The job search should be a job quest if you want to get the edge

Encouraging news for job seekers from author and career counselor Sheila Markin Nielsen.

\"In general we're seeing a more robust job market,\" Nielsen said while appearing live on the CBS 58 News at 4 p.m.  \"But it doesn't mean that all sectors are getting better.\"

Nielsen also pointed out that the money many job seekers aim for may not materialized either.

Nielsen has come up with a unique concept when it comes to finding a job.

She says it should be more of a quest than a search. Hence the name of her book \"Job Quest.\"

\"They sit in front of computers send out resumes and hope for the best. You don't really land jobs by sitting in front of the computer,\" warned Nielsen.

To get from the cottage to the castle, Nielsen says try to avoid the ogres, those that will ditch the resume and do nothing with it.

Instead she says look for wizard and knights.

\"These are people who are 40 to 70 years old with a lot of connections.\"

She says through rapid relationship meetings, lunch or coffee, they get to know you and like you. Then they will talk about you and that's where the real job opportunities lie.

Before you start the quest and meeting with wizards, Nielsen says it's important to define what you're looking for, what you need and what your skill set really is.

\"They can help match you with the right job.\"

She also likens researching a potential employer to being an FBI agent.

She says don't just settle for what you see in the interview.

\"Go behind the scenes. Talk to people who used to work there or family and friends who work there. Ask them what's really going on.\"

When questioning such individuals keep the questions open ended.

For example, what you like, what you don't like and what you would change.

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