Instead of listening to the traditional view that your job search must be a full-time endeavor, try spending part of each day focusing on developing your professional competencies and network.  This is an opportunity to invest in your own professional development since you never had the time when you were on the job.

Build your professional network.

Except for those in sales, we tend to miss the regular association meetings and after-work get-togethers with our coworkers and professional colleagues.  Your network is one of your most valuable tools in a job search, as well as in your ongoing career, so taking time to build it and nurture it will pay off for quite some time to come.  Attend association meetings and/or events.  Volunteer on committees to build deeper relationships within your peer group.

Venture into the world of social networking.  Blogging has become an incredibly easy way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise to a wide audience.  Take some time to familiarize yourself with the format and process for blogging, and then have at it.  Use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites to promote your blogs and join discussions with people of similar interests.  These sites are becoming increasingly popular with recruiters, too, so you may even come to the attention of someone who can help you secure the next position.

Learn new skills and competencies.

Do an honest evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses, especially from the perspective of a prospective employer.  This is a perfect time to work on your weaker areas.  You can do internet research and participate in social networking discussions; read books and professional journals; and participate in free webinars and attend workshops, seminars or classes to increase your understanding of specific subject matters.

Achieve additional degrees and/or certifications.

If finances allow, this is also an excellent time to further your formal learning.  Adding a new degree or professional certification makes you that much more attractive as a job search candidate.  So, if there is an area of your expertise that you would like to highlight to prospective employers, especially if it’s an area in which you have little or no practical experience, this is an excellent search strategy.

Take on temporary projects to gain new experience, even if it’s on a volunteer basis.

You can also increase your professional experience by taking on volunteer projects that demonstrate skills and attributes desired by employers, whether these are technical or general in nature.  For example, most employers value project management skills, teamwork, leadership, and communication skills, all of which are generally transferable skills that can be developed in short-term project work.  There are many non-profit organizations that will benefit greatly from the volunteer efforts of people who are in transition and seeking to be productive.  Not only will you have the ability to continue developing your skills and capabilities, but you’ll also get a strong sense of accomplishment and value from the experience.

Reassess your career goals and research interesting companies to continue your targeted job search.

Sometimes people get on a career path by accident, and this is your opportunity to make sure your next step will take you toward a conscious career objective.  You may reaffirm that you’re in the right field and just focus on what will be the right next position.  Or, you may decide that you want to make an industry shift or a broader career change.  Whatever you decide, having a clear career plan will help you work toward a targeted position, rather than just taking the first position that comes available.

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In addition to the benefits of each of the activities described above, you will find that the greatest benefit is the emotional lift you will feel when you make your own development a primary goal of your time in transition.  Instead of feeling like a loser, as so many of us  do when out of work, you’re likely to feel more confident in your potential value to the next employer, and believe me, confidence sells.

In case you’re not yet familiar with social networking, or Web 2.0, the issue involves allowing (or not) access to such sites as Facebook (personal “friend” networking), Twitter (micro-blogging – 140 characters), LinkedIn (professional “contact” networking), etc. All of these sites provide a forum for ongoing conversations between members, friends, etc, and encourage open discourse on any topics of interest to the participants.

Before you decide to take a stand, you should take a moment to mull over the following five considerations.

1. This is not new.

While there certainly is the potential for such activities to detract from employee productivity, it’s not unique to social networking. A recent study by Nucleus Research found that companies that allow employees to access Facebook lose an average of 1.5% in total employee productivity. That may be, but I wonder what the results would show for, say, use of cell phones at work, or unauthorized use of the internet, which we now know to be a valuable research tool.

2. Most businesses require external communications.

Just as companies have relied on email, faxing or use of the telephone, they should consider the potential value of social networking as an effective communications tool. This is perhaps most critical as a consideration in your company’s sales and marketing efforts, where every potential avenue for building the company’s brand and generating sales should be captured. It’s also interesting to note that social networks may be the only remaining way to get to a prospect without a gatekeeper.

3. It’s a primary communication and networking tool for people known as Gen Y, or the Millennials.

It may be risky to ignore an entire segment of the market, a segment that will become increasingly important as their spending power grows now that they’ve finished college and joined the workforce. You can best reach them by marketing through social networking channels.

4. Your image is important.

Social networking can provide a wealth of information to the company about how it is perceived by the public. It’s possible that conversations are already occurring on social networking sites about your products and/or your company. You can follow such conversations and potentially gain a great deal of insight into what people like and don’t like, and perhaps what they would really value as new products, new services, etc.

5. Employees resent restrictions.

They generally believe that they have a right to stay connected – and privately so – with their networks, and they may perceive any restrictions you impose to be infringing on their rights. This is not, in fact, a valid legal position, but it does pose an employee morale issue. Further, companies that are more open to social networking may be perceived as employers of choice, especially with the Gen Y workers, and this could become an issue for you down the road in attracting and retaining top talent.

Resistance to change is natural, and the emergence of social networking, or Web 2.0 is a dramatic change. You should first learn as much as you can about social networking and then assess its potential value – and risks – to your company’s business goals. Then, when you’re ready to develop a policy, seek the guidance of someone who understands both the social networking elements and the importance of effective human resources management.

Watch this space for additional blogs on Web 2.0 / Social Networking as well as learning to utilize Social Media Marketing to your advantage.

Conduct an informal employee survey and follow-up interviews with a representative sample. It’s very common for top management to be completely unaware of what the employees really think or feel.  Sometimes the smallest things become the biggest issues, but attentive employers can spot these opportunities and implement reasonable solutions while increasing their credibility with the employee population.

Review your policies, procedures and practices to ensure that they are all compliant with current labor law.  In 2009, there have already been quite a few changes made to existing legislation, and failure to be compliant is a distinct vulnerability.

Institute lawful union avoidance measures.

Communicate actively to your employees, and let them know you’re listening to them. Employees who feel that they have a voice and are truly heard by their employer do not need to bring in a union to speak for them.

Train your managers and supervisors. An employee’s direct report has the greatest ability to affect his/her level of satisfaction with the job and the company.  It doesn’t matter what the owners or top management do unless the managers and supervisors are speaking and behaving consistently throughout the company.

Look at your selection procedures. The people you hire should be compatible with your work culture, values and practices.  Even more importantly, the people you hire should be right for the job – their background, experience and competencies should be well matched to the job requirements.  If not, they are destined to be disgruntled, dissatisfied employees or, in other words, a unionizer’s dream.

If you don’t know where to start or how to work through this To Do List, get someone to help you.  But doing nothing is like camping out in the backyard during a hurricane.  There’s only one outcome you can rationally expect.

Well, the “secret” it seems is that all the conventional wisdom still applies, though the methodologies for applying it have changed, in some cases dramatically.

It’s still true that the vast majority of open positions are not overtly advertised.  Now, though, instead of searching through the newspaper every Sunday for those that are, job seekers are spending untold hours each day searching the internet sites.  This has spawned quite a business for internet job search sites, and a job seeker can now be informed of the openings – regardless of location – by myriad different programs.

The sage advice of old to “network, network, network” is still appropriate and necessary today.  However, in addition to finding ways to meet people in person, we have social networking to keep us in front of our computers or on our cell phones.  MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter and the many more that will spring up in future nanoseconds offer fertile ground for expanding one’s network, though they also offer never-ending distractions to the job seeker.

The job seeker’s primary marketing tool is still a resume, whether organized chronologically, functionally, or as a profile on one’s social network, and everyone seems to have an opinion about what works best.  In actuality, the format doesn’t matter as long as it is current, accurate, easy to read, and effective in highlighting the job seeker’s strengths and accomplishments.  The newest development in terms of resumes is perhaps the VisualCV which allows you to build a resume file that also contains articles you’ve written, presentations you’ve given, awards you’ve received, etc., in digital form.  This creates for you a personal url that prospective employers and recruiters can explore to gain a much deeper insight into the “whole” you.

It’s still critical to do your homework and pursue any proactive avenues that could possibly lead you to the job of your dreams.  Cover letters should always accompany a resume, in hard copy or digital form, and appropriate language, spelling and punctuation are required.  You should research any company you are approaching and do whatever you can to show the prospective employer what you can do for them.  Then, you should actively follow up any lead, any interview, and any offer you receive.

The most important ingredients in an effective job search are focus, confidence and good old fashioned shoe leather.  Attending a seminar or webinar to improve your focus and your confidence is a good idea, but it won’t get you a job without the shoe leather.  And working with a career coach throughout your search can also be very helpful.  Just make sure you remember that it’s your search, and the way to achieve your goal is to demonstrate what makes you special.