Thomas Bertin, 50, one of our Michigan interviewees, won a job counseling contest held by CAREEREALISM that ended on Dec. 31, 2010.  Congratulations to you, Tom!

J.T. O’Donnell, the company’s founder and president, promised the contest winner free private job coaching until he or she found a new job.

Tom won the contest for three reasons:  He participated; he wrote that he planned to teach others what he learned from the CAREEREALISM job counseling process, and he asked his network of connections to vote for him.  You can read what O’Donnell wrote about his entry and Tom’s response here.

Amazingly, 4,100 people looked at the contest, but only 24 entered to try to win free job placement help.  Not only did Tom submit a great entry application that was supported by friends and family, he tried something new to boost his chances of finding a job — a great strategy.

I heard about Kenny the Monk, one of our expert interviewees, from several of our Over 50 and Out of Work project participants before I met him.  They described the talks he gives at job support group meetings as inspiring, motivating, humorous and helpful.  At the end of his remarks, he always invites meeting attendees to get in touch with him by email.   “I love to get e-mail,” he said, but few job seekers follow up to take advantage of his offer to give assistance and advice.

So, get in touch with those who offer to help and try something new to find a job in 2011.