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&lt;!--StartFragment--&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;It wasthe great English poet-philosopher William Blake who said, &quot;To &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;generalize&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; isto be an idiot. To particularize is the alone distinction.&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;That was in the 18&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sup&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;th&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;century, but great truths don&#39;t change, even in 200 years.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;And when it comes to job search andcareer advancement in the 21&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sup&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;st&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; century, generalizing can be fatal.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Let meexplain why generalizing can kill your chances by presenting some&quot;conventional wisdom&quot; (generalizations all) and then, the reality(particulars).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Unemploymentis 8.9% so there can&#39;t be any jobs – &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Sure, it makes sensethat &quot;nobody&quot; could be hiring if &quot;everybody&quot; is layingpeople off, except everybody is not downsizing and even those who are may behiring in other offices or for specific positions.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;In fact, more people have been hired this year in the U.S.than have been laid off.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;NorthCarolina doesn&#39;t have jobs in wake of B of A and Wachovia downsizing – &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;It&#39;scertainly true that those large employers have laid off workers and stoppedhiring, and the unemployment rate has hit almost 11%, however there arehundreds of new jobs being offered by biotech and pharma companies looking forpeople with skills in chemistry and engineering.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Thereare no jobs in media, especially in New York – &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Thismakes sense, on the surface, as the economic meltdown has led to cutbacks inadvertising and a general tightening of the media job market.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;However, on-line advertising continuesto grow and I know (personally) more than a dozen people who have been hired inthe past six months to sales &amp;amp; marketing positions at media companies inManhattan (including mainstream).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;It&#39;seasy to get a job in Government right now – &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Stimuluspackage equals more jobs equals a job for you.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Well, not so fast, unfortunately.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Indeed, though the government currently has huge hiringneeds, those jobs are among the hardest on earth to actually land.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;First you have to navigate achallenging application process, then you have to be chosen from among millionsof applicants who believe the same generality as you, then you have navigate abrutal interviewing and vetting process, and then (in most cases) you have towait for weeks and weeks for approval.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;The moral of this post is:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;don&#39;t make assumptions based on generalities and do yourhomework on every aspect of your job search.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Look for shifts within industries, localized opportunities,and companies behaving exceptionally versus their competition.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Force yourself to thinkcounter-intuitively.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Assume thereis a silver lining to every negative generality and that will increase yourchance of a successful career transition.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;!--EndFragment--&gt;

Erik Sorenson

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