w them the opportunity to try. Though employers may be looking for the mythical long and stable work history, the truth is that corporate tactics have changed so drastically over the last decade, it is unusual to find people who have worked in the same place for more than five years, much less their entire career. Increasingly, companies do not appreciate job seekers dropping off a resume in person, calling about possible openings, or trying to establish direct contacts with individuals within the firm, unless theIt is all out war in finding good companies to work for these days. As people scramble for an edge in winning out over other candidates, there are some rules of the hunt that are truly different. There are many articles and advisors who can claim professional expertise in what it takes to find the right job, and much of the advice is sound for many people. The truth is that just about any method people use to find work will eventually lead to positive results as long as the person is willing to persist in looking. Business opportunities are as diverse as the people who run them, and there is a place for just about every type of person imaginable, but the devil is in the details. This article will examine common advice, and expose some of the hidden facts everyone should know about moving forward.

Many advisors discuss the value of resumes, cover letters, newspapers, job boards, networking with friends and business associates, pounding the pavement, working with recruiting firms, and other methods that are by no means new or different. People have been using all these methods for years with varying degrees of results. Unless one is just starting out for the first time, these kinds of “secrets” to a better career are just a perpetual rehashing of what everyone serious about finding work already knows and tries on a regular basis. Using an analogy, unless people use less obvious methods, any standard tactics used in the hunt will be like walking shoulder to shoulder through the woods with a sea of other hunters, all trying to get a shot at the same target. Somebody will eventually take home the prize, but it will be full of lead by the time they get it out of the woods. Creative new approaches can be recognized by the fact that there are not a thousand other places talking about the same thing.

Effective, successful career advancement happens by a combination of design and providence. To find a job that lasts, at least two things must happen. There must be a person who is willing to perform the tasks, and someone willing to allow them the opportunity to try. Though employers may be looking for the mythical long and stable work history, the truth is that corporate tactics have changed so drastically over the last decade, it is unusual to find people who have worked in the same place for more than five years, much less their entire career. Increasingly, companies do not appreciate job seekers dropping off a resume in person, calling about possible openings, or trying to establish direct contacts with individuals within the firm, unless they

g. Business opportunities are as diverse as the people who run them, and there is a place for just about every type of person imaginable, but the devil is in the details. This article will examine common advice, and expose some of the hidden facts everyone should know about moving forward.

Many advisors discuss the value of resumes, cover letters, newspapers, job boards, networking with friends and business associates, pounding the pavement, working with recruiting firms, and other methods that are by no means new or different. People have been using all these methods for years with varying degrees of results. Unless one is just starting out for the first time, these kinds of “secrets” to a better career are just a perpetual rehashing of what everyone serious about finding work already knows and tries on a regular basis. Using an analogy, unless people use less obvious methods, any standard tactics used in the hunt will be like walking shoulder to shoulder through the woods with a sea of other hunters, all trying to get a shot at the same target. Somebody will eventually take home the prize, but it will be full of lead by the time they get it out of the woods. Creative new approaches can be recognized by the fact that there are not a thousand other places talking about the same thing.

Effective, successful career advancement happens by a combination of design and providence. To find a job that lasts, at least two things must happen. There must be a person who is willing to perform the tasks, and someone willing to allow them the opportunity to try. Though employers may be looking for the mythical long and stable work history, the truth is that corporate tactics have changed so drastically over the last decade, it is unusual to find people who have worked in the same place for more than five years, much less their entire career. Increasingly, companies do not appreciate job seekers dropping off a resume in person, calling about possible openings, or trying to establish direct contacts with individuals within the firm, unless the

s new or different. People have been using all these methods for years with varying degrees of results. Unless one is just starting out for the first time, these kinds of “secrets” to a better career are just a perpetual rehashing of what everyone serious about finding work already knows and tries on a regular basis. Using an analogy, unless people use less obvious methods, any standard tactics used in the hunt will be like walking shoulder to shoulder through the woods with a sea of other hunters, all trying to get a shot at the same target. Somebody will eventually take home the prize, but it will be full of lead by the time they get it out of the woods. Creative new approaches can be recognized by the fact that there are not a thousand other places talking about the same thing.

Effective, successful career advancement happens by a combination of design and providence. To find a job that lasts, at least two things must happen. There must be a person who is willing to perform the tasks, and someone willing to allow them the opportunity to try. Though employers may be looking for the mythical long and stable work history, the truth is that corporate tactics have changed so drastically over the last decade, it is unusual to find people who have worked in the same place for more than five years, much less their entire career. Increasingly, companies do not appreciate job seekers dropping off a resume in person, calling about possible openings, or trying to establish direct contacts with individuals within the firm, unless the

get a shot at the same target. Somebody will eventually take home the prize, but it will be full of lead by the time they get it out of the woods. Creative new approaches can be recognized by the fact that there are not a thousand other places talking about the same thing.

Effective, successful career advancement happens by a combination of design and providence. To find a job that lasts, at least two things must happen. There must be a person who is willing to perform the tasks, and someone willing to allow them the opportunity to try. Though employers may be looking for the mythical long and stable work history, the truth is that corporate tactics have changed so drastically over the last decade, it is unusual to find people who have worked in the same place for more than five years, much less their entire career. Increasingly, companies do not appreciate job seekers dropping off a resume in person, calling about possible openings, or trying to establish direct contacts with individuals within the firm, unless the

w them the opportunity to try. Though employers may be looking for the mythical long and stable work history, the truth is that corporate tactics have changed so drastically over the last decade, it is unusual to find people who have worked in the same place for more than five years, much less their entire career. Increasingly, companies do not appreciate job seekers dropping off a resume in person, calling about possible openings, or trying to establish direct contacts with individuals within the firm, unless they are first invited by the company to do so.

The present day workplace is becoming more focused on accomplishing finite tasks than developing jobs with well defined and long term potential. Where historical patterns called for long term relationships, mutual trust, and solid foundations to achieve successful business practices, today’s business model is based on flexibility, speed, and expendable personnel to accomplish company goals. This transitional model calls for fast hiring of certain skill sets, and equally as fast dissolution of business units when less expensive resources can be acquired to do the same thing. All this boils down to people wondering what they did wrong to wind up on the unemployment line, when the truth is that the “hidden agenda” of American business is to keep the income flowing to the top levels of the organization, while minimizing the costs of doing business.

In the current business environment, the best way to get an inside contact with a company is through a recruiting firm, or a direct application to the company by way of an internet site for the company of interest. By applying directly to specific companies via the internet, the crowd of people using job boards, newspaper ads, and other indirect resources do not make as strong an impact, presuming the company is focused on using their internet site as a primary resource for connecting with new talent. If a company can find a talented person with the right skill sets, they would much rather hire that person directly rather than filtering them through a recruiter or employment firm, which take a big cut for locating qualified candidates.

One little noted method for locating work is to conduct a fact finding mission within companies that are hiring, or interviewing candidates. Whether or not they are currently looking for a particular type of skills, they can be rich sources for finding potential leads that will result in opportunity. Since nearly every company has direct competitors, and few are shy about mentioning who their customers and comp