Illustration: Alex Nabaum for Newsweek

By Linda Stern 
April 7, 2008 issue

Let interviewers know you’re talking to others. Expect to take at least six months to find a good job.

Here’s a case of bad timing: being midcareer in midrecession. In February, 63,000 U.S. jobs evaporated; 17,000 were lost in January. The job market is deteriorating just as a generation of workers is looking to move up a rung. How can you find a better job when you’re only tenuously clinging to the one you have now?

Ask Patricia Jones. In November, the 41-year-old midlevel manager was laid off from her job as head of a support staff of 18 at a large New York law firm. She took the holidays off and then hit the job market, just as the job market was hitting that wall. She continued the day-care arrangements for her 5-year-old daughter and spent each day crafting her résumé, sending it to everyone she knew, making countless phone calls, answering ads and networking. Now she’s one month into her new, bigger and better post: managing 150 support workers at a big international law firm. Nice salary, nice benefits, great situation and the better of two offers she received almost simultaneously. “I’m very happy,” she says.

So it can be done, though it isn’t easy. “People in midcareer are getting jobs now, though they really have to work harder at it,” reports Anita Attridge, a career coach with the Five O’Clock Club (fiveoclockclub.com), an outplacement and job-counseling firm. “In many cases they are changing careers or industries to do it.” Here’s how to job-hunt like it’s your job.

Follow the money. Even in a bad job market, some industries and professions are struggling to attract enough talent. You may have to take the skills you learned in a shrinking industry, like utilities, and bring it to a growing one, like human resources. Or you may want to use the current downturn to retrain so you’re poised for one of the most popular jobs. What are they? The Labor Department reports that more than three out of every 10 new jobs will be in health care, social assistance (elder care or child care) and public and private educational services. It also is predicting solid demand for workers in fields like communications, information technology, accounting, and leisure and hospitality.

Use a system. “Don’t just hit the SEND button,” says Five O’Clock Club founder Kate Wendleton. She tells jobseekers to put more time into researching and targeting specific companies and jobs, even if they’re not advertising any openings. Put at least 15 hours a week into it if you have a job; 35 or more if you don’t. Call everyone you know who might be connected to your target and request informational interviews. Ask about job leads, and call back every six weeks to check in. Even if you’re interviewing for your dream job, keep pushing the process elsewhere. At best, multiple offers will help you negotiate a better deal. At worst, having many possibilities in the works will help cushion the rejections. Let interviewers know that you’re talking to others. Expect to take six months or more to find a good job.

Update your approach. The best new résumés have titles, like “Patricia Jones, Support Administrator With Law Firm Experience.” Customize the résumé to the job. And an old trend is back again: highlight your résumé with action words and accomplishments instead of job titles and dates. And update your skills and expertise for the field you’re pursuing: for one kind of job, that might mean taking a Web-programming course; for another, it might mean studying regulatory trade journals.

Make money in the meantime. Even as good benefits-rich jobs are harder to find and tougher to land, there are more ways to earn extra money on the side. That’s good news for job changers who’ve gotten dumped and want to take the time to find the right opening without losing the house. You don’t have to be a greeter at Wal-Mart; you can sell items on eBay, take a part-time lower-paying job or consult in the field you already know. It will pay a few bills, keep you busy and might even help you meet the future employer of your dreams.