Strategies for frustrated job seekers

Strategies for frustrated job seekers
Abridged: USNews.com

SACRAMENTO, CA -- If you have been looking for work for many months and you are growing increasingly frustrated or hopeless, you aren't alone. Here are some job search tips to consider. Start by launching a profile on LinkedIn, which lets you: reconnect with former co-workers; seek out hiring managers at desirable firms; request introductions to managers through their network; make your profile and resume Google-able.

It can also be very useful to establish yourself as an expert in the local community and online. Could you give a speech to your local chamber of commerce about something? Could you start a blog about the same subject? Your method: Get off the Internet for a few hours each day. Use your phone book to track down local companies in a field that interests you--and a field where your skills would be relevant.

Your targets: While the current economic slowdown is now affecting nearly every industry and business sector, some will tend to hold up better. Can your skills transfer to the health care industry or the accounting industry, both industries that will weather the downturn well. Your requirements: The more you're able to loosen up your immediate requirements, the shorter the search will be. Consider taking on temporary or contract work. Look for opportunities to freelance. Figure out how much money you need to survive. Be open to industries and jobs that you might never have considered previously.