Out of the Box and Into the Jungle Once More

November is almost over and soon it will be December. January will then be marching by as fireworks will conclude 2012 and grace the December night skies. 

January would be an exciting year for everyone. The promise of a new year will bring about hope for those with strong countenance, and fear and discouragement for those with weak spirit.

January will then be a dream come true for the dreamers. It would be a time of exciting explorations for the adventurers. It would bring forth good fortunes to some, and bad karma to others. 

Whatever January brings, I am sure it would be good tidings for me. I am confident that I would be able to go outside of the box and explore the vast jungle (the world of work) once more  as I am going to embark on a new adventure. I am now ready to face and defeat new challenges in my soon-to-be new career.

Since I am still inside my box now (my very own box of an office) I still couldn't see the entire jungle ... I could only glimpse a promising sunshine. It's scary when I think about it, but the thought excites me as well. Staying in my box next year will only mean facing the same people, dancing the same music and feeling the same stress everyday. It would be so boring then. I couldn't see myself going through the same experience everyday until 60. Doing it for more than four years now without any hope of growth is already an exemplary act on my part. 

You see, I am about to embark to a new jungle to find a new job, a career and a new challenge. I am still unsure where, but I already got an idea how to get there. I have even taken my first steps. I know, it would just be somewhere near. It would surely be somewhere special... a jungle where I could once again excel and grow and enjoy. A place where people truly appreciates efforts and support everyone's endeavors.

Come to think of it ....  What do I need to prepare myself for another jungle hunt? 

Below are 10 tips based from forbes.com:

1. Reach out to companies you admire.
• Amanda, an admissions officer and teacher in New York City, wrote a letter to a school where she wanted to work. She included her resume and described how much she valued the school and its programs. She got an offer three weeks later.
2. Focus on quality not quantity.
• Recent college grad Kym Lino got no responses to her mass e-mail blast until she focused on a specific job she found on Craigslist and submitted exactly what the employer requested: a cover letter, resume and three writing samples. Within three weeks she landed an offer.
3. Use blog to show off your expertise.
• Lino also got an offer from a PR agency after she told them about her three blogs.
4. Tap online job sites.
• Paul Gilmore used TweetmyJobs to land a recruiter position at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., branch of Synerfac Technical Staffing. Look beyond the usual mega-sites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com.
5. Use your network to make you look good.
• After submitting her resume, Amanda gave her future employer two references. The employer didn't call either of them and instead asked a mutual friend about Amanda. The lesson: Have your network do your personal PR. If a friend knows the person who's in charge of hiring you, ask him or her to reach out to the hiring manager and preemptively sing your praises.
6. Cleanup your online profile.
• Self-Googling is a smart way to determine whether your online personality jives with how you want the world to view you. Once Amanda submitted her resume, she searched her name to make sure that she had a clean online profile.
7. Use a headhunter.
• After Stephanie Cranford lost her job at a health care manufacturing company, she spent a few weeks searching job boards and tapping her network. Then she sought professional help. She submitted her resume to Ajilon Professional Staffing and landed a job offer two weeks later.
8. Pound the pavement.
• After the recession weakened the South Florida economy, Paul Gilmore lost his job as a technical recruiter. He printed out a stack of resumes and drove around depositing them at offices. "When you walk in the door you can assess the company," says Gilmore. "If they didn't have a receptionist, it's a clear sign that they didn't have enough money."
9. Be persistent.
• Stephanie Cranford says that she called or e-mailed prospective employers at least twice a week. "I tried to do it on Tuesdays and Thursdays," she says. "Mondays are often crazy and on Friday people are starting to gear up for the weekend."
10. Stay organized.
• "Keep track of everyone you talk to," says Gilmore. "Create a tickler file to remind you to follow up with people."