• Recommendation – This is an endorsement of someone, their skills, character, etc. The recommending person has firsthand experience with the person in question (you). This is the stuff references are made of and the recommender’s comments should speak to specific competencies, not a recitation of your résumé. He or she has an opinion about what makes you good, better or best at what you do. As often as possible let the recommending person know to expect a call asking for comment. Carefully consider asking for recommendations and give them out sparingly.

• Referral – This is not an explicit endorsement, but suggests that I, as the referring party, know you, but haven’t necessarily worked with you enough to wax poetic about how amazing you are to someone. I am saying you are worth meeting or having a conversation with based on positive interaction with you and/or a good reputation.

• Introduction –I’m not talking about standing next to someone and waiting to be introduced at a party. I’m talking about the pick-up-the-phone or LinkedIn introduction that you ask someone to make to advance your cause. You need to know me well enough to pick up the phone. If you are hiding behind e-mail or don’t know my phone number, you don’t know me that well and shouldn’t be asking. Get it? If it’s someone’s e-mail address you need, call the person-in-question’s office and ask their assistant, not me. Am I being mean? C’mon, not really.

Whether a recommendation, referral or introduction, the person extending the commentary about you has their reputation at stake (to decreasing degrees in the examples above), so be judicious. Don’t get your feelings hurt when someone declines your request to provide commentary. Ask yourself “What would they say about me?” Be honest. If you don’t know or it is not good, don’t ask!

To be clear, I always make the disclaimer that only you know your financial situation, but in my humble opinion there are times when you are better off letting go of the paycheck or branch, as safe as it seems, to free yourself to move successfully to the other side of the river and get on with your life. Part of my rationale, in my friend’s case, is that her employer is trying to be nice by keeping her on, but she is forestalling the inevitable. She knows they can’t afford her much longer and she risks being blindsided when their benevolence (and money) runs out.

She could make much more headway treating the job hunt as a full-time job for the next 2-3 months (or whatever it takes) to execute the plan she has thoughtfully developed. Waiting to see what kind of response she gets to her résumé-sending campaign could take weeks, even months and she doesn’t have that kind of time with her current employer. Furthermore, the early responses to the résumés won’t be indicative of what real employer interest might be, especially since letter writing is generally fruitless unless you follow up with a series of phone calls to request a meeting or interview.

Not to mix metaphors, but this is not one of those times when I think “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Sometimes, you have to let go of the branch and know that you are not going to drown – in fact, you can get across the river that much faster!

When who you are, what you do, and what you believe are integrated into the kind of work you do, feelings of satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment will abound. But you have to take responsibility for your career.

• Entry Level: Review early jobs and coursework that appealed to you. Determine the characteristics that might align with job functions and industries that currently have the highest demand for jobs.
• Mid-Level: This is the ideal time to transition. You have a history of performance to talk about. You need not have performed the specific function, but are able to demonstrate a deep understanding of the function and/or industries and link those to your earlier exposure and experience to create a compelling case for transitioning.
• Executive Level: You might be feeling locked into a certain track and expected to “go the distance.” Resist the temptation to limit yourself – even with so many years of experience. You might be wildly successful, but only marginally satisfied. Or you might unknowingly only be perceived as acceptable and at risk of being demoted or dismissed. Either way, come clean and consider the “what if’s?”
• Encore Level: You are generally inclined to think you should have “it all figured out” at this stage of your life, but can be confused by an abundance of choices and/or needs. Focus on the things that are most important to you right now. They probably aren’t the things that were important 5, 10 or 20 years ago. Use the luxury of wisdom; seek your own inner counsel to mesh choice with need to create a portfolio of options.

• If you’ve worked in multiple industries and/or functions, create several résumés for yourself that feature each.
• Highlight volunteer work to legitimately explore yet another industry or function
• Reestablish contact with acquaintances; since 80% of jobs come through networking this is where to invest most of your time, not with on-line applications.
• Explore your capacity for being a consultant – even to your former employer. Books like Consultant’s Calling by Geoffrey Bellman help you know if you can make the leap.
• Don’t buy into the “sky-is-falling” rhetoric.

You never know when you are encountering someone who might be in a position to help you professionally. You simply can’t afford to judge people based on appearances, especially when you are not in a professional or business setting; that means at the car wash, health club, grocery store or on an elevator. As a recruiter, I can’t tell you how many times I’d be riding the elevator up to my office (especially after lunch) and guess which person was the candidate I was about to interview. I noted whether they initiated, responded to or rejected eye contact with me and I quickly formed a positive or negative impression of the person. It is how our minds work. Don’t be foolish; offer that passing glance with a twinkle in your eye, or spring for a full-blown “hello.” It doesn’t cost a thing – not doing it can cost you a potential job!

• Don’t try to cram your entire career into 60 seconds.
• Do give highlights of most prestigious and recent roles, including company name and title.
• Don’t assume people know or understand your space.
• Do describe and quantify – industry segment, budget, revenues, employees, etc.
• Don’t oversell or ask favors – you are meeting for the first time.
• Do be clear about what you think your strengths are.
• Don’t be one-dimensional in your commentary.
• Do offer an interesting personal fact about yourself.