So, you are unemployed, underemployed or maybe just not happy with your current job, boss or company. You are going into the job market, and although you know in your heart that you have value to offer another employer, you might feel discouraged as you assess the current economic market with a sluggish economy.

Here’s the good news….anyone who has the talent and motivation, and is willing to push him or herself out of their comfort zone to accomplish the goal, will be able to do so on their own terms. It’s about talent and technique, but it’s also about attitude: a can-do attitude in the job search will translate to success in your next career move. 

Here are ten proven ways to enhance your search process to get the job you want, even when the job market seems to be slow:

1)Whatever negativity is hanging around from your current or previous situation, get over it and move on. Many people to not realize the “baggage” that they take with them from a previous situation. While the feelings of being a victim of bad blood or politics may be legitimate in some cases, one must recognize that we do not have the power to change the past, only the present and future. Your inability to vent it and get over it will be a poisonous obstacle that will keep you from moving ahead. There is nothing that will turn off a networking contact or potential employer faster than to hear someone complain about how they were done wrong. Come to terms with what has passed, and let it go.

2) Be clear about who you are and what you have to offer: know your strengths, skills and assets. The voice of self-doubt can sometimes cloud your thinking and keep you from acknowledging all the positive skills, talents, traits, and attributes that you have which will surely have value to another employer. Take some quiet time and write down all the accomplishments and contributions that you have made. Then ask yourself what skills and personal traits you had which allowed you to accomplish what you did. This will help to recover your self-esteem, while laying the foundation for an effective resume.

3) Create a powerful resume that will be an effective marketing tool. Your resume should reflect not just what you did, but what the impacts of your efforts were to the customer, department, or company. The challenge is to set yourself apart from your competitors by including results-driven accomplishments that will reflect how you are valuable to an organization. By giving specific examples that include quantifiable results, you are giving the potential employer the tools to imagine you in their organization making similar contributions. Remember, too, that with more employers and recruiters utilizing electronic systems to collect and screen resumes, it will be important to include lots of relevant keywords in your electronic version.

4) Develop and practice your 30-second “commercial”. Having a concise and articulate statement about and preparation, it is too easy for you to inadvertently ramble on and on when someone asks about your situation or what kind of work are you looking for. Being clear and concise will also allow people to conclude that you are a clear-thinking and focused person. Your commercial should include your primary discipline, the number of years of experience you have, what your strengths are, and the kind of position, company or industry you are targeting whom you are and what you offer will allow busy people to remember you more readily. Without focused thought. Adapted from the author’s column, previously published in the Syracuse Post Standard

5) Keep an open mind about new possibilities. Be aware of your self-talk as you make faulty assumptions or negate prospects prematurely: “That job won’t pay enough,”; “That Company is too big (or too small, or too far to commute to, etc.)” It is important, particularly in a flat economy that you strive for a healthy level of volume in your search. This is a numbers game. It is dangerous to target only one or two situations and wait to see how they play out before seeking other prospects. Don’t short-change yourself by eliminating possibilities too early on. Challenge yourself to keep the pipeline full of potential opportunities.

6) Meet or talk to as many people as you can, every single day. This is networking. For many, it is a difficult part of the search because they are either uncomfortable talking about themselves to people they do not know, or they feel embarrassed that they are unemployed and needing to ask for assistance. It is essential that those who are making excuses about why they are not networking get real about the facts. Despite the plethora of job opps on the Internet, networking is still the number one way that people find jobs – about 75-80% of the time. Given this statistic, you should be spending that proportionate amount of your job search time meeting and talking with people. It really will pay off for you.

7) Create structure for yourself and set daily and weekly goals. Get up at the same time every day. Exercise and maintain healthy eating habits. Set goals and monitor your job search activities. Particularly with the availability of the Internet, it can be just too easy to sit in front of the computer for most of the day “exploring” or “researching” and convincing yourself that you are spending sufficient time on your job search. Sufficient, yes; effective, no. Set a goal for the number of new resumes that will go out each week, and the number of follow-up and networking calls you must make. This will help you to be accountable to yourself and your intentions.

8) Be prepared for your interviews. Being prepared includes planning, researching and practice of the process itself. Don’t think that because you are at ease with or can “read” people that you can just “wing it” when it comes time to interview. Companies expect that you will have done sufficient research to have an intelligent dialogue with them. You also need to be prepared to answer the “dirty dozen” standard interview questions that almost every interviewer will ask. In addition, you need to understand what behavioral interview questions are and be ready to respond effectively to them when asked. Then practice until your responses are confident and smooth, but not sounding overly prepared or “canned”.

9) Be persistent with your follow-up. You may have to call or email many times over several weeks to connect with the people you are trying to reach. Don’t give up. Be patient and don’t take it personally when people don’t get back to you right away, or at all. They might be first on your priority list, but you probably are not first on theirs. Remember, if you are unemployed, time is moving very slowly for you. If you called someone yesterday, it is hard to imagine why they have not called you back by today. Those inside busy companies, however, are in a different time perspective. Their days and weeks are flying by as they struggle to accomplish multiple jobs and projects at once. Call back systematically once or twice a week until you reach your party or get your answer.

10) Believe in yourself. If you don’t, how will anyone else?