Up Your Career Prospects in a Down Economy (Part 1)

Looking for a new job? Thousands of people just like you are sending out résumés, engaging in phone interviews, and having to endure a multitude of well-intentioned platitudes like, “When God shuts a door, He opens a window.” Open windows are great and all, but crawling through one in hopes of landing a job will probably get you arrested.

So how should you go about finding a job in an economy that seems to be teetering between bad and a full-fledged recession? Here are a few tips that may not make your employment search easy, but are sure to give you a few ideas for navigating this chaotic job market.

Have a Strategy

After losing a job, especially in a less-than-stellar economy, people often panic, which, for obvious reasons, isn’t helpful when you’re job hunting. Sure, you’re in a hurry to find employment, but entering the hunt without a job-search strategy is a waste of your time and could lead you to become discouraged.

In this current job market, being prepared is essential. Begin by focusing on what you bring to an employer’s table, says career and stress management coach for InStep Consulting in New York Colette Ellis. She says before you begin searching for a job “update your professional collateral, making sure you highlight key skills and/or accomplishments.” Identifying the most pertinent skills and projects in your most recent role, and more importantly, how you mastered them, gives you a list of reasons to prove to a potential employer that you’re the right person for the job.

In addition to a personal assessment, it’s also important to know how the economy is affecting your local job market. “Do your research,” says Kathy Stork, a financial advisor in Lincoln, Neb. “Don’t just fire off résumés to every company you know. Find out what companies are hiring in your area. Find out which ones are not. With the ones that are, ask yourself, Do my qualifications fit this company’s vision/purpose? Who do I know at this company who can help me get my foot in the door?”

Stork says that an individual’s job-search strategy might differ in structure and detail, but should always answer two very important questions: a) What kind of job are you looking for? and b) What companies in your area are currently hiring?

“A strategy will help you focus your efforts and keep you from wasting precious time,” Stork explains.

CONSIDER THIS: While you’re looking for a full-time career-oriented job, why not get a flexible part-time job in the meantime? Consider restaurant or hotel work, valet services, substitute teaching, nannying, landscaping or construction work, or delivering for a company such as UPS or Fed-Ex. These companies often offer part-time positions and flexible schedules.

Network Your Network

The old adage is true: It’s not what you know, but who you know that counts. When you need a job, and you don’t have the luxury of taking your time to find one, experts stress that networking within your current circle of family and friends is key.

A good starting point, according to Jason Griggs, an independent headhunter in Austin, Texas, is to connect with family, friends, colleagues (old and new), and people at church. “Nine times out of 10 that’s where you’ll find your job,” he says.

Griggs also says you should be putting your social networks to good use. “Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter—if you’re not using the Internet to network, or to at least let people know that you’re looking for a job, start doing it today.”

Although social networking is helpful, Griggs adds, “Nothing replaces face to face time with people you know.”

CONSIDER THIS: Job search networking specialist Alex Karp suggests, “Consider joining the specialized network tuglink.com. There candidates are able to exponentially increase their business network and introduce themselves directly to insiders (employees) at companies of their interest. Tuglink.com is one of the new crop of peer-to-peer job referral exchanges which take networking to the next level by creating a marketplace for job leads and providing access to the hidden job market.”

Editor’s Note: Click here for Part 2: Make the switch to the job of your dreams, maintain your faith during unemployment, and recession-proof your career. This article was originally published in CS.