services experience, volunteer with a community agency to help people repair their credit scores, as an example. With a human resources background you could assist in a job services center helping workers get back into the labor force. Construction workers would be welcome at Habitat for Humanity. Who knows, you might end up pounding nails with a CEO or city councilmen - not bad connections to do some networking. There are three primary reasons to volunteer: It gives you a "story" to tell a potential employer about what you've been doing; it may provide the opportunity to network and find a new job; and it will build up your self-esteem - utilizing your skills and doing what you do best - giving you the confidence you need to project on the interviews you land.

Networking is where you will find your next job. I do not mean to rush out and join Twitter and see how many followers you can get in 60 days, or friends and family on Facebook. These are just “mediums” to meet people. Networking is reciprocity – always offering assistance to others before asking for help yourself. You will not get any introductions until others get to know you and feel confident in recommending you to their networks. LinkedIn is the most professional social networking site, so join if you have not already done so. Use your newly crafted resume to fill out your profile and search for friends, classmates, and former colleagues to re-connect with. You do not want to appear desperate. Don't ask for a job. Ask about what they are doing. Offer any help you can in getting them connected to others for their own careers or for a work project. Tell them about your volunteer work while you are looking for a new career position. Let them offer to assist you. This is effective networking.

Research companies where you see a logical fit. Don't waste a great deal of time on job search sites, which are more or less the "help wanted ads" of the digital age. You can find sites that will let you drill down for a particular field and by city and region, but you will be competing with hundreds or even thousands of others for these positions. Seek out the companies which employ people with your skills - by reading annual reports, searching their web sites, trade associations, press releases, etc. Then use LinkedIn, or similar more professional networking sites, to find out which ones are hiring; current and former employees you or one of your connections might know; and who can make an introduction for you to get directly to the hiring manager. This is the best way to stand out from the crowd and ensure you will be brought in for an interview.

With small businesses adding three-quarters of all new jobs, focus your attention on that segment. Target your efforts on those that may have been the recipient of outsourced business in your field or a closely related one. You may very well find that one of the large corporations you contact now outsources your specialty. Ask whom they outsource it to - perhaps get them to forward your resume to them (a great way to open the door). When connecting with a small business, you may want to use your large corporate experience to your advantage by suggesting how you can get more companies to outsource to them.

Be prepared to become a contract worker. Almost one-half of all jobs are now filled with contingent workers - consultants, contractors, part-time, or temporary employees. Find a staffing company or two, specializing in your field, and let them go to work and find you an interim position either in your field or a closely related one. Over a third of these jobs become full-time positions and you get the opportunity to experience the company's culture firsthand and they see how you blend in with their existing workforce.

There are no guarantees in life, but following these steps can stack the deck in your favor to land a new job in the shortest time possible. Good luck on your 2011 career quest!

Richard S. Pearson is the Author of “5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track” available on Amazon. He has held vice-president positions with four multibillion dollar travel industry companies and three Internet early stage companies. He has a BA degree from Regis University in Organizational Development. His experience has given him a unique perspective on how to navigate the organizational structures of both large and small companies. He has hired and trained hundreds of employees from frontline salespeople to vice presidents, and coached many through their careers. He is currently working on facilitating the large increase of travel between the US and China, which is taking place. http://www.5necessaryskills.com

Where Are the New Jobs?

The American economy is gradually regaining strength and, in due course, the sorely needed new jobs will follow. But when is the big underlying question? And, what occupations will return the strongest, adding the greatest number of employees? What retraining of workers will have to take place for these jobs and who will do the training? What additional course-work will be required to prepare those just entering the workforce? What regions of the country will emerge as the recipient of these jobs and what migration of workers will be required – so they are in the right place at the right time?

We are probably all aware that there are about 15 million people unemployed at present, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), equaling about 10% of the total labor force. It is imperative to note that this figure does not include the approximately 11 million people who have either expended all unemployment benefits and/or have given up looking for jobs - many out of work for years. So the critical challenge will be to matchup these 26 million workers (in total) and the new entrants to the labor pool each year (of which there about 3 million) to these jobs, in the locations where they will emerge.

The BLS states that there are twenty occupations which will account for more than one-third of all new jobs between now and 2018. It is remarkable to note (due in a large part to the aging of the baby-boomers) that one-half of the fastest growing occupations are related to the healthcare industry. Some of the occupations, which will add the most new jobs in this period, are: Registered nurses 581,500; Home health aides 460,900; Customer service representatives 399.5; Personal and home care aides 375.8, Retail salespersons 374,700; Office clerks (general) 358,700; Accountants and auditors 279,400; Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants 276,000; Postsecondary teachers 256,900; Construction laborers 255,900, and Elementary school teachers 244,200. The remainder can be on the BLS’s Web site.

The twenty fastest rate of growth professions (not the largest number of employees added but highest growth rate) are Biomedical Engineers, Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts, Home Health Aides, Personal and Home Care Aides, Financial Examiners, Medical Scientists, Physician Assistants, Skin Care Specialists, Biochemists, and Biophysicists. These jobs will require an associate degree or higher for 12 of the occupations; whereas 6 are in the on-the-job training category; 1 is in the work experience in a related occupation; and 1 in the postsecondary vocational degree category. Eleven of these occupations earn at least $10,000 more than the National annual median wage, which was $32,390 last year. Nine of the occupations earned at least twice the National median wage.

There is some good news in that many of the occupations that will add the most new jobs are "people" related, e.g. healthcare, retail sales, customer service, office clerks, etc., which will be added in large, urban centers and will not necessitate the costly movement of people from across the country. The “specialty” professions may require a move, but moving costs are more likely to be reimbursed by the recruiting company. As mentioned, 12 of the professions with the highest growth rates will require associate or higher degrees. So the unemployed or underemployed workers may want to consider adding a degree or certification to their resume and set their sites on one of these fields of interest. This may be much easier said than done, as it's difficult to pay for more education when you are at the rock bottom of your earning potential, but it may crucial to do once you start a new or temporary job. There may be some government grant money available for retraining under one of the current jobs recovery acts.

All employees in the future are going to have to be more “proactive” than they have been previously. You will go nowhere by saying it would be wonderful to be a Network Systems Analyst and then hope positions become available – and somehow you find out about them. You must research an occupation first, for its’ range of opportunities, and then set a goal to get the required education completed. You should also focus on a specific organization (or three or four) and perhaps get to know them (by taking a lesser or temporary position). This will give you much needed visibility with them as well.

The rule of all job searches is to network with colleagues, former colleagues, classmates, trade association members, and civic organizations to learn of opportunities in field(s) of your interest and in the area you want to live. In the networks you develop, there is bound to be someone who knows an insider in a company you have targeted. Your resume can be presented to the recruiting department head and not just be placed in a stack of the hundreds received.

There is an entrepreneur in many of us and quite a few of the professions listed provide new opportunities for small companies or employment contracts. These include the fast growing occupations of computer consulting, network administration, home health aides, personal and home care aides, information technology, and others. The large company trend of outsourcing services gives you the opportunity to create a new business around one of these services, where you have expertise. You have to take charge of your own career. Jack Welch, author and former Chairman and CEO of GE states, “Take charge of your career of someone else will.” It is more important than ever to be proactive in planning, networking, and getting the best educational experience you can - for securing jobs now and in the future.

Richard S. Pearson is the Author of “5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track,” available on Amazon.com. He has held vice-president positions with four multibillion dollar travel industry companies and three Internet early stage companies. He has a BA degree from Regis University in Organizational Development. His experience has given him a unique perspective on how to navigate the organizational structures of both large and small companies. He has hired and trained hundreds of employees from frontline salespeople to vice presidents, and coached many through their careers. He is currently working on facilitating the large increase of travel between the US and China, which is taking place. http://www.5necessaryskills.com

Politicians Lack Vision and Common Sense for Tax Break Compromise

The definition of compromise is “something accepted rather than wanted.” The self-interests of politicians trump what is good for the country (in many instances) and nets, us the citizens, something not wanted and not in our long-term interests. Politicians are typically so tainted with their own agendas (of getting re-elected) that they see issues only in “black or white.”

Let’s take the debate on extension of the Bush tax cuts. Both Republicans and Democrats are so hell-bent on winning that they have failed to see the real issue and best-interest compromise for the country. There are 25 million businesses in this country – with only 27,000 having more than 500 employees. These medium and large-size companies, as a whole, have been stagnant in job growth over the past two decades. Where new jobs have come from, and pulled the country out of the past recessions, is from small businesses. From entrepreneurs who have ideas for businesses, start small, and then add employees as their businesses begin to make money. This “sweet spot” of job creation is generally funded by the founder, perhaps with some loans, but typically not by the so-called rich folks.

The “black and white” issue addressed here is that there is a big difference between a small business owner moving up in tax brackets, to a combined income of over $250,000, compared to people earning $1 million a year all the way up to tens or hundreds of millions a year. If the small businessperson knows the government is going to take half his earnings in taxes (combined state and federal), he or she has no incentive to grow their business. When George Soros, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or Bill Clinton espouse the position that the rich should be taxed more, I doubt there is anyone who would disagree – even coming out of a recession. Because they don’t typically invest in small businesses – their holdings are in large corporations – the business segment that hasn’t had a net gain in jobs in two decades.

There is an obvious compromise here, so easy to see by anyone who has studied the job market and jobs growth history. It is to realign the tax brackets. What makes lumping the combined wife/husband income of $250,000 in with the same tax bracket of George Soros sacrosanct? Why not give the small business owner the ability (funds) to grow their business and add employees? Why not keep the tax cuts in place for those with incomes below $500,000 or even $750,000 to give them the confidence to reinvest in their businesses? And terminate the tax cut for higher incomes (the true rich in our society), who invest in big business – which has shown no signs of job growth, in the aggregate, for decades?

The American public is solidly behind the premise of not burdening our children and their children with a national debt that will erode their quality of life, and perhaps be so deep that we (nor they) can never dig our way out of it.

Politician’s need to study our own Department of Commerce statistics on jobs creation and make a common sense compromise – not one (illogically) perceived to get their party re-elected.

Richard S. Pearson is the Author of “5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track,” available on Amazon.com. He has held vice-president positions with four multibillion dollar travel industry companies and three Internet early stage companies. He has a BA degree from Regis University in Organizational Development. His experience has given him a unique perspective on how to navigate the organizational structures of both large and small companies. He has hired and trained hundreds of employees from frontline salespeople to vice presidents, and coached many through their careers. He is currently working on facilitating the large increase of travel between the US and China, which is taking place. http://www.5necessaryskills.com

Finding a Job and Keeping a Job Require Mastery of 5 Skills

Whether you've been out of work for quite some time, long-term in a position, or looking for a career change you will need to master some business and life skills to progress in your career.

The philosopher and poet, Dante writes in the 12th Century: The secret of getting things done is to act! This is the same lesson carried forward by Stephen R. Covey in many of his books - what he coins as proactivity. You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for your career. To leave something this important in the control of a manager, with many other interests and employees, a company, a union, school or to only react to circumstances that befall you can be a mistake of a life time. The best advice in the world won't do you any good unless you take the information and proactively do something with it.

In my book, "5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track," I outlined the critical skills to survive and to get ahead in the toughest of employment markets. You must develop the ability to be cognizant of your surroundings - of your co-workers next door and your boss in the corner office - but also your company, industry, products, competitors, and the health of the local and national economy. This will make you a more knowledgeable and useful employee and give you the insight to better position yourself and company in the marketplace. If you are looking for a job or wanting to make a career change, you need to research what occupations are growing and what companies are positioned to prosper. No use becoming a deckhand on a sinking ship or venturing into a shrinking, dead-end industry.

Being proactive will assist in all of your business and career endeavors; whether its getting that report out on time, contemplating your customers needs, or implementing a beneficial, new procedure before your boss mandates it. It's recognizing changes in your industry or organization that aren't positive for you personally or your company - and to start the process to make a change, on your timetable and terms. It is to be continually educated and re-educated in your chosen profession and the economic outlook in general. If you are not gaining knowledge on new and changing processes you are actually slipping backward and losing your competitive edge to contemporaries.

Learning to deal with many management styles and degrees of professionalism (or lack thereof) will give you an edge over your co-workers. You need to develop honest and straightforward dialog with bosses, so you know their expectations for you. Getting along with other employees in your workplace is going to be a challenge at times. Recognizing cultural differences and unique work styles and keeping communications open and positive will only help. Complex jobs, especially in the era of downsizing where new tasks have been handed to the survivors, have made it critical to work well with others to get projects completed. If a boss becomes unbearable to deal with, only you will know when its time to move on to another company. But if you are still gaining valuable knowledge and moving ahead in the company, you might want to hold on a little longer until timing is right for a change - when you have another position lined up.

A mentor can be very beneficial in advancing your career. Mentors aren't just people in more senior levels within your company, but can be life coaches, ministers, family friends, or colleagues from a professional association. They may be able to assist you to navigate the corporate "land mines" and position you to move ahead in your organization or help in a quest for a new job. The more information you have at your disposal, and the ability to bounce things off another and get a second opinion, the better equipped you are to handle challenges that arise. Many companies now have formal mentoring programs, but even without one many more tenured employees are willing to take you under there wings if asked.

Networking with industry colleagues, old college friends, professional associations, church groups, or any potential employers will increase your knowledge of the job market and improve your marketability. Social networks are mediums to connect with others but still must be used effectively to develop into good networking relationships. LindedIn is, in my opinion, the best professional site. But remember the cardinal rule of networking - you have to give before you receive. You are taking care of yourself, your career, and building your self-esteem all at the same time by maintaining contact with friends and colleagues. Networking is the most efficient way of finding a new job or to get promoted in your existing company.

Many people are only reactive, and sit back expecting someone else to look after their interests, when a monkey wrench gets tossed into their career. Often the damage is done and its too late to repair the situation. The people who have the best careers are the ones who are proactive and stay ahead of the game - the go-to people in their organizations - who know how to get projects completed 100% of the time. The key is to acquire all of the knowledge you can about an organization, its management, and its products/services then act on the information. If you are currently working for that organization and prospects don't look good long-term start making a plan to move on. Conversely, only apply for positions in companies which are well-managed and in growth industries. Do your homework - then act on it!

Richard S. Pearson is the Author of 5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track. He has held vice-president positions with four multibillion dollar travel industry companies and three Internet early stage companies. He has a BA degree from Regis University in Organizational Development. His experience has given him a unique perspective on how to navigate the organizational structures of both large and small companies. He has hired and trained hundreds of employees from frontline salespeople to vice presidents, and coached many through their careers. He is currently working on facilitating the large increase of travel between the US and China, which is taking place. http://www.5necessaryskills.com

Employment As We Knew it Has Changed - Accelerated by the Recession

The nature of employment in this country will never be the same again. Yes, businesses will still need workers but how they go about recruiting, screening, and hiring is new - and even if they will add workers at all or outsource the particular task or project to another company.

Over one-half of all workers in the US are not in "traditional" jobs; under an employer - employee defined relationship. Decades ago, corporations found that many "specialty" functions could be outsourced more cost-effectively than performed on their own. Things like advertising, accounting, legal, public relations, shipping, and even design and product production have been contracted out to other firms for half a century. But the idea of the virtual corporation has really taken hold and accelerated, as companies cut costs to the bare bone to survive this tough recession. Organizations like UPS have become complete logistics companies, not just shippers. Many companies no longer conceive, design, product test, quality control, produce, market, warehouse, package, distribute, or even handle customer service calls after the fact. And the trend is to more outsourcing. Companies won't even consider managing their own information technology, communications systems, logistics, production, finance/investment, and not just advertising but frequently all marketing and sales functions any longer. This is one of the main reasons for the growth of small businesses and why they have created almost three quarters of all new jobs in the past couple of decades. The big challenge this has created for job seekers is find companies willing to retain business functions they are qualified to handle, or go find the organization it has been outsourced to and apply there.

The good news is that with the Internet and all of the electronic jobs' sites, it is easier to locate those jobs by inputting information on your skills and matching up to job openings. The bad news is that thousands of others are doing the same thing - and from all over the country, not just your local area. So this is a double edge sword. Now, instead of having your resume sit on a stack on someone's desk, it sits in a database, most likely many times larger than the paper stack. It then becomes the age old problem of getting noticed in the crowd (a problem in the paper and electronic world). Worse yet, the recession and subsequent shrinking of companies have them so focused on hiring the person with the "exact" set of skills that they electronically scan resumes for key words and don't even look at those which are not absolute perfect matches. Combine that with the fact that over half of senior level positions are not even posted outside of companies and rely on recruiters to find candidates - and this becomes a daunting challenge.

The real dichotomy for job seekers is that during the recession the first ones to be laid off were the workers so specialized that they couldn't take on additional tasks or projects outside of their area or expertise. So the generalist - who could perform multiple job functions - were retained. But if you position yourself on your resume or in interviews as anything more than the "exact fit" you may not even get to first base. Surely, companies will wake up and realize that you are the better candidate if you can perform the exact work they desire but have many more skills? Probably not - until you get beyond all of the initial resume scans and screening interviews and get in front of the hiring manager(s). What you have to do is research the posted and not published job requirements of the position you are applying for and make your cover letter and resume match those specifications to a tee. Once you get beyond the screeners - that is where you let those doing the hiring know what else you bring to the party.

What is critical in today's job market to "get noticed," find the management jobs not posted, and to uncover the precise requirements a company is looking for. The most effective method to accomplish all of this is through networking. Networking has become the critical skill to master in the new job market. I don't mean getting a thousand followers on Twitter - that is not networking - it's just tweeting. Effective networking is best described by the famous author Napoleon Hill, "you have to give before you receive." You have to have a relationship established with colleagues in your field, former classmates, trade association members, former co-workers -- whomever you come in contact with, and be willing to assist them in any way possible before you can call on them for help. Once you have your network established then by all means connect on LinkedIn, or another social network, and ask your network if they know someone with knowledge of the company or position you are trying to get information about. LinkedIn has a great feature that lists where people used to work, and you are typically only a degree or two away from someone who can get you information about a position or even get your resume to the the top of the stack, in front of the hiring manager.

Employment and how we go about finding jobs won't go back to the way it was. Who you know will be critical. The new jobs will mainly be generated by small businesses, as that trend will continue. So the era of the corporate position, with all the perks, will still be there albeit in much fewer numbers as more and more corporations downsize and become mere shells of their former entities. This will be especially pronounced with the manufacturers as the US becomes even more of a "service" economy. Job seekers will need to be prepared to be contractors selling their own services, paying their own payroll taxes, paying for their healthcare costs, and socking way funds for retirement. Of the 25 million firms in the US, 19 million are sole proprietorships with no payrolls, and only 17,000 have more than 500 employees (the Dept. of Labor cut-off size for small business classification). The job market has changed and we have to adapt and most likely create our own job security going forward - without dependence on a company.

Richard S. Pearson is the Author of 5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track. He has held vice-president positions with four multibillion dollar travel industry companies and three Internet early stage companies. He has a BA degree from Regis University in Organizational Development. His experience has given him a unique perspective on how to navigate the organizational structures of both large and small companies. He has hired and trained hundreds of employees from frontline salespeople to vice presidents, and coached many through their careers. He is currently working on facilitating the large increase of travel between the US and China, which is taking place. http://www.5necessaryskills.com

Networking - It's How You Will Find Your Next Job

Employers have done a good job at belt-tightening the past few years out of shear necessity (for survival). This translated nationally to a 6.2% rise in productivity in the fourth quarter. A negative consequence of this is that they - especially small businesses - are reluctant to start hiring again, for fear of a slow recovery. This is leaving about 6 unemployed people vying for each job opening, not the odds you are looking for if you are on the job hunt.

How we have to go after jobs has changed dramatically over the last decade, in the digital age. This presents some benefits and some challenges. Many people have a misconception of Internet job search and social networking sites. A recently published article on Yahoo! HotJobs, has a career "expert" suggesting "use social networks to, well, network." This is her complete advice on networking and use of social networks - which tells me she doesn't have a clue about how to effectively network. Social network sites are simply mediums to connect to others, just like the telephone, email, snail mail, or face-to-face meetings - and nothing more. They do give you broad reach to a great many people (the positive benefit) but only if used for (effective) networking. And job search sites - they are just the electronic equivalent of printed job posts in the newspaper of yesteryear, only digitized. The benefit is that you can search for jobs across a broader geographic region - easier - since it would be difficult to pick up help wanted ads from neighboring newspaper markets. They also allow you to send a resume online versus print and mail to each job post you are interested in. The downside is that thousands of others can do the same thing and your resume usually ends up in a digital "pile" on someone's desk - many times buried without so much as a cursory review. They normally receive so many resumes because of the reach of the Internet that they almost always refuse follow-up phone calls and don't respond to emails.

Social network sites can connect you to complete strangers, who you would not (should not) recommend for anything - if they are more than two degrees of separation away. This is advice strongly espoused by the networking guru of our time, Guy Kawasaki, author of Art of the Start and several other top-selling books. This means if your immediate circle of contacts, good friends, former colleagues, and school mates (1 degree) tell you they are good friends (1 degree) with someone they introduce to you (physically or electronically), and you have complete trust in their judgment, you can also recommend that person. But never a friend of a friend's friend - after all your reputation is on the line. Online social networking is the equivalent of more traditional networking, such as at a chamber of commerce meeting or industry tradeshow, where you meet someone you haven't met before. Here is where the Law of Reciprocity comes into play. It basically says, "if I do something good for you, you will feel similarly obligated to do something good for me." But you have to give before you receive. You must get to know this person first. Listen, listen, and listen some more to what they have to say and establish some common threads of interest and people you know. Only when this rapport is established and you offer them advice or assistance, can you ask for the same. This is not likely to occur on this first meeting, which is why follow-up is critical to the success of networking. This "meeting" can also take place online but it's much tougher to "get to know" someone and usually should only be done through introductions by someone you know.

This brings us to effective networking - which is the best way to land your next job, sell your product, or complete complex tasks in your current job. The majority of middle to senior management jobs are not posted outside the company or selectively given to recruiters to fill. The only way to find out about these jobs is through the network you have established. (The best advice I can give you is to always establish and nurture your network before it is needed!) You will find you have greater reach with your network than you think when using (the positive benefits of) social networking that make it so easy to keep connected to former school mates, business associates, extended families, and other shared interest groups. When one of these "friends" is offered assistance and then asked for assistance, you open up their networks. When they know the position you are qualified for, they can get the word out and "open doors" for you. The best scenario is for your resume to be walked into the hiring manager without ever having the job advertised to the masses. Minimally it gets you on the top of the stack for a guaranteed review. Networking can similarly get you past the "gatekeeper" to the right contact if you are selling a product or if you need expert advice on a project you are tasked to complete - a whole new avenue of resources.

How you position yourself to a prospective employer is also critical to getting past the resume review and through the interview process. We have seen in the economic downturn that companies have retained more "generalist" employees who could not only do their own jobs, but also extend themselves and take on tasks previously handled by others who were laid off. But it is interesting to note that employers now are being extremely selective in who they hire. They will not even look at candidates who do not match "perfectly" the job skills for the position they are filling. So you must research the requirements of the job you are applying for and lay your resume out to completely satisfy a HR screener that your "skills" meet those requirements. Even if you can bring a great deal more to the position, do not go down that path until you get by the resume screeners and preliminary interviews. Once you get the opportunity to sit with the hiring manager, you will want to convince him or her that you not only meet all of their requirements but you also bring so much more to the position.

It's a new world with new challenges, but not too complex to handle once you sort through the hyperbole and master the art of networking.

Richard S. Pearson is the Author of 5 Necessary Skills to Keep Your Career on Track. He has held vice-president positions with four multibillion dollar travel industry companies and three Internet early stage companies. He has a BA degree from Regis University in Organizational Development. His experience has given him a unique perspective on how to navigate the organizational structures of both large and small companies. He has hired and trained hundreds of employees from frontline salespeople to vice presidents, and coached many through their careers. He is currently working on facilitating the large increase of travel between the US and China, which is taking place. http://www.5necessaryskills.com