If you're looking for work, the summer affords one of the best times for you to get a leg up while everybody waits it out until after Labor Day.

The reasons are twofold. First, there's less competition for each job opening during the summer because your competition is probably taking the summer off. Second, the people who make the hiring decisions are more readily available because their gatekeepers -- the secretaries -- are on vacation.

Of course, it's true that the Big Cheese might be on vacation too. But nobody said looking for a job is easy. You've got to be persistent.

Meanwhile, just as summer is a great time to look for work, so too is the period from Thanksgiving to the new year, for the very same reasons.

In related news, where should you look for work? Smart Money says at small employers. Their data shows you want to go to companies no one has ever heard of with less than 50 people on the payroll when you're looking for work. They're the ones who are creating new jobs.

And I know it's considered so passé to go to networking groups. But they are one of the key ways you find out about companies with 50 people or fewer.