If it is so easy, how come there are so many people that can’t quite get into a dream career path? And I’m not talking about the sluffers – I’m talking about folks that have done the “1-2-3″. Take me, for example – I have an undergrad in CIS and an MBA. I have had middle/senior management positions, and my resume bleeds results. But I couldn’t get a job. And I didn’t go to school for all those years just to be unemployed!

Here are a few examples of this… at Barbara Ehrenreich’s blog there are some great comments about who is ending up unemployed – these are highly qualified white collar folks… out of work – unemployed attorney’s… wouldn’t you think this would be a great career path?

So what’s the answer? I think it is a major paradigm shift. Its clear that the cradle-to-grave days are gone… geez, can you find anyone that offers a sweet pension, like our parents got in the olden days? Did you know that the average job change will occur every 2.8 years? Did you know that the folks that get ahead are the ones that know how to network? And how meaningful is that college degree now… even my MBA is becoming a dime-a-dozen.

There is not a 1-2-3 anymore. You need to develop a sophisticated career strategy. What you want and how you will accomplish it. Your military service is a big part of that, but don’t slack off. Learn more about what you could and should be doing to achieve the success that you are ultimately looking for. Stay tuned on this blog, and subscribe to http://www.JibberJobber.com/blog for daily job seeker tips. I guarantee nobody cares about your career more than you do – or more than you should.

There were no real tools readily accessible for me as a job seeker. Even CareerBuilder’s “Tools” section had…. more articles.

So, I created JibberJobber. JibberJobber is light on the advice and heavy on the tools. It provides, for free, the same types of tools that HR, salespeople and recruiters have to do their jobs effectively. JibberJobber takes all of the advice and allows you to put it into practice.

Further, JibberJobber’s value to you grows as you use it. For example, when I entered my job search I said “I don’t know anyone.” I had just moved to this town two years ago and spent the entire time being loyal to my employer. I didn’t even know where the big company’s headquarters were!

I hear this a lot. If you don’t know anyone, one of the first things you’ll start in your job search is listing out people in your network (and adding to this list) and companies you want to apply to. Right now that list is pretty sparse. But let’s say you use JibberJobber to put all of the new contacts in. Within a month you can have over 100 new contacts or prospective companies.

Let’s say you get a job after a month. Of course in 2.8 years you’ll be back in the job search, but this time you won’t say “I don’t know anyone” – you’ll say – I have over 100 contacts in JibberJobber, with phone numbers and even notes of the last conversations I had with them.

What a difference! If you keep adding during your employment, you could have a very rich network – not just a list of contacts but strong relationships with many of them!

I’m offering the premium version of JibberJobber for deployed troops during the entire time they are deployed, and twelve months after they get back. This should help alleviate some stress about what they’ll be doing when they get back.

Please spread the word about this special offer for the troops. Just have a soldier go to http://jibberjobber.com/affiliate.php?id=8 to begin… e-mail this to whoever you want, or if you have a blog, please blog on it.

No strings attached – this offer is valued at over $300 per soldier (if they are deployed for 18 months). And since it is web-based, a spouse or loved-one can work on the system (i.e., put prospective employers in) while the soldier is serving.