In light of the troubling economic climate and tightening job market, what is the one thing that job seekers must do in order to be successful in landing a good job and advancing their careers in 2009?

1. Job seekers must utilize as many search outlets as possible, especially their networks.

2. Networking - someone who knows someone who's hiring.

3. You should advance your skills. For instance, job seekers should obtain a marketable certification or go back to school for an advanced degree.

4. Job seekers must keep their skill-sets current. You do not need formal training to obtain knowledge in key IT concentrations or to become an expert for the "next big thing". There is a wealth of knowledge on the Internet and within social networks, exhaust those resources. 

5. Assess what’s hot in IT and retrain themselves for that niche.

6. There's nothing Americans can do. This game is fixed and all the jobs are going to Indians.    

7. Network.

8. Choose a field other than IT.

9. Continue to network. It is still who you know that gets one in the door

10. Keep their skills fresh, meaning understanding the latest trends and issues in your respective area(s).

11. Diversity their professional portfolio and learn other skills, even if it means a completely different career path.

12. In any field, job seekers need to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. This means being the person who can deliver the goods when I job needs to be done. It means being supportive of organizational goals. It means being generally helpful to your peers. It can also man things like shifting your focus into more specialized fields. The bottom line is that organizations will try their very best to hang on to solid performers and, in the event of layoffs, solid performers are likely to rebound more quickly than others.

13. Individuals need to be as flexible and open minded as possible in terms of the opportunities they are willing to consider, particularly if they are unemployed. Job seekers need to realize that career "advancement" may not be a possibility in these times, and that career/experience expansion and lateral moves may be more realistic.

14. Follow up with employers after submitting your resume. Take as much training as you can. Networking is key - attend as many events as possible.

15. Keep skills current.

16. Exposure, exposure and more exposures get in the face of as many companies as possible during this time. Interviewing with as many hiring managers as possible to allow yourself the opportunity to pick which company fits "you" better.

17. Stay focused on job hunting

18. Skills, especially around virtualization technologies, will bebcome increasingly critical in 2009 as companies look to streamline IT and reduce costs. This is a technology area that most in IT seem to be missing - especially in BDPA!!!!! How could a technology thought leadership group continue to miss this disruptive trend in the IT industry? Skills around VMware, Xen, Microsoft Hyper-V, Solaris Containers, and the new IBM Power6 platforms will become increasingly critical going forward, and those who how these technologies will rewrite the rules around how we will build and run data centers in the future will reap huge rewards in their careers.

19. Certification and advanced education.

20. Keep your technical and business skills sharp.

21. Evaluate their skill set and align it with the market. 

22. I think job seekers must shift their mindset to trying to create solutions at all times instead of being in maintenance mode. We should try and push technology to the limits and be able to extract as much innovation from it as possible.

23. NETOWRK, NETWORK, NETWORK!!! The best jobs that I have acquired, were the ones I learned about through friends, schools, organizational memberships and associates.

24. Creating an effective job network of people who know who is hiring and the people that do the actual hiring. The one weakness of BDPA is that we do not have a network in place to accomplish this task.

25. Blacks should get more education (MS or MBA) and/or training NOW! 

26. Be flexible and willing to relocate or travel. You may have to leave the country.

27. Build your skills and do small jobs that involve your field of expertise, as well as expand your skill set.

28. Learn how to interview well and keep their skills current.

29. Network - Network - Network. If this doesn't work then find a way to retool their skills.

30. I believe there is a glut of individuals holding certifications but may not hold critical thinking concepts. The importance of formal education may begin to be very important in the near future. The new Presidential administration has changed the focus from bringing in ex-CEO's to bringing in Educators and Researchers. Companies will hold on to the critical thinkers and researchers that will help bring low-cost innovation.

31. Be diverse in their skill and knowledge to have more options. 

32. Seek opportunities in growing fields and look to retool skill sets to take advantage of opportunities. Keep an open mind to new industries or possibly relocation / travel in order to broaden the range of possible positions. Seek certifications to validate skill sets and expertise. Lastly, Federal level contractors have maintained rather strong. Seek opportunities where you can acquire a Security Clearance which will addd to your future opportunities / marketability.

33. Diversify your skill set, if you have been working in the same job several years, show other things that you have learned or picked up on within that time frame, the more skills on your resume the better for it to find its way into a recruiters search.

34. Stay current.

35. I believe the # 1 thing that a job seeker needs to do is be a member of a professional organization like BDPA so you can tap into a network of resources, 2nd thing is join LinkedIn and make use of the side apps that are tied to LinkedIn like the presentation module where you can present materials that you have created. Also join at least 2 user forums within LinkedIn. The other thing that Job seeks should do is attend a Toastmasters in their area, many of the folks in Toastmaster are in current jobs whom are looking to improve their presentation skills. This provides two opportunities to the job seeker, he/she can work on improving their verbal and non-verbal skills as well as network with other professionals. The other thing which a job seeker can do is join volunteer in the community, join a community based organization or civic group this may open the path to other opportunities. The main thing is to market yourself. I would suggest reading "What color is your Parachute, the 2009 edition, also Think and Grow Rich, and lastly pick up or check out Jeffrey Gitomer's books at your local Borders books. He's techniques on selling are GREAT and will provide a methodology for how what you can do to sell yourself which is ultimately what you need to do. Another which you should do is get business cards for yourself, list your strengths on the front or back of the card, develop a 15-30 second elevator pitch which you can spout out at any time to anyone on who you are, what projects or work you've don in the past, what you are interested in and what you can do for a business. I am doing a "Successful Job Strategies in 2009" program for my BDPA Orlando chapter and this here is some of the material which I will be presenting.

36. keep skill sets up to date

37. Stay current with an up and coming technology like BEA.

38. Have multiple talents.

39. Be strategic in their efforts by tailoring each search to the employer and their specific needs.  

40. Know people. Know a LOT of influential people.

41. Be very versatile, and have a solid grasp of the technological and business side of IT.