Here at TheLadders.com, you're more than our customers – you're our teachers, too. Readers, every week we learn more about what's going on in the job market and how many of you are using TheLadders.com and your own smarts, courage and perseverance to land great new jobs.

You're a generous bunch, too, Readers. Lots of you have spoken with our editorial team about your routes to job success. This week, I'd like you to meet Brian, Shannon, Michael, Jeromy, David and Stephen and let them share their own secrets of job-search success.

Volunteering Expands Network, Reveals Jobs

When the mobile startup Brian Clark was working for ran out of financing in February 2008, he thought he could take some time off, relax and recharge. Then the recession hit, and Brian found he needed to recharge his network instead. Until he found his new job through SalesLadder, Brian worked on extending his personal brand by volunteering on local government committees in his hometown of Thousand Oaks, Calif. "Expanding my network was not only healthy from a business standpoint but from an emotional standpoint as well," he said. "Being unemployed can be isolating. But volunteering, having social interaction, having a full schedule and places to invest your time, is invigorating."

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A Whole New City, A Whole New Industry

Moving for a new job is never easy. Shannon Owen had a house, a daughter and a fiancé – not to mention the rest of her family – in Phoenix. But the area was suffering from the economic downturn, so the MktgLadder member expanded her geographical options and found a great new position in Columbus, Ohio, and a new role in the pharmaceutical industry. While it is difficult to leave Phoenix behind, Shannon's looking forward to the adventure. "My fiancé was understanding while I was going through this process," she said. "I told him where I was applying, and we discussed the parameters. He was laid off as well, and when I got back from Columbus after the interview, it was almost a sign that it was time to make a change."

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Financial-Services Freeze Opens Up Network's Calendars

Michael Benjamin realized he was going to have a tough time re-entering the job force after being laid off last October from his financial-services job. "I wasn't too junior, I wasn't too senior, I was the mid-level guy," he said. "And that's who was getting laid off. Those jobs were the ones no one was hiring for. I had to think of a way to branch out, to find a fit." Michael used the time to expand his network while working on SalesLadder, where he landed a higher-paying job at a technology company. "There's nothing wrong with aiming a little higher," he said. "Just don't aim too high. Apply for a job where this is a realm of possibility. Know what skills you can offer."

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A Father Finds a Job Close to Home

Jeromy Smith knew he had been on one too many business trips when his daughter, age five, asked him why he didn't want to stay home with her. "I felt awful when she said that," said the father of two girls, age five and age three. "That made me realize I needed to find a job where I wouldn't have to travel so much." Jeromy was on a partnership track at consulting firm Deloitte; he worked with his mentors there on a transition strategy, then used TheLadders to update his resume and locate a new job at L-1 Identity Solutions. "It's not a partnership, it's a publicly traded company," he said. "There is upward mobility, but not near as much compensation as at Deloitte. My raises are not going to be as big, but that was a decision that my wife and I made."

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Director Lands C-Level Job By Tracking Trends

David White realized he might have done his job as a project manager at one of Wisconsin's largest HMOs a little too well when, near the end of a two-year contract, he'd created efficiencies that allowed the company to cut more than 70 jobs. David took an early "out" from his contract and used OpsLadder to land a position as CIO with a large public accounting firm in nearby Madison, Wis. "I hooked up with this new CIO position in about 35 days," he said. "Even in the midst of the economic crisis that was getting worse in November of last year, I knew that with my skills and my knowledge of trends in the market that I'd be able to find something without a problem," he said.

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Skype Job Interview Pays Off

When Stephen Bhadran took a job as a Java developer with a Florida startup in July 2007, he was excited about the opportunity. He moved his family from Los Angeles to Florida and dove head first into the work. But within seven months the company's Web site started laying people off, and Stephen lost his job in March. Stephen joined TechnologyLadder and developed a small Java application as his calling card with various employers. The University of California at Los Angeles had an opening, but they didn't want to fly Stephen to Los Angeles for an interview. Instead, he told them, "'I can do the interview on Skype.' And then I gave them a demo of the app that I had built, and they were able to watch it, and they were pretty happy with it." In early April, he was offered the job of principal system analyst at UCLA.

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Readers, I look forward to learning from your success stories! Good luck this week – I'm rooting for you!

Warmest regards,

Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO
TheLadders.com, Inc.