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Topic of the Week: Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer

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Topic of the Week  Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer

· DO keep resume up to date.

· DO regular weekly networking.

· DO know competitors.

· DON'T make it all about you.

Let's face it, for many of our parents a career was simple. Start doing something when you're young and do it until you retire. Today, careers are much more complicated. Most of us will have multiple careers before we're done. Which reminds me of when German police reported that a couple of hungry pigs digging for food found a long buried World War II anti-tank weapon. They found the single shot "panzerfaust" on private land, just south of Dresden, more than 65 years after the end of the war.

Just as those pigs made an amazing discovery after digging, you too need to keep digging when it comes to your career. Chances are if you keep networking and exploring your options, you'll unearth something just as amazing, an incredibly satisfying career. I've included three Do's and one Don't to help keep you hungry and your career on track. For more, check out Ford R. Meyers book "Get the Job You Want" (Wiley, 2009).

DO keep resume up to date. How many times have you heard about an interesting job or opportunity, but weren't in a position to follow up because your resume wasn't ready to show them. It hadn't been touched in years. Admit it, it happens to all of us. That's why you need to make your resume a living document by updating it regularly. Keep it right on your desktop and take a look at it at least once a month. I guarantee if you do this, you'll find that your career will start to resemble Velcro, with opportunities sticking to you from every direction. Because when you hear about something you'll be able to hop right on it without the hassle or delay of updating your resume.

DO regular weekly networking. Weekly networking? But Bob, I already have a job. Yes, but remember all those people you know during the past few years who got blindsided when they were suddenly laid off. Spend a half hour every week networking. For example, schedule regular coffee breaks with current and former colleagues, get active on Linkedin and other networking websites and get involved with your college's alumni association.

DO know competitors. Who is the most likely organization to hire you? Your competitors. That's why it's so important to stop treating them like the enemy and to start getting to know them. Check our their web site, visit their locations and talk to them at industry association meetings. Don't see yourself as a spy, but view opportunities to talk with competitors as the ultimate networking opportunity.

DON'T make it all about you. Networking should always be a two way street. Look for chances to provide them information, contacts or to just do them a favor. The more you do for others, the more it will come back to help you. I can tell you that in my life this has always come back to me ten-fold.

Follow these tips and your career won't bomb, it will just keep rolling along.

About The Author: Bob Rosner is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. For free job and work advice, check out the award-winning workplace911.com. Check the revised edition of his Wall Street Journal best seller, "The Boss's Survival Guide." If you have a question for Bob, contact him via bob@workplace911.com.

Thought of the Week

"I've been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had a career."

–Martina Navratilova

Blog of the Week

Top Five News Headlines

List of the Week

from How to tell when your boss is lying…A study of 30,000 conference calls

1. Deceptive bosses tend to make more references to general knowledge ("as you know…") & less to shareholder value (perhaps to minimize the risk of lawsuit)

2. Use fewer "non-extreme positive emotion words" (fantastic instead of good)

3. Bosses tend to avoid the word "I", opting instead for the third person

4. Use fewer hesitation words like "um" and "er" (because they were coached)

5. Swear more

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