Steps to take in a tight job market

I am often asked what job seekers should do in a tight job market. The truth is, the steps for a good job search are the same in any kind of market, but the intensity with which you apply the steps may differ. Following are four concepts to keep in mind as you conduct your job search.
Step 1
Stick with the basics. In any market, your job search should be consistent, creative and productive.
In a consistent job search, the seeker chooses a new job or industry, identifies the people and companies to contact, and crafts the story to tell those people (creates a r & eacute;sum & eacute; and interview answers, for example). Every effort in the job search is developed toward this focus, and no effort is lost going for jobs outside the focus. The trick is to not make the focus so narrow that it becomes unrealistic.
Creativity in this case does not mean sending r & eacute;sum & eacute;s stuffed into shoes. That old "foot in the door" pun is way old. Rather, a creative search requires the job seeker to think about the people and companies on the target list. At what conferences are you likely to meet the company managers in person? What customer service problems are the companies trying to solve? How can your experience play a part in that solution? When you think creatively, you increase your contacts as well as your effectiveness with those contacts.
A productive job search is just that: productive. Track your efforts and set standards. Your situation is too unique for me to give a blanket rule, but, in general, anyone who sends out dozens of r & eacute;sum & eacute;s and receives no responses is not being productive.
Your goals should include a certain number of outbound calls or visits or letters each week, resulting in a certain number of responses. And a certain number of those responses should result in a job interview, with a certain number of interviews resulting in an offer or two.
Put some numbers in the blanks and track your progress for a few weeks. If you're not coming close to your goals, chances are you need to adjust your approach.
Step 2
Review the big picture. Why are you looking for a job? Most people will say they need an income. How much money and why? Remember that in transition, cash flow is king. It's not the amount of money you make, but when you get paid that matters. Small amounts of money that flow in early and regularly are more helpful than large checks that arrive too late.
To make use of this concept, you have to stop fussing about your "career."
It's a critical mistake to spend down your savings while turning away opportunities that don't seem to fit on a career path. A career is not something you can eat.
If you need to take a position outside your field, bide your time by staying current in your chosen area; you'll have another chance to get back in the game.
On the other hand, if your career path is your primary life goal, restructure other areas of your life to accommodate this goal. Cut your expenses to the bone, sell assets and eliminate extras.
Step 3
Make the hard choices. If you can't get the job you want, take a different job. If you can't afford to keep your house, sell it and use the equity to start over in a less expensive lifestyle. If you can't afford to live alone, get a roommate.
It's tough to think about these kinds of choices, and it's easy to get angry at the situation that makes them necessary. Go ahead and get angry, but when you're through, get out your pen and paper and start strategizing. Go back to the big picture question and ask yourself why you're looking for a job.
Then evaluate your job search so far. If you're not getting results and you've been consistent and creative, it might be time to take a lesser job or even a series of part-time jobs.
Step 4
Pick a date to be re-employed. Give yourself time to get your ideal job -- say, three months. At that point, use your results to decide if you should get a part-time job while continuing the hunt, or if you should take a different job and put your ideal job on hold. Set a date to be back at work, whatever path you choose.
A word of warning: If you take this advice and end up with a different job from what you had envisioned, do not allow yourself to brood about the job you didn't get. Take pride in the job you have and focus your attention on the future.
XAmy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgren@pioneerpress.com.