Last week's column about skipping job applications brought a flood of e-mails. Most were positive, some were irrationally hostile, but nearly all asked the same question:

If not applications, what?

The short answer: Nearly anything else. That is, try nearly anything before you resort to filling out applications. I understand that people whose only goal is to work for a major retailer will find it difficult to avoid the in-store kiosks. The megastores are very consistent in requiring this step.

But no other job-seeker has an excuse for relying so heavily on applications. Frankly, some people's insistence on following this process smacks of qualities that are unappealing in job candidates, including a blind adherence to rules and a lack of creativity.

Ouch. That's right: I'm kicking you while you're down. But consider this: If you were up and moving, I wouldn't be able to catch you. So get up, for heaven's sake, and start showing some imagination. Here are a few pointers to get you started.

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

1. If you're focused enough to be doing an application, you must know that you want this job. So think harder: What appeals to you about this position? Is it the location? The duties? The company? Or merely the fact that it's open?

Any of the first three answers can lead to a more fruitful targeting exercise, but the last one? Going for a job only because it's open is a bit desperate and more than a little self-deceiving. You're not going for all open jobs, are you?

So quit saying that you're interested in jobs because they're open. You're not. You're glad they're open, but you're interested in them for some other reason. Figure out the reason, then figure out where else you might find these kinds of jobs. Then start contacting those employers directly, without waiting for job postings. The key to avoiding the application process is to connect with managers before they've turned the openings over to human resources to fill.

2. Contacting employers directly really works, but it isn't mindless. Applications, on the other hand, are numbing in their lack of mental challenge.

To contact employers directly, you'll need to know the position you'd like to have or at least the general duties you'd like to perform. Then decide which companies may have those positions.

This is another step that calls for imagination. If you don't have any, or if yours took a hiatus when the paychecks stopped, then borrow someone else's imagination. Ask friends, counselors, support-group buddies or anyone else to help you create a list of likely employers for the work you want to do. Then, start making connections.

3. But whom, exactly, are you going to contact in the company? It's time to put that thinking cap back on. You know it's not going to be anyone in human resources, unless you want a job in the HR department. Rather, it's going to be the manager in the department where you want to work.

But how will you ever discover the name of that department? I know I'm being sarcastic here, but it's not as if you've been assigned to locate plutonium to smuggle out of the country. Instead of freezing up at this stage, ask yourself: How would you find someone's name if it really mattered — say, if the life of a loved one were at stake? Well, pretend that it really matters, and do what you would do in those circumstances.

Some hints? Ask your friends, counselors, hairstylist, neighbors, clergy members, etc., if they know someone in that company. Next, ask the person you learn about if he or she knows how the departments are organized. Then ask for help finding the name of the person in charge of the department you want to work for. What the heck? Ask for an introduction to that manager or for your résumé to be hand-delivered to him or her. It's worth a try, anyway.

4. Believe that this works, because it does. To test the theory, ask others: "Did you do an application to get your last job? Do you know anyone who got a job without doing an application?"

I'm certain you'll find many people who got jobs after filling out applications, but I'm absolutely convinced that you'll find more who got jobs through other means. Picture yourself joining their ranks, then make it happen.

- 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.