I've now taken my very first trip of any kind in an RV. We drove it about 2,000 miles as we explored Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas. I loved the RV and expect to do a trip in one again.

But as I learned how to "live" for a week in this amazing vehicle, I found myself making comparisons between my learning and that of my newer clients who are learning for the first time about doing "today's" job search.

1. Because it can take you anywhere there's a road, an RV is the ultimate in freedom.

Your career is the same thing: it can take you anywhere. So be careful to do a search that gets you to your chosen destination. Have your goals in focus or you'll just be wandering around in a long, sad search.

2. When one sees how every inch of an RV is designed for maximum efficiency and storage, you find yourself saying, "This is genius!"

And so it is with your time during job search. To avoid a dispiriting search, set smart monthly, weekly, and daily goals for networking and making applications, and reward yourself for achieving them. My saying is: "The more you do the effective things EARLY in your search, the shorter your search." I've said that for over 20 years because it's always been true.

3. Everything in an RV is on a smaller scale. So I found myself repeatedly bashing my elbows, for example, on the doorknobs and cabinet handles. I had to mentally adjust to a scale much smaller than my house, yet be as effective.

And so it is with job search if you're working. In this situation, you have to do an effective search in a very few limited hours per week. That will hurt. You will prefer to do other things. But you know you have to become uncomfortable to get to the next step. So if you really want to leave your job, you've got to put time into your search. Let's just hope you don't give yourself as many black-and-blues as I did!

4. An RV has its own self-contained systems. Water, electricity, and waste. Yet it's also designed to plug into other resources when needed.

You have your own resources as well. But don't depend on what you've done so far in life and the people you already know. Expand! Be sure to meet new people and make new business connections. Just last week, Joe, a member of my Face2Face job search networking group gave credit to Renee, another member who'd passed along a job posting for him, for the interview that resulted. So work hard but know you DO need to plug into new resources as well. I'll repeat what I said above: "The more you do the effective things EARLY in your search, the shorter your search."

Don't be the person who says, "If I don't get anything in the first month or two, then I'll start networking." That's absolutely backwards! Networking will make your search one that pays off far more quickly. Tap those resources now -- don't wait!

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Driving your career starts now. How do you do a search that doesn't stretch on and on? For answers, contact Joanne.