This is the age of endless internships, job offers that evaporate just as you get ready to sign the contract, and constantly shifting networks. Finding a new opportunity is no longer about simply applying to a posting or only about meeting one key person (though it doesn’t hurt). Which means that job seekers need to bone up on their math skills and combine two or more strategies to make a move.

Black Bird Tees resume T-shirts, via Cool Blog

Twitter + LinkedIn

HOW IT ADDS UP Establish your personal brand on Twitter, tweeting about the industry you want to enter, then drive people to LinkedIn for the hard facts about your education and work experience. Also seek out the Twitter-based search engines like Twitter Job Search, a beta site that lets you refine your search by such parameters as location, salary, job description and tweet frequency. From our browse it looks good for people working in advertising, sales and management. Sample positions: Sales rep at Molson Canada in Toronto and finance clerk at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Bonus: Looking international? Check out the nifty Google-powered Job Map widget.

+ How to Find a Job on Twitter, Mashable

+ LinkedIn: The secret to the online business network’s success, the Telegraph

Mentorship + Internships

HOW IT ADDS UP Finding a position is about who you know. But it’s also about what who you know knows. Follow? A mentor has made mistakes so you don’t have to. Pair that with an internship (or two) and you can bank work experience and a reference.

+ Deloitte Women’s Initiative for Leadership Learning, Alberta Venture

+ What to Look for in an Internship, Santa Clara University

Education + Volunteering

HOW IT ADDS UP School isn’t just for credit; it’s an opportunity to discover areas you’re interested in (and will likely succeed at) and make connections that take you beyond graduation. Volunteering in your area of education opens up your network, shows commitment to your field and might lead to your next job. One person from Ontario that we spoke with volunteered in a national organization with members across Canada, which put her in touch with her future boss, an entrepreneur in Western Canada looking for a second-in-command. U

+ LifeHappens: School, Unlimited

+ Online Education, Unlimited

The key to having a sustainable career is having what job gurus like to call transferable skills. So if that career in, say, business management doesn’t survive round three of layoffs, you might want to consider switching fields. Unlimited looks at two recent job postings.

THE JOB: Handbag Description Writer, Wholesale Handbags Purses Inc.
LOCATION: Telecommuting, preferably from the U.S., U.K., Canada or Australia.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES: “The right candidate should be passionate with fashion and more specifically with handbags/purses, have ability to do researches [sic] on the net and have potential in writing good articles.”
NOTICED: Real good speling [sic] and grammar not necessary. Only requires the “potential” to write good articles.
TRANSFERABLE POSITIONS: Expert salespeople, marketing whizzes, someone with a knowledge of plastics, anyone who owns a knock-off Louis Vuitton monogram purse.
AND WE QUOTE: “The right candidate will be offered not fake/replica handbags/purses in return of his/her work or can also ask for a salary.”
KEYWORDS: Knowledge worker, fakey-fakeness, trailer trash, knock-off economy, knock-off knowledge worker, recessionista, faux fashionista

THE JOB: Key Account Manager (Outside Sales), Workopolis.com.
LOCATION: Toronto’s fashion district.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES: “Key Account Manager you will manage key customer relationships while developing strategic account plans that yield account retention and growth. Maximize volume and revenue in key assigned accounts by cultivating strong business relationships with senior executives.”
NOTICED: Tuition reimbursement (up to $5,000 each year) and a very respectable 5% company RSP contribution.
TRANSFERABLE POSITIONS: Expert salespeople, marketing whizzes, someone with a knowledge of sales and “solution selling.”
AND WE QUOTE: Workopolis wants an “Online Solution Wizard to Canada’s Largest Companies.”
KEYWORDS: Solution selling, adviser, strategic account, sales manager, sales, sell, selling, account, solution, solutions,
account management