Hopefully by now you're excited about idea of integrating continual learning into your career. How can you do this? Well for one thing, successful people tend to maximize a concept that Human Resource professionals call "job stretch." Job stretch is difference between what your skills are now and skills that are required to perform a certain set of functions. Successful people seek to make their job stretch as wide as possible while still being able to do their job really well. This means volunteering for that project at work that you might have to spend some extra time researching to be able to do well. And it means applying for jobs that require slightly more expertise than you currently have, rather than slightly less. Having job stretch can make your work more engaging and exciting.

Another way to integrate continual learning is through formal education. This includes taking classes, earning degrees and certifications, reading, and generally absorbing knowledge in all ways possible. It used to be that taking classes meant committing to lengthy courses at a local university, which also required spending more time away from your family and loved ones. With invention of Internet, it's now possible to take classes online from accredited universities and technical schools. We have done some research and found a number of high quality online education offerings. To find out more, visit this web page: http://www.jobsearchinfo.com/degrees.htm

Once you know some things about a person in your network, you'll naturally find reasons to get in touch with them. If you find out they're a Yankees fan, you might e-mail them after a spectacular Yankee game and ask them what they thought of it. Or if you find out they're into fitness, you might e-mail them an article you came across about exercise techniques. These little communications -- especially if they're thoughtful and/or helpful -- will keep you on person's radar screen and they'll be more likely to think about you and your situation when they're talking to other people they know.

If you're looking for a way to make staying in touch with your contacts easier, we recommend checking out RelationshipSecure software. RelationshipSecure provides a way to send out e-mails to people in your Outlook address book to verify their contact information. They get an opportunity to make any necessary corrections, and those changes automatically update your Outlook address book. Find out more by visiting www.RelationshipSecure.com.

It also might make sense for you to start working on expanding your network of contacts. Now that you've gotten a sense of basics of networking effectively with other people, why not apply those techniques to working with recruiters? The great thing about recruiters is they are in business of knowing people who can help you find a new position. Posting your resume on several job boards is one effective way of getting in front of a lot of recruiters. We recommend ResumeDirector.com service for this. Using ResumeDirector, you enter your resume once and then it's posted instantly on over 90 job sites like Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder, etc.

Another approach to getting in touch with recruiters is to e-mail your resume to them. ResumeArrow.com lets you select your geographic location and job category and send your resume to recruiters who are looking for people like you.