I'm old enough to remember job searches that involved a newspaper, a red marker and a corded telephone with a dial. The digital information age has (as is true across many things) increased the tools we use but not necessarily elevated the quality of the pursuit or the percentage of success. Today's job seekers have to navigate a myriad of detours akin to playing a level 17 zombie video game. The walking dead characters crash into your workspace on the screen. These Zombies are played by; con jobs guised as employment offers (franchise offers, insurance agency mill grinders), digital glitches during the on-line application process and the barrage of "job seeker services" whose impact is questionable while they reach for your waning hope and visa card looking to take your last few bucks preying on your self-doubt. Then there is the worst beast in the entire Matrix...the final monster to slay and the biggest Demon is the one you invent during the Great Silent Void. The dead zone where your hours of effort fall into the HR Bermuda Triangle and can cast some onto the rocks of self-doubt and the bogs of mired anguish. There's no push A, while holding down the delete key that clears that minefield. Slaying that beast requires engagement with real people, not fighting the 1's and 0's. Truth be told, the best way to find your next gig, is via your circle of friends, trusted colleagues and the networking off the contacts they provide you. That was true in 1976 and it's true in 2016. Turn every human interface into a chance to talk about jobs...where are they and who knows who to help you get past level 1. For every hour you spend on your laptop/mac book/tablet searching, applying, refining your resume and polishing those customizable cover letters, you'd be better off spending 20 minutes calling 4 friends and networking. Imagine how many people you could reach in a week? The second piece of advice I learned the hard way, is treat each job pursuit as an Olympic challenge. The gate keepers, the digital voids, the time bandits and the unfair obstacles are always there (always have been). However, just like you learned when you got the last job, the reason it took them three days to call you back was Mary was out sick, or the boss had to sign off and wasn't available, or 10 other things that had nothing to do with YOU but the challenges at that business. You have to steel yourself not to accept the first NO nor assume the big bad VOID is a rejection. These things are the boogie man in your head playing on your inner voice. Usually, about as real as the gnome in the closet. For active "doers" this wait can be a torturous, de-humanizing endeavor and chill every ounce of steam in your Self-Esteem tank. Here is the reality, 97% of the time the void is just the one YOU created by not calling/following up/showing up at their office with the flexibility to wait for a window. They (the gate keepers) don't know you...your job is to convince, coerce, and conceive of a plan to make it worth their time to get to know you. There's 100 other things people can and should add to their search disciplines and many things to prep for before and after meeting #1, but to my mind, getting past the first non-answer is 75% of the game. Close the laptop (that is only your research tool). The internet search helps you see SOME of what MIGHT be available. The real job is out there but requires a more human interface effort. Or as Joshua said in the Movie War Games...."Interesting Game Professor, It Seems the Only Winning Move is Not to Play". Stop Playing, Start Working (pun intended).