This may be a jobless recovery

Take a chance on applying for the job.

If you have 70-80% of the skills needed and can learn the rest quickly, apply.

Think broadly about what you might want to do but don’t waste your energy on mass mailings for any and every job. This is not useful for you and can really anger HR folks.

Update and target your resume for the job.

Make sure something you say in your cover letter exists on your resume.

Know what salary you need and stick to it (if it is indeed based in reality for this universe).

Always thank everyone who has helped you in the process, they will remember and will help you again the next time around.

If you offer to be a networking help, please do so. I have seen the best and the worst. I know someone who had a company resource who kept him up to date on the search process and went to bat for him numerous times in the process (wow). I also know someone who had a contact who promised the world but never delivered. Jobs were posted by the organization over and over without a single word from the “contact”. I would wonder how dedicated a networker she was or how connected.

Don’t eliminate a contact because they may seem junior in role. If they are a great employee and show enthusiasm for connecting, they can be a hugely positive resource. Titles do not mean you are a great resource.

Please be on LinkedIn. Have a good profile, be connected, join groups that are relevant, have recommendations. Add your link to the bottom of your resume.

Shake off the downtimes. It can be incredibly difficult out there right now. Yes, I have a job, but my husband is looking, dear friends are looking, and I work in career services. I see the new grads looking for work, the alumnae returning to get the needed resources because they have been laid off and I read the endlessly challenging business news. I feel the anxiety; I am living the life right now.

Employers, please send a simple one line email that says, hey; got your resume, we are swamped and we will call you if you fit the role. Simple but huge to the thousands of people seeking work minute by minute.

To job seekers and hiring managers: if we cannot be our best selves now, then when?

If you are out of work, update your skills, network (don’t tell me you don’t have time to network), learn that new software, take the community college class that will give you skills in grant writing, fundraising, computer technology, writing, project management. Don’t forget to network while you are there.

Hiring managers: be patient with the anxiety you are seeing and the resumes you receive. There is a person behind the paper. They have families to raise, mouths to feed, mortgages to pay. They are scared and they are sometimes desperate. You have a job, at least for now. There but for the grace of….