Jobs open up for two reasons--maintenance and growth. An employer is either replacing a current employee, or bringing on additional staff to handle new demands. With the economy expanding at a steady pace, many employment opportunities today are developing in the second category.

The busier employers get and the more urgently they need additional staff, the less likely they are to have the time to invest in an open hiring process. If you want to minimize competition and maximize your chances of finding work, don't wait until the job has been posted. Jump in before the employer recognizes the need, or while still assessing the problem, by following these suggestions.

Find out what's not getting done (that ought to be). One lawyer heard through the grapevine that a community hospital was in danger of losing its not-for-profit status because of a failure to contribute to the community. He successfully proposed a new position. He now conducts needs assessments and recommends intervention projects, as well as advising on risk management and acting as employee ombudsman.

Figure out how you can save an employer time or money. A lawyer with private practice litigation experience discovered in the local business newspaper that a corporation without in-house counsel was involved in extensive litigation. He accurately calculated the company's legal costs and showed the company president how much money would be saved by hiring him to oversee the litigation and handle routine discovery work in-house.

Do both. A busy litigator had previously turned down a savvy new admittee when she tried to get hired by him as an associate. She later offered to organize his file for a looming trial at a reasonable project rate. He was so relieved by her assistance that he asked her to sit as second chair throughout the trial. That work led to other projects; she now works in tandem with him on all of his litigation, earning more than most of her contemporaries.