Employ these strategies to help you in job search

The world has changed immensely since the recession began, and so have the rules of the job-hunting game.

Sure, networking is still a no-brainer, but how do you contact a hiring manager when your resume is screened first and must catch the attention of a computer?

How do you find jobs that aren't posted? When jobs are posted, thousands of applicants might apply. What does it take to make a resume stand out?

Steve McMahan, president of a San Francisco company that helps place applicants in financial jobs, said job seekers have to be more proactive than ever. Sending out resumes and waiting by the phone won't work, he said, but persistence should pay off.

"Some people who didn't have success finding a job last year will have a better chance this year," said McMahan, who is based in Accountants International's Tampa office.

With 1.1 million unemployed Floridians and a shrinking pool of jobs, what does it take to snag a full-time position?

McMahan and Donald Asher, a career coach and author of "How To Get Any Job," offered these tips:

• Broaden your network pool.

When you're out of work, it's easy to let depression and negative thoughts fill your head. The key to getting back to work is networking.

"You shouldn't only be networking," McMahan said. "But if you do only one thing, network.

"Think about every job you've ever had, every contact you've ever made," McMahan said. "You'll likely figure out you know a lot more people than you thought you did."

McMahan recommends the unemployed get out of the house every day. Tell people you meet that you're looking for work, keep resumes with you. Have coffee with old colleagues and others in your network.

• Use social media. Reach out to contacts on sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn. If you don't have these accounts, get them, McMahan said.

• Don't limit your search to posted openings.

About 55 percent to 80 percent of the jobs available are in what Asher calls the "hidden market," meaning the openings are not posted. Asher advises clients to forget about posted jobs because by the time they're posted, there is fierce competition. He suggests instead trying to find out about jobs before they're posted.

• Target companies where you want to work and persuade someone who works there to help you.

E-mail people you know at the company and ask them to refer you for the job, Asher said. At the very least, ask that they personally hand your resume to the appropriate hiring manager.

"You don't have to be someone important to get your resume bumped to the top," Asher said. "About 25 percent of the management-level resumes have outright lies on them. This is why someone vouching for you means so much."

• Inquire about types of jobs, not openings. If a company knows about you, they may think of you the next time they have an opening - even if it's not posted to the public.

"I worked with an accountant who was very shy and didn't like to network," Asher said. "We faxed his resume to dozens of offices over a weekend, and he landed a job quickly. It was a job he would not have even known about."

• If you apply for a posted job, make the resume reflect the posting.

Asher recommends including specific words from the posting in your resume to increase your chances of being considered. Many companies have computers that screen resumes and sort the ones that best match the posting.

There are some words that aren't in the posting that the computer will be looking for, Asher said. For example, she said, the name of a competitor on your resume will likely catch the eye of the computer and then perhaps someone with the power to hire.

• Once you have applied, make sure you're not forgotten. Asher recommends stopping by every 10 days.

"I don't think this is pestering," he said. "And if it is, oh well. If they don't hire you, it doesn't matter what they think."