ADVANCED CAREER SOLUTIONS (ACS)

Most job-seekers conduct their job search almost identically to the way Americans pursued the tasks 100 years ago accept they believe that job postings are on the Internet ‘job sites’ and not in the Sunday newspaper. That IS a fact. The fallacy is that only about 15% of all possible opportunities are posted. Said another way, ~85% of real opportunities are NOT posted!

A paradox? Not really; I’ve had it happen both ways during my 30-some years as a Vice President & General Manager. That said, for the most part my next positions came from my network of friends (both personal and professional) and strong acquaintances, mostly through business (former bosses, employees, peers, and customers). They kept me gainfully employed my entire career and I hope that I helped them do the same. You’ll find that most executives have a similar story. It's never too late to get started!!

First of all, a “career position,” by my definition, is that role that you want to have, in your heart. You believe that you have most of the qualifications, it’s in your former, current, or new industry; it provides the professional challenges that are of greatest interest; perhaps closer to home, or dream location. A DREAM? NO!
 
For me “job” is a “J.O.B.,” meaning Just-Over-Broke, Just-Over-Boredom, Just-Outta-Bounds. You seek it because you think that it’s all you’re “qualified” for due to your work history, your education, et al. That said, because of the lack of the aforementioned, entry level positions ARE jobs, but working hard, being reliable, ongoing education, vocational training, certifications, etc. will enable you to move up within the company and probably into other companies. We all, for the most part, began our careers that way!

If you were to ask most executives and sales’ superstars how they advanced their professional careers you would find that virtually none had ever applied for a posted position! You may ask “how is that possible?”
 
NETWORKING on a rather constant basis. “I don’t understand.”

First of all, a career position, by my definition, is that role that you want to have, in your heart. You believe that you have most of the qualifications, it’s in your former, current, or new industry; it provides the professional challenges that are of greatest interest; perhaps it’s closer to home. A dream? NO!

For me “job” is a “J.O.B.,” meaning Just-Over-Broke, Just-Over-Boredom. You seek it because you believe that it’s all you’re “qualified” for due to your work history, your education, and perhaps other circumstances. That said, because of the lack of the aforementioned, entry level positions ARE jobs, but working hard, being reliable, ongoing education, certifications, etc. will enable you to move up within the company and probably into other companies. We all, for the most part, began our careers that way.

First, define a few career positions; the job title(s), the industry(ies), the location(s) – dream reasonably. Prioritize them. Now…how do most executives, sales’ superstars, and others advance their careers without ever blindly applying for a job? NETWORKING! Years ago, I never knew of that term, but I never “applied” for a position in my life, not even my first one. Well, how did you move up the corporate ladder? It was people that I knew! Oh, so someone you knew hired you? Uh, actually no, but they knew someone that needed someone with my talents, or they knew someone that knew someone.