I think the secret is to do the digging yourself and not rely on jobs that are advertised too much as the competition nowadays is huge. Back in 2003 I saw a job ad in the paper and it was very well paid. I contacted them the same day but the position was filled but I kept the companies details. A few months later I phoned them up and asked if they had any vacancies. Within a few days I was working for them and I even had the audacity to ask for a pay rise after a month - and I got it
Another good way of getting into a job you want is knowing someone who is in that line of work. They could recommend you. Or you could randomly contact different companies and keep one step ahead of the competition. Sometimes you need to make your own luck.
