[Sparkle]

The labour market is very very very different than it was 5 or 10years ago.

I've been under-employed (I work half-time) for the past 3 years. I have been job hunting for 3+ years and it has been rough. I have over 10years experience in my field, have worked abroad and in the states and have strong references. While I can usually land a couple of freelance contracts a year; FT work has been elusive.

You need to have a lot of patience and be able to handle "rejection" without allowing it to destroy your self-esteem. (easier said than done, I know)

You need to be your strongest self-advocate and aggressive in your search, most companies do not keep applicants informed of their process beyond a form email acknowledging receipt of the application.

It is a numbers game at the moment... employees are still scared of the weak economy and grateful for having work/benefits -- they aren't leaving their jobs (trading up, making lateral moves, trying new careers) right now AND businesses are not creating new positions because profit margins have been static or dropping in most industries. Which means there are very few openings and competition is really stiff for the available positions. I have friends that work in HR in a variety of industries and for every opening there are (regularly) more than 50 applicants - sometimes reaching in to the 100s (for one position).

My advice...

Tap your networks. Having an inside connection may be the only factor that gets you on a short list in a wide field of qualified applicants.

If you liked previous employers make some calls and see if they're hiring or thinking of hiring in the near future. Let them know you loved working with them and would love the opportunity to do so again.

If you had a great relationship with a client or vendor and your skills would be useful to them, get in touch.

Don't be afraid to ask friends or family or former colleagues to keep their ears/eyes open for you. And check in periodically.

If earning a certain amount is key to your survival, do not wait, get aggressive in your search now. Register with temp agencies. Do volunteer work (if applicable) in the industry you're looking. Make calls, send emails, find out what is happening and where its happening.

You will have the best luck applying for positions in industries that you have worked most recently. Currently, employers don't need to consider transferable skills or think "out of the box" about what you might bring to the company - they'll likely have at least 10 applicants who have done precisely this job for the last 5+ years in their pile.

Your cover letter needs to be succinct and the best of the best because it will be the first round of culling applications.

Your cover letter should be tailored to the company and the position, you should identify the core skill sets and experience needed to be successful (from the advertised job description) and clearly illustrate how your specific experience matches those core items. Dont assume they will see it in your resume, they may not even glance at your resume if its not clear in your cover letter.

I also make it a point to mirror some of the language they use in their job adverts and on their website - even if I would express my skills/experience with different words.

One of the worst trends I've seen is that an increasing number of companies are asking applicants to outline their salary requirements in their cover letter or within a data field (in an online application form). This allows hiring managers to rule out applicants based on how much they need/want to earn. This is a TERRIBLE practice! And as an applicant you can't win; if you set your requirements too high you may be culled at first round, if you set it too low you may have no leverage for earning a livable wage. My only advice here is determine what you literally need to earn to take care of yourself and don't undersell yourself, you don't want to work for a company that bargain shops for employees anyway, they will not retain their staff when the market improves.

All that said, I've seen more jobs openings in my field in the past month than any quarter of the last 3 years. I'm hoping that is a sign of an improving labor market.

I wish you all the best in your job hunt.