I've been around long enough to remember when a 4% unemployment rate was a seemingly unachievable goal, rather than the ceiling it's been recently.  That figure had jumped by nearly 1% before the tragedy hit and it still doesn't include the 100,000 laid off by airlines. I'm not trying to make a bad situation worse, but these rising numbers are going to be in the news for the foreseeable future.

So What Does This All Mean?

It means things are unsettled.  And that directly impacts the functioning of the labor market.  Which impacts you.  I talked about the unemployment rate, but don't focus on the number. If you're out of work, the unemployment rate is 100%. 

Don't be totally discouraged.  There are still a lot of jobs available for folks in IT.  But if you're presently looking, it's going to take longer than you expect.  Not just because of recent events, but also because employers are reacting to their own realities.  Most industries have already moved into recession mode - despite the fact that it hasn't been officially declared.

This means that everybody will have their eyes on their cash position.  It translates into shutting down expenditures for the immediate future. Putting a freeze on hiring. Reducing plans for expansion.  Possibly eliminating consulting contracts ... and individual contractors.  Layoffs.

What Can We Do About This?

• Be patient.  Whatever you've planned - a new job or a promotion - will take longer. 
• Be your own best friend.  Take care of yourself - personally and in your career.  Eat right, get some exercise, learn something.  Be honest with yourself about both your shortcomings and your strengths.  Remediate the former and increase the latter.
• Be observant.  Keep a sharp eye for changes in the landscape.  If you are looking for a job, pay attention to economic reports and industry sector news.  You can get a good idea of which sectors will be expanding and which are impacted.  Now's not the time to look for a job in the airline industry, but security will be booming
• Be grateful. If you have a job right now, don't take it for granted.  The economic effect of recent events hasn't yet been fully felt.  This is not the time to kick back, let alone make major demands based on your possibly inflated sense of self-worth.  High-maintenance employees will be first to go, if it comes to that.

Develop a Job Search Channel Strategy for Yourself

Most job seekers tend to focus on individual tasks without some overarching search plan.  There are a number of ways - channels - to search for a job.  It's rare that people develop a coordinated channel strategy to guide their search.  Instead, they focus on the few methods they know ... and then generally limit themselves to the ones that cause the least pain.

Channels fall into two categories:

Active Search Networking Direct Employer Contact Searching Job Boards Newspaper Ads

Passive Search Recruiters Agents Resume Banks Newsgroups

Active search methods require the job seeker to take direct personal action.  Passive methods require minimal personal action, and then leave the heavy lifting up to someone else.  There's no ideal balance of activities, but some methods are much more effective in this marketplace.  Plan to use at least four channels and give greater weight to active ones in a down market. 

Networking Rules

Every survey I've ever seen says that networking is the most effective method for uncovering opportunities.  It's also the most avoided method despite its documented effectiveness.  The reasons are obvious - fear of rejection, not knowing what to say, shyness.  All good reasons for loading up your search plan with other activities. 

Bad idea.  You'll be confusing activity with achievement.  It's much more effective to target your energy to an alternative with a higher probability of paying off.  Even if it hurts.  Put a heaping helping of networking on your job search plate and remember that you have to eat dinner before you get dessert (job offer.)

Here are some networking rules that are often overlooked:

• Be prepared for networking interactions.  Don't try to wing it; write a script if it helps you.
• Don't necessarily ask for a job, ask for help.  Be honest about your purpose.
• Know your abilities and strong points; be prepared to speak concisely about them.
• Don't assume that this is the only time you'll ever speak with some of these people.  Every town is a small town.  Also, if you networked to get in front of this person, there will be feedback about you to your original contact.
• Send a thank-you note immediately.
• Let contacts know when you get a job, especially primary contacts or those who were especially helpful.  Everyone likes closure.
• Some day, you may be a node in your contact's network.

Direct Employer Contacts and Recruiters

In a down market, employers will be reducing both the number of jobs they intend to fill and the budget for recruitment.  This means that there will be fewer jobs available through recruiters and more recruiters will be competing with each other over the same - lesser number - of jobs. In the short term, your best bet may be to increase the proportion of direct approaches to employers.

Many companies (and virtually all of the larger ones) have areas on their websites where you can apply directly.  You'll find descriptions of available opportunities as well as general information about what types of employees they typically hire.  It's easy to apply, but the downside is that it's very difficult to follow up, since you never know to whom your resume is being sent.

It may be just as effective to resort to the old method of snail mail.  So long, of course, as you've done your homework to identify a good contact person at that company.  You know, the individual who is in a position to make a hiring decision, rather than some random person in the HR department.  See Networking, above.

Don't expect the same level of effectiveness as previously from recruiters, during this down market.  They'll be filling fewer jobs and have more potential candidates to pick from.  You'll want to be particularly careful about dealing with third-party recruiters.  The farther away from the employer, the less valuable these contacts will be.

Job Boards and Newspaper Ads

Economics apply here as well.  It costs a lot more to advertise in a newspaper than it does on a job board (for the most part.) So we can expect to see fewer ads in the short term. 

Keep in mind that the ease of searching through use of job boards is a double-edged sword.  Easier to search = more applicants for each position and more competition. Regional, specialized boards like JobCircle will probably have a better chance of paying off for you.  Though it won't be easy.

You shouldn't stop what you're doing on job boards, but you should decrease the importance of their use in your job search by increasing your efforts in other channels.

More

Sit down and take stock of your network - you may need it shortly.  Reach out to old colleagues, managers, school buddies, etc. to find out what and how they're doing.  Update your contact information and let them know what you're up to.  If you tend this network regularly, it's a lot easier to make use of it when you really need it.

For what it's worth, this is the hardest thing for me about job search, but I'm plowing ahead.  Thanks to all who wrote jamie@jobcircle.com to offer good wishes to me in my search process.  I appreciate the support.  And thanks to all who attended my workshop, "The Project Management Approach to Job Search."  We're planning to offer it again this month.  Watch JobCircle's home page for details. 

Enjoy this article?  Read more of JobCircle.com's Career Coach articles.

Jamie Fabian spent more than 15 years as a human resources executive before changing careers to become a senior project manager for a growing IT consulting company.  Now in management consulting for a large Pharma company, Jamie would like to be seen as a hybrid of Tom Peters, Tom Jackson, and Tom Wolfe, but spends too much time working, driving carpool and watching mindless TV to write more than this column.  You can contact Jamie with questions and comments at jamie@jobcircle.com.