In the interest of protecting the public, states have put in place strict licensing requirements for certain occupations. This is particularly true of the medical, legal and accounting professions. When you see MD, JD, or CPA behind a name, you can usually rest assured that this person has years of specialized professional training, and has passed a rigorous licensing examination.

Certifications and credentials have never been sufficient to identify the most talented practitioners in any field, and that has never been their purpose. Two physicians or attorneys with identical training will not produce identical outcomes in the court room or the operating room. The most talented practitioners will rise to the top of their fields based on their skills and their professional reputations. What credentials are intended to provide is an assurance that the individual possesses a minimum level of competency.

Professional credentials used to be fairly rare, and were typically limited to a small number of occupations. In addition to the medical, legal and accounting professions, academics, architects and engineers were about the only people whose titles included widely recognized designations. Even to the people who didn’t know what the letters stood for, their presence lent an air of respect and credibility. That is no longer true today, due to the widespread use of meaningless designations and credentials issued by organizations representing a wide range of professionals and pseudo-professionals.

Today, many professional credentials are less about protecting public safety, and more about creating an aura of professionalism where none would exist otherwise. Real estate sales is perhaps the best example of this kind of credential proliferation. Earning a real estate license typically involves nothing more than a two-week training course, followed by a two-hour examination. A high school diploma is not a requirement. Considering the fact that a home purchase is the largest and most complex financial transaction that most people will ever make, the licensing standards are incredibly lax.

In an effort to compensate for these low standards, the National Association of Realtors offers over 20 professional designations for real estate agents that result in a virtual alphabet soup of meaningless gobbledygook. The fact that most of these designations can be earned without closing a single transaction is proof of their limited value. Pity the misguided home buyer or seller who falls for this nonsense and selects an agent based on worthless designations rather than a proven history of results.

Real estate sales is a classic example of the 80-20 rule, where 80% of the sales are made by 20% of the agents. For every productive agent, there are at least 5 part-time wannabes and hacks who move in and out of the industry as predictably as the tides. These are the folks who are most likely to have a string of meaningless designations after their names, in an attempt to compensate for their lack of experience or talent. The real producers have no need to hide behind pseudo-professional credentials, and no time to waste on earning them.

While scam artists can be found in virtually every profession, they are particularly drawn to those fields where licensing requirements and professional certifications are nonexistent. The only real talent many of these people possess is the ability to pass themselves off as experts in a field where their expertise is difficult to verify or to challenge. For this reason, these people are often drawn to fads and emerging fields where the ability to rattle off a few impressive sounding buzzwords is all it takes to be viewed as an expert.

Every so often, a new fad emerges that brings with it a flood of self-proclaimed experts. Think back a few years when life coaches and feng-shui consultants peddled their services to anyone foolish enough to take them seriously. Today, most of these so-called experts have found promising new careers in the fast food industry, but they have been replaced by an army of SEO consultants, green experts, and social media gurus. How do we distinguish the true experts in these fields from the poseurs and the frauds?

The promise of achieving top rankings on Google and other major search engines is a temptation that many businesses can’t resist. Unfortunately, search engine algorithms are some of the most closely guarded secrets in the universe, and anyone who claims they have the knowledge required to manipulate them to produce page one results is either a fool or a fraud. In either case, hang onto your wallet. There are a few legitimate SEO practitioners out there, but for every true expert, there are 10 wannabes, phonies and frauds.

Given time, a handful of talented SEO practitioners will rise to the top and gain the recognition they deserve as true experts, but only after the incompetents and frauds are exposed for what they are. The same cannot be said for the small army of self-proclaimed social media experts who have come out of the woodwork to offer their consulting services. While no one can deny the value of improved search rankings, there has of yet been no demonstrable benefit to businesses using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. There are no case studies that prove a return on investment, so by necessity these so-called experts speak in abstract terms and focus on intangible results. That may allow them to fool a few people for a short time, but sooner or later they are going to have to demonstrate that their clients can actually profit from the use of social media. When that time comes, they better hope that McDonald’s is hiring.

Whenever we meet someone for the first time, one of the very first questions we ask is what do you do? It may be shallow to form our impressions on the basis of a job title, but it’s something we can digest more easily than what really matters about a person. When was the last time someone you just met asked about the sum of your experiences and beliefs that make you the person that you are?

At various times, I had been able to tell people that I was a student, a soldier, a sales executive, a corporate VP, or a small business owner. This information didn’t necessarily tell people anything meaningful about who I was, but it allowed them to form a critical first impression. For the first time in my life, I found myself unable to answer the most basic question about myself. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up isn’t a very good answer when you’re 47 years old.

I began blogging during this period of uncertainty to keep myself occupied, and to put in writing a number of thoughts and ideas that had been bouncing around in my head for years. I found the writing process therapeutic, but I also became fascinated with the underlying mechanics of the website. As I became more proficient at customizing WordPress themes, people began to approach me for advice, and eventually with freelance projects. I discovered quite by accident what I wanted to do for the next phase of my career.

I’ve always had an interest in design & architecture, but the fact that I can’t draw a straight line prevented me from pursuing either of these fields in my youth. I did study graphic design and typography as part of my graduate degree in Printing Technology, but that was in the pre-Mac days when drawing was still an essential skill. For the first time in my life I’ve got tools at my disposal that allow me to turn my visions into reality.

I’ve kept myself fairly busy with freelance assignments lately, and now I’m facing a new identity crisis. As I attempt to turn a part-time business into a full-time career, I’m struggling with how to create a new professional identity that will allow me to promote my work more effectively. While this site is an interesting demonstration of my ability to customize WordPress themes, it’s not necessarily the first thing I want prospective clients to see. It might be the only place on the internet where you can discuss religion, national health care policy and barbequed ribs, but it’s probably not a great idea to throw business into the mix.

Back in the old days, creating an identity for a small business was a relatively simple matter. You came up with a catchy name, created a logo, and printed up some business cards and letterheads. If someone in another part of the country or the world operated a business with the same name, it usually wasn’t a big deal. The internet has changed that, and creating an identity today is a much more difficult process. This is particularly true for businesses that promote themselves on the web.

Coming up with a catchy name is the easy part. I’ve come up with hundreds of them over the past few months. The problem lies in finding a name that is also available as a domain. It doesn’t do you any good to come up with a great name if someone else has already registered yourgreatname.com. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve gotten out of bed in the middle of the night lately to check the availability of a domain name. No matter how great or original my idea may seem at the time, someone else has already thought of it.

For the time being, I’m like the cobbler whose children have no shoes. Until I can come up with a great idea for a name that someone else hasn’t already registered, I can’t turn that name into a concept, or turn that concept into a website. Without those things, my business won’t seem quite real to me, no matter how busy I stay. At least I don’t have to tell people I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up anymore.

I received a phone call yesterday from the same local Census office where I had resigned just a week earlier. A very pleasant woman introduced herself and asked me if I was still interested in a job. I was too shocked to respond at first, but after I picked my jaw up off the floor I asked her if she was aware that I had already been hired once and resigned. She seemed unfazed and said she had no record of that, and then proceeded to offer me another job as if there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on. She seemed genuinely surprised when I declined her offer.

The Census Bureau recruited and tested 5000 local applicants to fill 1000 temporary positions between now and the 2010 Census. Is it possible that they’ve already exhausted the entire pool of candidates with their stupidity and now have to start over again? If they can’t keep track of who they’ve hired, how can we trust them to manage the actual counting process?

The recruiter I spoke to instructed me to go to the Census Bureau website and fill out an application and I-9, and to bring the completed forms to the testing session. I was also told to take a practice test online to prepare for the real thing. I followed the instructions to the letter and printed copies of my application and I-9. I also took the practice test and got a perfect score.

Even though it is a 30 minute timed test, the testing session was scheduled to last two hours. When I arrived for the test, I was the only one in attendance who had filled out the forms in advance. I had to sit and twiddle my thumbs while the Census representative administering the test went line by line through both forms instructing people how to fill them out. This process took nearly 40 minutes.

Once the forms were filled out and everyone’s identification was verified, I assumed we would start the test. I was wrong. The proctor handed out copies of the same practice test that I had already taken online, and we we’re instructed to spend the next 30 minutes studying the practice version. More time to twiddle my thumbs.

The actual test started nearly an hour and a half after we arrived at the site. We were told that we had 30 minutes to complete the test, and that we could not leave until everyone had finished. The proctor set a kitchen timer and told us to begin. I opened my test booklet and it was virtually identical to the practice version that I had now taken twice. I completed it in about 15 minutes and then sat patiently waiting for everyone else to finish. It only took the proctor about 15 seconds to grade my test using a cutout template, and for the third time I got a perfect score.

By the time 30 minutes elapsed, everyone had finished the test except for one very fat woman who was obviously having a hard time. Just before the timer went off, the proctor reset it in an obvious effort to allow her to finish. At the end of 45 minutes he finally set off the timer manually, even though the fat lady was still struggling to complete her test. We were finally allowed to leave after being told that hiring priority would be based on our test scores, so the people with the highest scores would be called first.

Three weeks passed before I received a call. I was offered a job working in the local Census office, but what was offered was very different from what had been advertised. The hourly rate had somehow gone down to $9.00, and the flexible schedule was now strictly 8:30 to 5:00. I should have simply passed it up at the time, but I decided to give it a try since I had nothing else to do, and Jennifer is getting tired of being the sole breadwinner.

I reported for my first day yesterday, and took my seat in the large training room. The person beside me was the fat woman from my testing session. We spent the first several hours going line by line through at least a dozen forms, including the I-9 that I had already submitted when I took the test. One of the forms we were shown how to fill out was a daily time sheet. For reasons I cannot comprehend, we were instructed to turn our time sheets in at least two hours before the end of our shift each day.

When the last form was finally completed, we were fingerprinted and required to take an oath of office. The oath that the President of The United States takes is only 39 words and can be recited in just a few seconds. Ours was more like 5 paragraphs and took over a minute. Once the oath was completed, we were informed that our employment would end in 8 weeks.

After lunch our training began in earnest. We had 3 sessions scheduled with 3 different instructors, and we spent about 20 minutes in between each one waiting for the next instructor to arrive. Each session was prefaced by a statement telling us that the material they were about to present didn’t really apply to what we would be doing, but we were required to sit through it anyway since they didn’t have a training program for the jobs we would be performing. The instructor would then proceed to read a script verbatim from a workbook for 20 or 30 minutes. When they finished, we were required to go back and reread exactly the same material.

The final session for the day was with the Assistant Manager of Technology for the local office. In addition to a being a self-proclaimed technology guru, he told us that he was a former police officer, an ordained minister, and a “Christian Financial Adviser.” Unlike the other instructors, he began his presentation with a long list of actions that would result in our immediate termination. When he finally got beyond every possible firing offense, he spent the next 30 minutes speaking in acronyms for which he offered no explanation.

The final session ended at 4:45, and we were allowed to leave 15 minutes earlier than what we had stated on the time sheets that we filled out that morning. When the day ended, I felt as if a large portion of my brain had atrophied, and I still had no clue as to what my new job would entail.

When I arrived this morning, we were told that there were going to be some changes in the work schedule. Instead of 8:30 to 5:00, we were going to divided into two shifts. The first shift would have to arrive at 7:00 AM and work until 3:30. The second shift would work from Noon until 8:30 PM. To make matters worse, we would be rotating between first and second shift every 3 days. I had been at work for less than 5 minutes and my head was ready to explode. I stood up and handed the supervisor my ID badge. My career with the Census Bureau had lasted for exactly 7 hours and 19 minutes.

Given the state of the economy, I don’t expect many people to sympathize with my situation. There are plenty of people who are out of work and desperate enough to allow themselves to be jerked around and put through the wringer. I simply have not reached that level of desperation. Several of the people in the room looked as if they wanted to applaud when I walked out this morning, but I could tell by the look in their eyes that they had no choice but to remain. They are the folks who deserve sympathy.

The economy began to tank just around the time that I started looking for a job over a year ago. Since then, the energy I’ve devoted to searching for worthwhile opportunities has fluctuated dramatically. At first I had reasonably high hopes that I might find something in keeping with my skills and experience, but those hopes evaporated pretty quickly. Over time, I’ve gradually lowered my expectations to the point that I would consider almost anything just to get out of the house.

We’ve actually been fortunate that we’re able to live on Jennifer’s income, but we haven’t had much of a cushion in the event of something unforeseen. Unfortunately, the meager wage I will be earning won’t provide much of a cushion either. I will actually be earning less than I did at my first job fresh out of graduate school over 20 years ago.

I won’t be one of the folks going door to door, but I think I would probably enjoy that more than what I will be doing. For the first time in my life I will be stuck in an office for 8 hours a day with a very narrowly defined set of responsibilities. I will probably go postal in the first week.

The job is full-time, but it is also temporary. The best info I’ve gotten so far is that it could last anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years. The likelihood of me lasting two years doing mind-numbing administrative work is pretty slim.

Going back to work is going to create some serious logistical problems for our family. Last summer we decided that since Jennifer works at home, we could get along with just one car. We’ve had no problems sharing since then, but now I’m not sure how this arrangement is going to work out. We’re going to have to figure out a way to get me to work and Robert to daycare without leaving Jennifer completely stranded. I’ve thought about buying a second car, but for a temporary job that could end at any time it doesn’t make much sense.

Being unemployed has allowed me to devote a lot of time to doing things I enjoy. I started this blog exactly one year ago, and I have invested a huge amount of time in it’s care and feeding. Hopefully I can keep it up, but don’t be surprised if I fall of the radar for extended periods of time. I’ve also been spending about two hours a day on my walking and exercise routine. That’s definitely going to be hard to keep up, but I will do my best. Fortunately, the RAC is open until 10:30.

I’ve also volunteered a lot of my time over the past year, and I am frantically trying to finish up a major project for Gallop 4 The Greenways this week. I’m cutting it close, but I think I can have a new fundraising website up and running before Monday rolls around.

Since October I’ve served on the board of the Economic Development Authority, and I am hoping to score one of the 30 volunteer spots for the upcoming Creative Communities Leadership Program. The selections are supposed to be announced sometime this week, and I am seriously torn over the possibility of conflict with what is likely to be a very inflexible work schedule. If a choice has to be made, I would probably quit the crappy job and focus on the CCLP instead. The difference I could make there will hopefully lead to more promising opportunities in the future.

If you had asked me a year ago, the possibility that I might be out of work for so long would have seemed preposterous. As the economy continues to deteriorate, I can now contemplate the very real possibility that I could go for another year without work. While I don’t believe that we’re entering a second Great Depression, the economic outlook for the coming year is far from rosy.

Even in a booming economy, I would have many factors working against me. At 47, I look forward and realize that I still have at least 20 productive years ahead of me. Unfortunately, from the employers perspective, they see me as someone who lacks the malleability of a younger employee, and represents higher costs in terms of salary expectations and health care benefits. I am also challenged by the fact that I live in a city with an increasingly one-dimensional economy, and I have already changed careers several times in my life.

In previous jobs, I’ve been responsible for a number of hiring and firing decisions. When evaluating prospective employees, I never looked favorably on anyone whose resume contained lengthy periods of unemployment. Now I am one of those people, and I know that the longer I am without a job, the lower my chances will be of getting one that I want.

Needless to say, my attitude regarding what I want to do versus what I am willing to do has changed considerably over the past year. During the first couple of months I considered some sort of freelance work, but I quickly realized that with my introverted nature, I lacked the contacts and the networking skills required to ever get off the ground. Since the majority of jobs are never advertised, I’m not finding it any easier to connect with potential employers than I would have with potential clients.

One of the major questions I keep asking myself is whether I am I better off to take a giant step backwards and essentially start over again, or should I hold out for something closer to my former position. While working for myself didn’t exactly make me rich, I had enjoyed a very successful career in the printing industry prior to that. If I had the same earning power today that I had then, our combined incomes would make us a target for a tax increase under President Obama’s plan. As it stands today, we’re safely within the 95%. Coming to terms with the notion that my peak earning years may already be behind me is not easy, but it is no longer my primary concern.

The older I get, the less importance I place on money as a measure of career satisfaction. I would be perfectly happy to earn a fraction of my previous income in a job that allowed me to be true to myself. Since I’ve had plenty of time to think about it lately, I’ve also come to realize a few more things about the way we define ourselves by what we do rather than who we are. Money and job titles are a convenient way of keeping score, and we tend to think of high scoring jobs as somehow being more satisfying than jobs that rank lower in income or prestige. Maybe we should all focus more on what makes us happy and not on what other people think of our career choices.

With the exception of our mortgage, the single largest item in our household budget is for child care. Our annual bill from Honeytree is nearly $8,000.00. I’ve considered being Mr. Mom for a while to avoid that expense, but since Jennifer works at home it would be impossible for her to get anything done with Robert in the house. It would also make it that much more difficult for me to ever find a job if I spent all my time keeping watching him. The real kick in the pants is that since I am not working, we won’t be able to deduct our child care expenses this year.

Beyond the financial consequences, extended unemployment takes a personal toll. With every passing day, nagging self doubt brought on by repeated rejection makes it more difficult to put myself out there. I’ve always had problems sleeping, but my insomnia has worsened to the point that I only get about 4 hours of sleep each night. My son is too young to think less of me for now, but one day he will wonder why I don’t go to work like all of the other daddies. I’m not looking forward to that day.

Given that the odds against me finding worthwhile employment are getting worse with every passing day, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only opportunities I’m going to find are the ones I create for myself. Somehow I have to figure out a way to utilize my greatest talents productively while overcoming my inherent weaknesses. In order to make that happen, I probably need to find a partner with a personality that is the polar opposite of my own.

We’ve all seen salespeople deliberately steer a customer toward a product or service that doesn’t meet their needs because it will earn them a larger commission than the one the customer really wants. What about the mechanic who replaces perfectly good parts on your car? These are events that we have all experienced, but what does the practice say about sales people or mechanics in general? Are they all crooks, or do the actions of a few cause them all to suffer a loss of reputation?

What about the attorneys or the ad agencies who bill for an hours work for a task that only takes 5 minutes? How many people have ever punched in for a friend who was running late, or claimed personal meals on an expense report? How often do supervisors and managers claim credit for the ideas and accomplishments of their subordinates? Is this behavior so common that we should accept it as the norm, or do most of us hold ourselves to a higher standard?

I witnessed some amazing examples of corruption during my years in the commercial printing business. I knew sales reps who earned six figure incomes because their spouse happened to be the buyer for a major corporation. I saw corporate buyers who supposedly act in the best interest of their employers receive personal gifts ranging from wedding dresses to lavish vacations. It’s difficult to determine which party is more culpable in those cases; the ones offering the bribes or the ones who accept them.

Have you ever stopped to wonder how certain people are able to achieve positions of power in the first place? Have they cheated the system along the way, or do they have the talent and experience to justify their positions? Are personal connections worth more than competence on the job? How common is the practice of resume padding, and is exaggerating our accomplishments and responsibilities the same as making up degrees we’ve never earned? Is the practice so widespread that otherwise honest people have to lie in order to get noticed?

We see countless cases of borderline criminal fraud on television every day. My favorite examples are the infomercials that offer a 30 day trial period for an expensive product at a ridiculously low price. What they never mention is that the low price only covers the trial period and not the product itself. Then there are the medical supply companies who exist for the primary purpose of defrauding Medicare. Do the people who create these ads have a conscience, or are they oblivious to the consequences of their actions?

There are criminal acts that often get overlooked as well. What about the merchant who keeps the cash register drawer open to avoid ringing up every sale, or the used car dealer rolling back the mileage on a car. What about the predatory lenders or the slumlords? These people are often respected members of their community until they get caught. Even if their actions are blatant, people pretend not to notice until they become headline news.

I consider myself to be an honest person, but I admit that I am not perfect. I have worked for unscrupulous employers in the past, and I have refused to participate in actions that I found to be ethically dubious. I’ve passed up opportunities to earn a handsome income by engaging in questionable schemes, but I prefer a clear conscience to the ill-gotten gains.

In my youth, I was a mystery to my parents and teachers, and my academic performance baffled everyone. I managed to ace any class that interested me with virtually no effort, while others left me so bored that I simply zoned out and didn’t listen to a word. My last two years in high school were spent at a small private college preparatory day school. I had higher standardized test scores than all but a handful of my classmates, but I graduated 33rd in a class of 34 students.

Most people thought I was lazy, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. When there is important work to be done, I am the kind of person who does not stop until it is finished. I simply had a different standard then for what I considered to be important. Adolescent rebellion also played a major role. I was pushed constantly to conform to someone else’s standards, but no one made the slightest effort to understand mine. The harder other people pushed to turn me into something I was not, the more stubborn I became in my refusal.

One thing I discovered about my self at a fairly early age was that when the pace of instruction was accelerated, my interest level and my academic performance peaked. Throughout high school and college I attended summer school on a regular basis because the format suited my style of learning. Summer classes typically condense a semester’s worth of instruction into two weeks of concentrated class time. I never took a summer class that I did not ace. I was not aware of it at the time, but Colorado College follows this type of schedule throughout the year. I would have gotten a great deal more out of my college experience in this type of atmosphere.

Since no one ever figured out what made me tick, I didn’t receive any worthwhile guidance when it came time to consider colleges or career paths. My father’s suggestion that I should become a CPA demonstrated just how totally oblivious he was to my fundamental nature. He never attempted to force his preference on me, but was quick to shoot me down whenever I expressed an interest in any sort of creative field.

If I could go back and do it all over again, I would probably study Architecture or Industrial Design. I have the ability to envision complex designs in my mind, and I get tremendous satisfaction from turning those visions into reality. When I walk into a house for the first time, I immediately begin to remodel it in my head. I can walk through a building under construction and envision the finished product with perfect clarity. The thing that held me back when I was younger is the fact that I cannot draw, but with the computer aided design tools available today that would not be an issue.

Unfortunately, by the time we reach our mid-forties, going back to school to study an entirely new career field is not a very practical solution. I will never be an architect, but I would love to figure out some other way to utilize my creative abilities. While it’s too late for me to follow the perfect educational and career path, it’s not too late for my son. At the age of three, he is already displaying signs of an introverted nature. I fully intend to figure out what makes him tick so I can provide the guidance and support he will need to find his own path.

You might think that having ideas is a great thing, but they tend to come so quickly that each one is a distraction from the one that came before it. This makes it difficult to fully evaluate any one idea to determine its merit, or to commit myself to bringing any of them to fruition. It also makes it very difficult to settle on a course of action for seeking employment.

I’ve been out of work for most of 2008, and the sad fact is that I am no closer to finding a job today than I was six months ago. Part of my problem lies in the fact that my varied talents and interests over the years have led me to follow a very unconventional career path. I have the knowledge and ability to perform a wide variety of jobs, but I lack the credentials and the years of industry specific experience that most employers demand. My introverted nature also prevents me from engaging in the kind of networking activities that most people rely on to find work.

I’ve learned several very important lessons about myself over the course of my working life, and I’m struggling to find the employment opportunity that will allow me to perform to my highest potential. I know that I can be an incredible asset to any organization that will allow me to utilize my talents in a manner that is in keeping with my fundamental nature. My challenge is to find a situation that fits these parameters.

I am at my absolute best when faced with a constant variety of new tasks and challenges. I have the ability to learn and master new skills very quickly, but once I’ve developed a high level of proficiency my interest tends to wane. I have a talent for designing systems and strategies, but once the creative work is completed, the implementation of those systems is best left to someone else.

I need to work on complex projects that I can complete on my own or as part of a very small team. When I begin a challenging project, I can focus with incredible intensity on the completion of the task, and I do not stop until the job is done. I can picture the completed project clearly in my mind, and I get tremendous satisfaction from turning my vision into reality. When I have to rely on other people to contribute, I tend to lose focus and patience if they do not share my level of commitment or my sense of urgency.

I need to be part of a relatively small organization. Over the years I’ve worked for tiny privately owned companies and large publicly traded corporations. I am at my best when I am able to contribute to the overall success of the organization rather than being a tiny cog in a large machine.

I need to be surrounded by intelligent people. The most effective way to refine my thoughts and ideas is through interaction and brainstorming with people who are smart, creative and intellectually curious. I have little patience for people who lack these qualities.

I need to be part of an ethical organization. I am driven by a very powerful internal sense of right and wrong, and I do not associate with people or organizations whose actions are not in keeping with my standards. I cannot work for a company that does not operate with the best interest of their customers in mind by providing honest value and fair treatment.

It has taken me a lifetime to figure these things out, and some of these lessons have been learned the hard way. The older I get, the more determined I am not to repeat my mistakes. I’ve worked for large companies that lacked any sense of direction or mission, and I’ve worked for unscrupulous companies that had no regard for their customers or employees. My challenge now is to find an employer that will enable me to reach my highest potential by remaining true to myself. Hopefully it won’t take another lifetime.

If you find it hard to put your best foot forward while mixing and mingling with a room full of strangers, it is essential to develop an alternative strategy for making yourself known to people who are in the know. I’ve put together a list of possible alternatives to traditional networking that just might work for you. These approaches may not produce the same immediate or spontaneous results as a chance encounter at a traditional networking event, but they will at least serve to “get your name out there”.

Write For Trade Journals: Virtually any industry you can think of has at least one dedicated trade journal, and these publications are always on the lookout for well written articles on relevant subjects. If you’ve got the writing skills and the industry specific knowledge required to create compelling content, this is a great way to establish a reputation as an expert in your field. Most publications don’t pay much, but if you’re asked to become a regular contributor the notoriety is worth far more than the financial compensation. Be sure that every article you submit includes contact information at the end so readers can get in touch with you directly.

Volunteer For Speaking Engagements: It might sound strange at first, but there are plenty of introverts who are talented public speakers. Local business and civic organizations are always in need of speakers for their regular meetings, and volunteers are usually welcome. These meetings are precisely the kind of event where a lot of networking takes place, and you can use that to your advantage. You can easily avoid the idle chit-chat that takes place before the program, but after your presentation you are likely to be approached by a number of people who wish to discuss your specific area of expertise. This is a real opportunity for an introvert to shine. If you make a positive impression, people will think of you when they come across the perfect opportunity.

Start A Blog: If you’re trying to get noticed online, all you need to know is that search engines love blogs. The fact that they are updated regularly and typically filled with keyword-rich content makes them an irresistible target for search-bots. If you’re looking for work, a blog dedicated to your specific area of expertise is a great way to get noticed, and to develop a reputation as an expert in your field. Keep in mind that the appearance and content of your blog should reflect your professionalism, so don’t mix personal and professional information on the same site. If you really want to write about your love of Star Wars, or your collection of Unabomber memorabilia, do this on a different site, and be sure to use an alias. Just remember that search engines also track the information you don’t want potential employers to see.

Place An Ad: While it’s true that most jobs are never advertised, it’s also true that business owners and managers frequently read the classifieds just to keep up with what the competition is doing. If you’re seeking work in a specific industry, consider placing a position wanted ad. Just be sure to ask that it be included with the job listings for your industry rather than in a separate section. Most cities also have a weekly or monthly newspaper dedicated specifically to local business issues. These reach a very targeted audience, and the advertising rates are usually pretty reasonable. A small display ad in one of these publications can be a great way to promote yourself.

Volunteer For Non-Profits: Most non-profit organizations are under-funded, and under-staffed, and they welcome all the volunteer help they can get. Find an organization whose work you admire and volunteer your services. It’s a great way to meet people with similar interests who just might be your key to discovering hidden opportunities. Small organizations frequently have vacancies on their boards that go unfilled for extended periods. Volunteering as a board member is a great alternative to traditional networking, and it looks good on your resume too.