Many career experts agree that the best time to look for a new job is while you are still comfortably in your old one. If you’re starting to feel unchallenged in your present position, you may be ready for a promotion to the next level. If there aren’t many career advancement opportunities where you

Nowadays, it’s up to you to take control of your professional future and make sure that you are progressing wisely down the right career path. Here are 10 proven strategies to help you get started:

According to Business Week, the average employee has a one-in-three chance of getting fired. Here’s what you’ll need to know in the event that the ax falls on you!

Q: Is it better to pre-empt a firing by resigning instead?
A: In most cases, no. Out of pride, many people fall into this trap and wind up waiving claim to severance pay, benefits, earned bonuses and commissions, and unemployment compensation. With so many victims of downsizings and reorganizations, being “let go” doesn’t carry the stigma it once did — in fact most prospective employers won’t even bat an eye!

When a company starts to consider you seriously, you should begin to think about the negotiation. What do you want? What are you prepared to accept? How badly do you want the job?

Negotiations can conclude in one of four ways:

1. You can negotiate and get everything you want.
2. You can negotiate and get half of what you want.
3. The company can stand firm with its offer and make no effort to negotiate.
4. The company can withdraw its original offer.

Do you want to extend your time looking for a job? Of course not. Candidates are always on the lookout for the most efficient, effective way to find new work. The following tips — when heeded during the job search and interview processes — can make job hunting go by faster:

1. Customize your résumé and cover letter.
It might seem faster to blast off generic materials to dozens of employers, but this will cost you time in the long run. Tailor your résumé and cover letter to each open position to clearly demonstrate how your experience fills the employers’ requirements. For example, if you’re applying for a public relations role, give your PR experience a prime spot on your résumé.

“I hate this job!” You hear this often from people who are not satisfied with the job they hold. But they can’t take this thing called “job” away from them because it brings food to the table, buys them clothes and shoes to keep them in fashion, buys medicine to keep them healthy, and pays for almost everything they need on a day-to-day basis. Technically, it’s ironic that something like a “job” would be hated by so many people when it can bring them many benefits.