Skimming employment and job seeking articles on the web, I came across the quintessential, “It’s About Who You Know,” article. This thought process is a give up, stop working and accept your status methodology.

Moreover, this type of thinking is not only unhealthy, it breeds jealously towards those who are successful in their career. In business unless you can make somebody money, they don’t care if you’re the son or daughter of royalty.

Do you ever hear of the Google CEO hiring his cousin? This is nepotism at its best and the shareholders would have his neck, not to mention his job.

Even if the executive were to find his cousin a job at another firm, he or she would have to work five times as hard in order to be accepted by his or her coworkers.

This is why honest, smart business executives shy away from hiring those they know because typically it ends up in a disaster and can ruin relationships, not to mention businesses.

Therefore, if relying on someone else does not work, how do you, the job seeker, get to where you want to be in your career?

The answer is simple. Start subscribing to the attitude that it is who knows you and what can you do for them instead of the “it’s who you know” frame of mind.

Here are 3 ways to get the people whom you want to recognize you to offer you the positions you want and the salary you deserve.

– Obtain a “Sickening Work Ethic” In 5 Days

Years ago, Barbara Walters asked Will Smith why he is so successful. Being a kid from a tough area in Philadelphia, she was intrigued as to how he got as far as he has. Smith answered that he had a “sickening work ethic.”

How do you get into this mind frame? Typically, it takes 5 days to change your work ethic, or any habitual behavior or thought process, really. Therefore, you are going to have to sit down in front of the computer day 1 – 3 and endure the, for lack of a better word, pain. Then, it gets easier and the extra hours of work you put in will prove to be nothing short of an amazing investment.

Effectively Market Yourself On The Web

Many job seekers spend too much time mulling over whether their resume is any good instead of focusing on what they look like off paper. If you want people to recognize you (which is the only way to achieve what you set out to), write a solid LinkedIn profile with a flattering picture, begin getting articles published (you can start on EzineArticles) and start a blog with your work.

Speaking of blogs, if you have a personal blog – be it about cooking, childrearing, your favorite books, or whatever else – either totally isolate it from your professional self online, or go back and read your archives with the eye of a prospective employer.

Anything you wouldn’t want to read about an employee yourself, delete. What you put in writing on the Internet is always available somewhere, but you can at least take basic steps to be reasonably sure of a professional online persona.

In the end, you want people who Google your name to find positive information about yourself and the best way to do so is to begin writing. Nearly 100% of job seekers whom I come across have not thought about this route, but next time you write about hedge fund marketing, the right person may read the article.

Pick an Industry and Job, Then Shine In It

The best way to get recognition for your work and become the “person to know” is to find a job you love and begin that position with the mindset that you are going to fight hard enough to become the best at what you do. Start working 10 – 12 hour days, keep a stiff upper lip and people will notice you in any town you wish from New York City to Anchorage, Alaska.