A growing number of jobseekers find themselves in the midst of a long-term job search. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics

, the U.S. jobless rate soared to a four-year high of 5.7% in July 2008 and the average job search took more than four months to net results. However, some critics would put this number and the number of the unemployed much higher.

Helen Kooiman, author of Suddenly Unemployed asserts, “[S]uch statistics are inaccurate indicators. They do not include those whose unemployment benefits have run out or those who don’t qualify for unemployment… Such statistics also do not count welfare recipients, temps (who cannot be counted as fully employed), or others who eke out a living on so-called self-employment.” Neither do such reports include what the Bureau of Labor Statistics terms “discouraged workers” or those who “were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them.” Their figures reached 461,000 in July.

A long-term job search can put a tremendous financial and emotional strain on a job hunter. “It’s been a demoralizing experience and it’s been very difficult budgetwise. I’m a single mother,” Kay Marie King says, a former non-profit executive with a wealth of experience that is currently involved in an ongoing job search. So, what can you do when weeks of a fruitless job search quickly turns to months? Here are seven tips for jump starting a stalled job search:

Tip One: Don’t be so quick to blame everything on the economy (your region, your industry, etc.)

These issues certainly play a role in the current job market. However, it is easy to fixate on such factors and completely discount factors which we personally control. The next six tips cover areas that long-term jobseekers do well to revisit to jump start a stalled job search. Why is this so important? I am reminded of a woman I once interviewed that looked great on paper, but during the interview she had an incredibly offensive body odor. She remarked that she’d been on several interviews but she was “overqualified” for every position. It was a classic case of the problem (or her perception of what the problem was) not really being the problem. While most jobseekers don’t have such an obvious issue, each one would still do well to take a long look in the mirror.

Tip Two: Conduct a candid self-assessment.

Look at yourself from the perspective of the potential employer. Compare your experience and qualifications to those typically required of someone in your target position. How do your skills and experience match up? Think of creative ways to to fill skill gaps and gain experience.

Tip Three: Re-examine your target position or industry.

Are you searching for work in a waning industry or oversaturated field? Is your desired position readily available in your selected geographic area? Being open to relocation may improve your chances. Can you apply your knowledge and skills to an industry that is experiencing growth?

Tip Four: Rethink your current job search.

What job search strategies are you currently using? If you are concentrating your efforts on strategies that are typically the least effective (like online job boards and newspaper ads) your job search will take much longer to yield results. Consider incorporating job search strategies that yield higher results, like networking and direct targeted mailing campaigns.

Tip Five: Re-evaluate the way you are communicating your message verbally and in print.

Communicating your message to potential employers in a clear and compelling manner is critical to job search success. Re-examine your resume. Does it communicate your value to employers by addressing how your skills and experience will meet the employer’s specific needs? Practice communicating your value in response to typical interview questions, including, “Tell me about yourself.”

Tip Six: Maintain your intensity level and a positive outlook.

It is easy to become discouraged over the course of a lengthy job search. Keep a positive outlook and maintain a high-level of focus and intensity throughout your job search for quicker results. Taking a systematic approach to your job search will help you to stay organized and on track during your job search. Yet, it is important to pursue other interests during your job search. Enjoy spending time with friends and family. Renew your interest in a hobby. Tackle a project you wouldn’t have time to if you were working. Spending time in other pursuits provides a much-needed reprieve from the stress of a job search. You’ll be energized and ready for the next leg of your job search.

Tip Seven: Build a solid support system.

If a self-guided job search has netted limited results; consider working with a career or job search coach. Your coach will help you identify any problem areas and offer suggestions for improvement. Another option is to join a local or online job search club. If a coach or job search club isn’t available try building your own support network. Enlist the help of family and friends or connect with other job hunters. Taking a team approach to your job search provides an opportunity for constructive feedback, a fresh perspective, ongoing encouragement, and added accountability.

Try applying the tips above to jump start a stalled job search.

Roxanne Ravenel is a Job Search Coach; the author of The Savvy Jobseeker’s Guide & Workbook: Five Steps to a Simply Successful Job Search; and the host of The Savvy Jobseeker weekly podcast. Visit SavvyJobseeker.com to learn more tips for finding your ideal work in less time.

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Is your job search producing lackluster results at best? Don’t settle for a job search that just creeps along! Instead, consider taking a more aggressive approach to take fuller advantage of high performing tactics.

You need to know that an aggressive job search techniques are unconventional, often radical, and always strategic. And they work! They outperform traditional job search strategies in 7 key ways:

(1) Make your aggressive tactics proactive: If you have been in the job market very long this is the way it is typically done. Traditionally you submit your resume and cover letter, then passively sit back and wait for a call. Hopefully to an interview. But in an aggressive job search, you set the pace for your campaign through weekly networking calls or emails. These should include weekly follow-up contacts with hiring managers that you have sent your email and cover letter to. These will include both posted or anticipated job openings. By making 10 – 15 such calls each week, you can increase the pace of your results. And affect your search exponentially.

(2) Target your aggressive job search tactics: If you spend all your time only seeking online job postings, then you’re missing out on all kinds of highly targeted job leads. Instead focus on specific industries, employers, geographic areas, and position types to help you magnify the number of interviews and job offers you receive. Don’t make the mistake of applying for everything you see. ­Doing that may make you feel productive, but such a shot-gun approach to job searching ultimately fails to help you secure the position you desire. For several years I was in sales and the companies I worked for pushed cold calling. I hate cold calling because it is unproductive. So I focused in applying the above techniques to sales. They worked. I was always way ahead of my peers who spent their time cold calling.

(3) Aggressive job search tactics are consistent: If you sit back and wait for the interesting jobs to show up on job boards and in ads, you are guaranteeing failure or at best prolonging the agony of job searching.

If you submit 8-10 resumes in some weeks, say, and only 1-2 in others, then you are setting yourself up for failure. However by leveraging an aggressive job search will enable you to consistently submit 25 or more resumes per week, which in turn will produce a regular series of job interviews. And a series of interviews boosts your odds of receiving one or more job offers. That’s the plan after all, isn’t it?

(4) Aggressive job search tactics are customized: No matter how you figure, a job search is something of a numbers game just as it is in the sales scenario I mentioned above. The philosophy behind traditional job search tactics of blasting your resume to hundreds of employers all at once, is a job is a job, is a job. But that leaves no room for you to target specific industry segments or position types. A more aggressive job search technique will stress your individuality by weaving your personality and career-related values into your resume, cover letter, and interview responses that boosts the odds that hiring managers looking for someone like you will actually find you. If you read through the articles on our website ResumeHelpBlog.com you will find that is our basic philosophy because all jobs are not created equal.

(5) Aggressive job search tactics are free or low-cost: If you took advantage of all the job search offers available on the Internet, you could easily spend hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars, and still see little to no positive results. The good news, though, is that by using an aggressive job search technique by their very nature either free or extremely low-cost. Many HR consulting firms who work with job seekers will often stress that they give you hundreds of hiring employer names to contact (that’s how they justify their high fees). Did you know that you can access that same information on the Internet for free? You will be surprised at what you can find on the Internet, or maybe not surprised at all.

(6) An aggressive job search tactic will restore balance to your life: Many things in life output and effort, yet overlook the power of automation. Searching for a job is no different. By taking advantage of automated functions in your pc’s software and on online job search tools, you could save time every week. Life is too short, to spend all your time hunting down job leads. Enhance the quality of your life by automating your job search in every way possible.

(7) And finally aggressive job search tactics will penetrate the Hidden Job Market: One of the greatest weaknesses of traditional job search methods is that they focus on the Visible Job Market, or those jobs that are both currently available and known outside the hiring organization. A major company where my daughter works hires that way and pays a bonus for referrals. My daughter has helped several friends find work with this firm and in the process has pocketed several hundred dollars in bonuses. Almost three quarters of all jobs are never advertised in the Visible Job Market. Most companies would prefer to promote from within or hire from a referral of a trusted employee. So what does a smart job seeker do? They tell everyone they know that they are available. You have to ­leverage the power of the aggressive job search tactics to penetrate the Hidden Job Market as much as possible.

You don’t have to wait for a hot economy to land the job you really want. By taking advantage of as many aggressive job search tactics as possible, you will dramatically shorten your job search while boosting the interviews and offers you land.

Leslie Kearney is the owner of http://www.ResumeHelpBlog.com a site committed to helping you get the perfect job. We offer resume writing tips, links to the best professional resume writers, job links and more!

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