Introduction

My father worked in one industry after World War II for about 36 years and changed jobs one time. When I began my career, my wife did not work outside of the home. This is hardly today‘s world, however. In today‘s world:

The average job tenure is about 2.5 years and declining!

The average person working today will have 3 careers over their worklife.

Odds are over 60% that a person over 50 will change jobs, if not careers.

Today‘s graduates are being told to expect a minimum of 5 careers and 10 jobs!

35%-40% of the work in the US is now being performed by a contingent workforce.

75% of all firms now outsource at least one function and over 90% of large firms outsource.

About 60% of us will seriously consider starting our own business.

About 2/3 of all new jobs are being created in small businesses (whereas looking back a generation ago, most of us worked for big firms).

About 1/3 of us will seriously consider resigning our jobs this year due to job stress.

Odds are over 80% that you will lose a job at some point in your career for whatever reason.

Alarming? Scary? Perhaps, but these are today‘s realities. A generation ago, we worked for large companies in traditional jobs.

We sought job security and did not move around. Career planning was mostly something our employer did for us. These are not the ways of today.

Before we address modern day job search, as a job seeker you need to recognize that you are responsible for your own career planning.