[christensen143]

I had a recruiter teach me a trick for LinkedIn that seems to be working. Turn off your "Open To Work" every couple of weeks for at least 48 hours. Then turn it back on. It shoots you back to the top of search results for recruiters. I did it when I was looking and my contacts from recruiters increased significantly every time I turned it back on. One of those recruiters got me the job I landed.

I agree with previous responders on cold applying. My experience here is twofold. As an applicant, I have landed one job by applying for it, and I believe that was a fluke. As a hiring manager, the applicant systems are jam-packed with hundreds of applicants. There isn't enough time to look through all of them, and when you do, you aren't looking closely.

I don't hate the idea of networking, and I have helped contacts get jobs. Networking has many pluses outside of the job search.

The most important thing is to keep interviewing every chance you get, even if you aren't serious about the job or the pay is too low. When I got laid off in June, my first few interviews were disasters. I was out of practice and ill-prepared. About ten interviews later, I'm poised and practiced. My elevator speech is short and on point, and I sound like I know what I'm talking about.