Last week we looked at career-management and finance tips to help you weather a recession while you hold onto your current job. But what if there is no current job? You need to get one — and fast. Here is some advice to help you do just that.

1. Use a targeted job-search campaign. Any good career counselor or job-search book can give you more details, but, in a nutshell, a targeted job search is one in which you have chosen the job title or industry in which to work. Armed with this goal, you identify specific companies and department managers to contact about jobs that may not be advertised. Smaller companies are especially likely to have openings that aren't posted.

2. Nail the basics. If you're serious about your job search, you need a plan, a solid résumé that sells you well and a commitment to work on the plan for a few hours every day. In a more forgiving market, a halfhearted effort can pay off; when the stakes are higher, you need to touch all the bases if you want results.

3. Abandon unexamined assumptions, bad habits and weak excuses. Ask yourself: "How badly do I want a job?" If the answer is "not so much" and you can afford it, you can wait for the market to improve. Otherwise, accept that a job search in a tight market requires you to do things that make you uncomfortable. Then, do them anyway.

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

Networking is a prime example. Very few of my job-search clients claim to enjoy networking, and most say they avoid it when possible. And yet, all can tell me of jobs that they or friends have gotten by knowing someone inside a company.

So, networking works, but no one wants to do it? The usual excuse is that someone is not good at it or doesn't know how to network. If a person is determined to succeed, those statements would be starting points. The next sentence should be, "How can I get better at networking?"

4. Lower your expectations. Headhunters used to say that you could expect a month of job search for every $10,000 in salary you were seeking. While that formula is no longer accurate, if it ever was, the basic principle still applies: the lower your salary needs, the more jobs you will find open and the quicker your job search will be.

Salary isn't the only factor that you need to examine. A friend reminded me recently of her brother-in-law, who finished his engineering degree just as the last recession was under way. After several months of searching for a position as an engineer, he reconfigured his résumé and targeted his outreach to engineering support positions instead. The strategy worked, and he was hired soon after making the change. Today he works at the top of his field; the foot-in-the-door strategy worked to his advantage.

5. Try something new. If your methods aren't working, it's time to add something to the mix. A friend's husband recently saw a part-time maintenance position on

Craigslist. He applied on a Thursday, was interviewed on Friday and was asked to start the following Monday. In fact, his new employers were so impressed that they offered him a full-time job.

6. Grab a part-time job. You could use the income, and you need the contacts and self-esteem that a job provides. Don't believe that a retail spot will boost your confidence to get a job in the executive suite? If your identity is deeply entwined with your job title, you might be right. But for most people, having a place to go every day and tasks at which they can excel makes the difference between a head held high and slumped shoulders in the next interview.

7. Expect to succeed. You can and you will get a job. Structure every day with that expectation, and get up each morning asking yourself what needs to get done today to meet your goal. If you need help, ask for it. If you need a day off from the search, take it but start again the next day. Plan for success and enjoy it when it comes. You will have earned it.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.