I was recently reviewing comments from successful customers who cared to write us to share their job hunt experiences. Of course, I heard mainly from those who had followed our program of alternative job search strategies. It's always encouraging to discover that so many people found the alternative system so effective.

But I wondered what it was like to struggle with finding a job when you didn't use an alternative success system. So often we like to dwell only on the glowing successes. Then I found the story of Tim Johnston who chronicled his job adventure in the Wall Street Journal Career Journal.

I won't go through the very real trials and tribulations of his hunt. It was painful. It was rewarding. Ultimately it was very successful. What did strike me, however, were his reflections on the job search a few months into his new job.

The first comment he made was, ?Never let an employer smell your desperation; it's completely off-putting . . . . Be comfortable with where you are and who you are, and people will be drawn to you.?

He then goes on to report a couple things he wishes he had known before he got laid off:

1. ?Networking isn't vulgar. I never really understood that before.?

2. ?I'm now committed to the careful feeding and watering of my network.?

3. ?I'll try to stay connected during good times and support those who are going through hard times so that I'll have more folks to lean on (and feel better about doing so) when I hit another rough patch.?

But, what really struck me about this obviously dedicated worker and thoughtful job hunter were his concluding thoughts.

?Going forward, I'll critically view each work activity and project I engage in to determine how I can maximize value for my employer and myself, and how I can grow from the experience. If it isn't worth doing, I'll find a way to get it done quickly or not do it at all. I'll build a solid record of accomplishments and not have to wonder quite as much about how I spent my time when I need to redo my resume again.?

It took Tom eight months to find a job. My only regret, as I read his compelling story, was that he didn't use The World's Fastest Alternative Job Search System. I could have shown him how to shorten his job hunt to as little as two weeks!

If Tom had been willing to give up his old-fashioned methods for finding a job and subscribed to the exciting, fresh non-traditional career advancement strategies, he could have taken the sting out of his campaign and turned it into the career adventure of a lifetime!