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Are you frustrated with your current job and ready to either move up or move on? Maybe you feel it's time to look for a new job with higher pay, better benefits, and a lot more job satisfaction. And, quite possibly, you've been downsized, let go, or fired and need a good job fast.

Chances are, you've experienced one or all of these situations. You may be looking for a new job now. If so, you can benefit from these five simple tips to help you find and land the job of your dreams.

I learned these strategies during my 25 years as CEO of a large staffing firm. During that time, then later as a career coach, I worked with every kind of person, job, success story, and horror story you can imagine. From those years I gleaned these five top ways to get the kind of work you want.

1. Take ACTION! Those two short words are the key to the treasure. Most people don't get the job they deserve because they're too overworked, too tired, too discouraged, or not motivated enough to jump up and get their job search going. Don't sit there -- get moving, NOW!

2. Toot your own horn to draw attention to your abilities, ideas, and accomplishments. This is particularly true for people trying to move up in their current organization. Too often we play down our accomplishments and wind up getting ignored at promotion time. Make sure you tactfully point out your skills, good ideas, and big wins to the boss.

3. Go the extra mile. If you're looking for a new job, don't simply stop with a resume and a cover letter. Offer to help the employer with ideas via email, make yourself available 24/7 by cell phone, or offer to stop by the employer's office at his or her convenience.

4. Stand OUT from the crowd. Anything you can do to separate yourself from all the other applicants will put you miles ahead. You might write a different kind of resume, have your application package delivered by singing courier, put your ideas on DVD video, or create a web site specifically to answer questions related to the job you are applying for.

Let your imagination go to work on this. Consider the industry you're in, the personality of the boss you're talking to, and what creative strategy could best bring attention to your unusual abilities.

5. Be a leader. When you work to stand out from the crowd, you look like a leader to employers. Every employer needs people who are self-motivated, who can work well with others, who can solve problems, save money, increase production, and keep going without a lot of maintenance. Take strides to show you're that kind of person, a leader who the employer can rely on to make good things happen.

Use these 5 simple strategies to get the job of your dreams or move up in your current position. By making yourself more visible and drawing attention to your best attributes, you greatly increase your chances of getting the recognition you may have been missing.