Advice:  Steven Toole is Vice President of Employer Marketing with Jobfox.com.

With unemployment now at a 26-year high and several hundred thousand Americans continuing to lose their jobs every month this year, it’s not only tough to find work, but keeping your job is far from guaranteed for most people.

Although unemployment has certainly been this high before, it’s never been this high in a post-Internet world.  While the Internet was supposed to make it easier for people to find jobs via traditional online job boards, today’s employers are inundated with electronic resumes from millions of job seekers, choking the system.  The result is that it’s harder than ever for employers to find that proverbial “needle in a haystack” of resumes and applications.  In turn, it’s harder than ever for you, the qualified candidate, to break through the clutter of hundreds, or even thousands, of applicants vying for the same job.

Here are a few tips to help you position yourself in today’s job marketplace.

1. If you’re currently employed, be prepared.  Start a “passive” job search.  Update your resume now, and get familiar with job search tools, especially if you haven’t had to look for a job in a few years.  Use free online tools. Jobfox.com is a great place to start. It not only blocks your current employer from seeing you on the site, but Jobfox will only show you jobs that are truly a good fit for your unique skills, experience, location, education and income range.
2. If you’re currently out of work – Don’t give up.  There are jobs out there.  The Department of Labor estimates several million job openings available each month, despite increasing unemployment and layoffs.  Unemployment among women is lowest in the fields of healthcare (2.1%), life, physical and social sciences (4.4%), management (4.7%) and legal professions (4.9%) – well below the national average of 9.7%.
3. Consider going back to school.  Whether part-time or full time, getting that advanced degree or certification makes you more marketable.  There is a direct correlation between education levels and employment levels.  The national unemployment rate among workers with no high school diploma is 14.8%.  Contrast that with the rate among workers with some college coursework or an associate’s degree, which is currently half that rate, at just 7.4%.  Add the bachelor’s degree and the unemployment rate drops again to just 4.4%, meaning that there are a lot fewer college educated workers out of work than those with full degrees.
4. Give your resume an extreme makeover.   Your resume has a few seconds to sell you to employers.  You may have labored over it and tweaked it endlessly, but that doesn’t mean it’s doing you justice.  Hand it over to a reputable pro and you’ll probably be amazed at how good you could look on paper.
5. Network wherever you can.  In addition to the obvious professional clubs and associations, talk to your friends, relatives and neighbors about where they work. You may be surprised to learn that someone you know works at a company where you just applied or a position just opened up for you.
6. Volunteer.  Use the skills of your occupation for a charitable organization.  This keeps your skills sharp, builds your reputation for what you’re good at, demonstrates passion to prospective employers, and presents great networking opportunities.

Steven Toole is Vice President of Employer Marketing with Jobfox.com, www.Jobfox.com. a social media web site that confidentially matches professionals with their most suitable career opportunities.