By RACHEL ZUPEK, CAREERBUILDER.COM

Vince Thompson was willing to do whatever it took to make his company successful. He shifted from sales management to leading sales training when the need was there, and when the company asked him to run its Southwest territory, he relocated for the position.

"The knowledge I needed to change positions did not come from my predecessors or even bosses," Thompson says. "It came from mentors and colleagues within the company that were vested in my success and willing to teach more and provide honest feedback."

By Alexandra Levit

When I landed a job in a top public relations firm after my college graduation, I thought the toughest part of my entry into the business world was over. I dumped my extra résumés in a recycling bin and eagerly awaited a paycheck that would scarcely cover my rent. I looked forward to worldly business trips, stimulating office brainstorms and hanging out with my co-workers every Friday at happy hour.

By ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL

Hiring new employees is tough. Just ask managers surveyed by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com. Eighty-one percent of those polled said today's employment market is equally or more challenging than it was only one year ago, and more than half consider a shortage of qualified workers to be their biggest recruitment hurdle.

In light of the current market, hiring managers are turning to their employees for help when filling open positions. In fact, many firms are offering everything from free dinners to time off to cash bonuses for employee referrals.

While recommending someone you know for a position with your company can benefit you financially and the organization as a whole, it's important to look before you leap. Strongly supporting someone who does not work out or repeatedly suggesting that your manager hire unqualified candidates can affect your professional reputation. So, when it comes to making referrals, keep the following do's and don'ts in mind.

By KATE LORENZ, CAREERBUILDER.COM EDITOR

So you're well into your career, driving down the road you've always dreamed you'd be traveling, when you hit the mother of all potholes -- a layoff or company merger, a personal commitment that drains your time and energy, or perhaps a career detour that's not on your roadmap.

For some, such career glitches lead to a fulfilling accidental career they would never have considered.

For Carmin Coutee, president of Magnolia Custom Homes in Wheaton, Ill., becoming a home developer was never an aspiration. "I knew that I wanted to own my own business in the long run," she says, but was faced with one of those unforeseen glitches in her business career when her husband accepted a new job in Chicago.

Fed up with the cookie-cutter floor plans and poor workmanship they found while house-hunting in the Chicago suburbs, Coutee and her husband decided to build their family of six a home of their own design -- one styled after her Southern roots. After designing her own house and acting as her own general contractor, Coutee had found her niche. Her MBA and business experience are crucial for negotiating contracts and managing the business of creating unique, livable, Southern-style homes. "I feel that I've been given such a gift, to be able to do what I'm passionate about," she says.

By KATE LORENZ, CAREERBUILDER.COM

Amy Zucker calls herself a "serial workaholic." The president of Synergy Marketing Group, an Indianapolis-based public relations and marketing firm, Zucker regularly puts in long hours, takes few breaks and constantly thinks about the office. Zucker sees this as a commitment to her job and an indication of an innate strong work ethic and a quest for perfection that she has exhibited at every job she has held. "I do it for me," she says. "Only my best is good enough."

This level of job devotion is not for everyone and for many, working too much can have a detrimental effect on personal relationships. Zucker's current situation is unique. She runs her business with her husband and takes her dog to work, so she is able to spend time with her family in and out of the office. And her work ethic has paid off. Her business has grown to be one of Indianapolis's largest public relations agencies.

So do workaholics really get ahead? Yes and no, says Barry Zweibel, an executive/life coach based in Chicago. Zweibel works regularly with professionals who move up the ladder by putting in extra time and effort, but says he also sees the benefit of balance between work and personal time. For most people, sustaining a workaholic lifestyle long term is just not possible.