Recently the local newspaper in my town reported that the unemployment rate in the local metro area is at a 33-year low. The national headlines are filled with accounts of severe labor shortages and we all know job-seekers who posted their resume online on a Friday and received employment offers on Monday. Amidst this climate exist a large number of smart, highly capable persons with solid professional experience who wonder what is wrong with them when they send out resume after resume (either via snail mail or the Internet) and never receive a response from potential employers. How could employable people NOT receive invitations to interview if the unemployment rate is so low?

Even during times like these, the reality of the job marketplace is that there are two categories of job-seekers who generally land interviews: (1) Those who have the exact skills and experience the employer seeks, who need very little training, who can be productive yesterday, and who may even be doing a similar job already for a competitor of the prospective employer, and (2) Those who know someone at the employing organization and who have the advantage of being liked and trusted by him/her - in this case, persons with very little experience in an area can vault ahead of all of the unknown, seemingly more qualified competitors to land plum jobs.

What both of these scenarios have in common is that the prospective employer views the candidate as low risk and high reward. If you are repeatedly running into rejection or indifference in the job marketplace, your task is to change the perception of yourself to potential employers so that YOU appear to be a good hiring bet, too. Here are some strategies to give you an edge:

1. Learn to stop taking it personally when you aren't invited to an interview. Instead of feeling wounded or angry, visualize your initial job search efforts as a data collection project, like an anthropologist might do. Think, "Hmmm...when I sent my resume as it is, no one called. What might I need to change?" This reframes your task as an information-gathering challenge.

2. Find out what types of persons ARE landing the jobs you want, by reading the promotions and career change section of the newspaper, reviewing online bios on employer Web sites, checking out membership information in professional journals and organizations, and networking with successful professionals in your field. What do the industry stars have to offer that you do not? If the answer is, "Not a thing," then you may need some coaching in personal marketing and job search skills. If the answer is, "They knew someone," see strategy #4. If the answer is, "They have more education, training, relevant experience, and skills," consider making an investment in yourself, even if doing so requires a multi-step process in which you add to your marketability in stages while doing whatever you have to do to remain solvent financially. You can gain valuable skills by taking classes, by doing volunteer work, or by offering to take on additional responsibility with your current employer in areas of interest to you. Before shelling out any money, however, read the next strategy.

3. Beware of organizations and educational institutions that prey on job-seekers' anxiety, the ones that promise that if you pay them lots of money, they will take care of you. Before spending any money or investing your valuable time pursuing additional education, interview people who have actually completed programs of the type you are considering, or peruse job postings to ensure that the degree or credential you might obtain is actually valued by employers. Also avoid any job search organization that promises to put you in touch with "the hidden job market" for a large sum of money up front - you retain much more power if you pay for consulting or coaching services as you use them.

4. The era of online job search has not changed the basic employment truth that people prefer to hire someone that they either know personally or who comes highly recommended by someone trustworthy. The only way to know more people who can advocate for you is to be more visible in your professional specialization AND to make a good impression. This takes time, because relationship-building in career development is like relationship-building in any other arena - relationships require repeated interaction over long periods of time to deepen and flourish. For ideas on how to increase your visibility, see the next strategy.

5. Different people prefer different modes of career networking that play to their strengths. Introverts may enjoy publishing articles and joining online networking forums, while extroverts may prefer public speaking and group meetings of industry associations. Job hunting is stressful enough - do not force yourself to do things that deplete your energy, bore you, or ruin your mood. Timing matters, too. If you are not a morning person, skip breakfast meetings. Conversely, if you are dragging by 7 p.m., do not force yourself to attend evening events that set you up for fatigue for the entire next day and leave people wondering if you are always so sluggish!

6. Great salespersons know that reaching quota requires volume. For every 100 contacts you make, you might receive only a few invitations to interview. And from those interviews, you may net only one offer. These statistics can be true for even highly marketable people - success depends on finding the right fit for your particular aspirations and skills. Focus on making every potential contact a quality interaction, but realize that even quality interactions can fail to result in an offer if you haven't approached enough employers. In addition to applying for advertised job openings, craft an approach letter and sell the value of your potential contributions to employers who are not advertising. While this may sound daunting, your advantage here is that you may be the only one pursuing employment in a specific area, compared to scenarios in which 250 other people responded to a published job posting.

Movement creates momentum, so select a strategy and start today!

Happy Hunting!