The rules for finding work once seemed pretty straightforward. In this myth-busting book, Author R. William Holland, a human resources insider, shows job seekers how those rules have changed. A clear resume, rehearsed interview answers, and face-to-face networking are no longer enough to land the job of your dreams--or even any job, for that matter. The key, rather than to emphasize past accomplishments or education, is to sell your value to prospective employers. In Cracking the New Job Market, Holland introduces the prevailing rules of this new approach to job seeking and equips readers to master the skills required for success. You’ll learn how to gather information on what a prospective employer finds important; emphasize key skills, accomplishments, and qualities in tailored resumes; tell the right stories during your interview; identify the intersection between personal talents and what the marketplace needs; unlock the networking power of social media; and negotiate the best possible offer. With enlightening insights and practical tips, this book delivers job-hunting strategies that actually work and can help you landing a great job--even in a challenging economy. " Cracking the New Job Market: The 7 Rules for Getting Hired in Any Economy may end up being the only book you need in your job search and if it's not, it comes tantalizingly close." ―New York Journal of Books “Holland has a sophisticated understanding of what is happening in the job market and what to do about it on a personal level. In forceful, plain­spoken English, he identifies, translates, and codifies the new rules. He knows how corporate America works, and how white-collar professionals can make it work for them.” — Excerpted from the foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the bestselling Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch Everyone knows that safe jobs and lifelong careers are long gone. So why do most job seekers and employment experts cling to outdated tactics for landing a good position? The usual advice—to capture career highlights in a résumé, practice answers to standard interview questions, and do lots of face-to-face networking—is the stuff of the past. Human resources insider R. William Holland delivers a completely new and radically improved set of rules for job hunters in today’s very tough market, where white-collar positions are shed at higher rates than those in any other sector. The key is to shift your focus from what you’ve done in the past—former job titles, duties, degrees—to the value you can create for an employer in the future. Value creation is the language employers respond to, and Cracking the New Job Market supplies powerful strategies for putting it to work for you, including how to: • Gather information on what prospective employers truly value • Tailor your résumé and interview answers to speak directly to what companies value • Locate prime employment opportunities that intersect with your personal talents and what the marketplace needs • Unlock the networking power of social media And many more tips for cracking the new job market! R. William Holland, Ph.D. , is founder of R. William Holland Consulting, LLC, specializing in HR and career management. The firm works in alliance with BeamPines, a talent-management company in New York City. He has also served as executive vice president at Right Management, Inc., and as chief human resources officer at Meridian Bank, the University of Pennsylvania, and the BP outsourcing business for Andersen Consulting. R. WILLIAM HOLLAND, PH.D. is founder of R. William Holland Consulting, LLC, specializing in HR and career management. He has also served as executive vice president at Right Management, Inc. and as chief human resources officer at Meridian Bank, the University of Pennsylvania, and the BP outsourcing business for Andersen Consulting. He is currently a senior vice president for BeamPines. Rule #1 Always Demonstrate Your Value   When Bob learned that his name was on a list of IT employees whose jobs were to be downsized—a polite term for “fired”—he knew exactly what would happen next. This was the third time in five years he had gone through the same routine. He would attend a group meeting, which would be followed by a one-on-one session with an outplacement counselor, followed by an appointment the very next day to start his job search. Bob would again be told that terminated employees should not dwell on negative emotions. Those who start on their job searches right away find work more quickly than those who do not. The group meetings always seemed to be held during the week but never on Fridays. He would eventually understand that outplacement firms got paid based on their “pick-up” rate—the number of people who actually start programs. Getting them to start without an intervening weekend improved the rate. But Bob had more to think about than how outplacement firms made money. He was w