Looking for a new job and not having success? In this four-part series, you will increase your odds of job search success in four steps.

Step One: Pretend that you’ve just gotten the scariest call in your life, and get in the right mindset. Before you read about what this means, please realize that step one might be a reach for some of you. You might roll your eyes. You might want to stop reading immediately. However, if you can suspend your disbelief for a moment and take in what I am asking you to do, then you might find that getting a new job becomes much easier.

Here is the scenario: Assume you get an anonymous call on your cell phone. The person on the other end gives you very scary news. They are holding hostage the person in your life that you hold most dear. You have exactly 30 days to find a new job, or you will never see this person again. At the same time, if you fail, they will come and get you next. Then they hang up.

Most people in this scenario would be clueless, but not you. You are going to take this scenario seriously.

You really are going to act as if your life depended on getting a new job. Most people lack urgency and edge when they want a new job – especially compared to someone whose life depends on it. Many are so cynical and discouraged that they give only a half-hearted effort. Others don’t work full time at it, even though they claim that they are. Too many job seekers treat the exercise as if their life were a dress rehearsal, not their one and only chance in this brief moment in this very short life.

You are different. You realize that getting a new job in just 30 days is going to be like pushing a boulder up a steep hill. You understand that you have to put five, 10 -- even 20 -- units of effort in, just to see one unit of result come back to you. While others barely get the rock moving before they quit, you are going to keep pushing and pushing – no matter how exhausted you are, until that rock starts its way up the hill. And then you are going to keep pushing. Even if you have to take a step or two backwards, you are never going to give up. You will keep moving up that hill.

One other thought: People pushing a boulder up a hill don’t have time to think about status, pride, or whether the next job is going to be as good as the last one. You also don’t have the luxury of going back to school or making a long-term plan to change your skills. Right now, you don’t have a job, and your life is at stake. You don’t have the luxury to whine, or think like a victim. Keep pushing up the hill!

Before you read the next part of this series, get into the mindset that your life – and the lives of those dearest to you – literally depend on your getting a job, fast. Then think about what you are going to do next.

Step Two: Create messages that communicate your value. Lives are at stake, but you can’t just scramble around looking for a new job. You have to be efficient. You need a strong foundation before you can take action. You have to know how to communicate your value to others so that they notice you, and think of you first when they have a need.

Most people have no idea how to communicate their value to other people. Specifically, they can’t justify how they can bring value equal to two, three, five, even ten times their salary and benefits back to a company.

Once again, you are different. You can tell people precisely how you help them, and the benefits they get by hiring you. How can you help increase sales? Decrease costs? Improve customer relationships and create raving, loyal fans? Bring new products to market more quickly and successfully? Save your boss time and hassle, so that he can focus on advancing his own career?

Once you figure out how you add value, you need to be able to explain your unique edge. Why you? What sets you apart compared to everyone else looking?

Finally, you need to prove that your claims are true, with past achievements, references, and case studies about your results.

If you can do this, you have a good chance of seeing your loved one again. If you can’t, you need to finesse your story as best you can because, again, your life depends on it.

Once you have your messages in place, you can move to Step Three, below.

Step Three: Think like a consultant. Consultants make marketing their top priority. They are very effective at three types of marketing in particular, and you need to become experts here, too. The first is in getting referrals. They are pros when it comes to telling people about the value they provide, and then educating them about the types of people they want to meet. They also know how to help other people, by making introductions for them and helping them in other ways to advance their careers. You need to be willing to tell everyone you know about the value you provide, and then explicitly ask people who they know who might be looking for that value. Don’t be shy; your life depends on making direct requests!

Second, consultants get visible by establishing themselves as experts. They write articles, speak, set up blogs, post videos of them speaking, get active in their industry associations, start online groups, and even do simple research projects. All of these things establish their credibility and prove that they are thinking about, and can solve, the most pressing problems the people in their target market face. I don’t care if you are at the lowest level of a company. You can still do some sort of educational marketing to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Third, consultants are early adopters of social media. They know every feature of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, BlogTalkRadio, YouTube, and question and answer sites – and they know how to use these technologies to meet new people and get introductions. I don’t care if you think you are too old! Your life depends on learning these technologies.

Interestingly, if you take this exercise seriously, you might even end up getting consulting offers, which could launch your career in a very different, exciting direction. Personally, I prefer being a consultant than an employee. As a consultant, I have dozens of clients; if I lose one, I only lose a small portion of my income. Plus, as a consultant I am constantly marketing, and so landing a new opportunity is not such a huge deal. For the purposes of this exercise, you are seeking a full-time job offer. However, in the real world, be flexible and agile, ready to turn someone’s interest in you into any form of assignment you can get!

Once you have the right mindset, messages that communicate your value, and you are thinking like a consultant, you are ready for the fourth and final step, below...