Just this morning, I called a client to confirm his appointment with me.  The only number he’d given was his cell phone, which I dialed.  For approximately three full minutes (I timed it), I was constrained to listen to a piece of music the man obviously thought would entertain his callers.  Although the music was pleasant, I found it rather excruciating.  I had to listen to the piece in its entirety until his actual voice mail kicked in, allowing me to leave a message.  But that, too, was another minute’s wait as I was treated to the man blessing me in two languages and asking me to have an absolutely wonderful day in the light of the Lord.  As he represented business, I found the patience to hang on … by a thread.

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Is a thank you letter a nicety or critical business protocol? 

In days gone by, guests of dinner parties penned thoughtful little thank you notes to their hosts and hostesses, in gratitude for their hospitality.  Nowadays, those notes have gone the way of the fifteen-cent subway token, as have most of the genteel manners that we as a society seem to have lost, ignored, or simply trampled in our daily rush through our lives.  Sometimes, however, the tried and true remains valid, and that is the case with thank you letters (also called “follow up letters”) to your prospective employers.

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Do you remember this scene from the great old movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?  Pursued by the law, anti-heroes Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) arrive at a bluff overlooking a long drop ending in churning waters.   Butch screams, “Jump!”  And his partner hollers back, “I can’t swim!”  Confronted with personal questions on interviews, job applicants can be made to feel like Butch and Sundance at the end of that cliff: damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

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Oh, happy job hunter, your search has ended!  Your tenacity, ingenuity, professionally written resume and cover letter, and savvy interviewing techniques have paid off.  After what seemed an interminable search, and despite stiff competition, you have landed the job and are about to let your breath out.  Our advice is: “Don’t!”

Don’t take for granted that the position you’ve secured will be safe from future and even deeper economic downturns than the ones with which we’ve been plagued since September 2008.  As the last to be hired, you could very well be the first to be terminated.  To hedge your bets, continue with the strategies that proved successful in locating your new position.

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As God is my witness, I once dated a man who admitted on our first (and consequently, last) date that his goal in life was to become a professional student.  When I asked him to clarify this oxymoron, he explained that he’d hoped to achieve the highest level of education and continue to pile on more academic qualifications so as to delay his entry into the “real world” for as long as possible.  The man was intelligent as well as serious.  He was also obviously far out of touch with reality.

Most of us sketching our blueprints for long-term career growth include higher education in our plans.  Over the last few decades, many employers have refused to view candidates for growth-oriented positions if they did not possess Master degrees.  More recently, hungry job seekers have trumped their post-graduate peers through attainment of Doctorates. While a PhD may appear at first glance to be the crème de la crème of academic achievements, it is not feasible, due to time considerations and/or finances, for every job seeker to achieve a Doctorate.  If you are hunting for a job in this economy, then, how do you compete with your more learned peers?

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To be perfectly blunt, the economy looks bleak.   American manufacturing jobs sold to foreign corporations, a flailing stock market, and companies paring staff down to the bare minimum: none of this paints a rosy future for job seekers.  Those who are pragmatic will craft alternate plans as their idealistic counterparts search desperately for employment in once-familiar and now deserted quarters.

 The practical among us will begin by asking themselves what they are willing, and what they are not wiling to do, in starting over.  Their questions will include:

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