ATLANTA (Oct. 20, 2008) – With local and national headlines focused on rising unemployment, continued layoffs and longstanding companies closing their doors, it’s a scary time to be a job seeker, regardless of whether you are a recent graduate trying to get your foot in the door or a more seasoned employee. But armed with the right tools and resources, job seekers can give themselves an edge even in this ultra-competitive market.

Atlanta-based Hire Profile Inc., a staffing and recruiting agency specializing in the creative, design, marketing and advertising industry, offers these tips for job seekers in the Metro Atlanta area:

Flexibility is key. Don’t pigeon-hole yourself by restricting your search to just one industry or geographic location. Be willing to consider a wider range of annual salaries or hourly rates. “We place a lot of freelance and temporary employees,” says Hire Profile owner Nancy Pineda. “The candidates who are willing to accept a variety of hourly rates get placed much more frequently than those who insist on a specific minimum rate for every job.”

Polish your resume. In this tough market, employers have hundreds of highly qualified candidates to choose from, so if your resume is outdated or contains even one grammar or spelling error, it is virtually guaranteed to go directly into the circular file. Understand that recruiters and hiring managers review dozens of resumes each day and may only spend a precious few minutes looking at yours. Keep it simple, well organized and highlight the results you achieved, not just the tasks you were responsible for.

Nurture your network. Remember the old adage, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” The current version goes more like “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” One of the best ways to find out who is hiring and meet people who can help you with your job search is to go to networking events within your industry and in your community.

Hire Profile offers an at-a-glance posting of dozens of creative industry networking events at www.hire-profile.com and sends a list of these upcoming events to their candidates and clients each month. The events include industry roundtables with top industry speakers, advertising agency open houses and purely social happy hour events for organizations such as the Business Marketing Association (BMA), American Marketing Association (AMA) and Atlanta Integrated Marketing Association (AiMA), just to name a few.

Be responsive. If contacted by a recruiter, it is in your best interest to respond quickly, even if the job they call you about is ultimately not the right fit. Recruiters work on many positions at once so they may be working on other jobs that are a better match for you. Plus, recruiters often have an inside track at the companies you’re targeting, even if no jobs are currently posted (the best jobs often never get posted). Making a connection with a well-respected recruiter may pay off handsomely in the long run.

Focus. Focus. Focus. If you are out of work, finding a new job is your full-time job. Use social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Plaxo to uncover job opportunities, connect with co-workers and expand your network. Target your search and track your activities – who you called, where you sent your resume, where you met a contact, when and how you followed up.

Hire Profile is in the business of helping companies find the creative talent they need to increase revenue, grow market share, gain new customers and revitalize existing ones. We help creative professionals find work they might not find on their own and get them into corporations that can be tough to navigate without a referral. We place highly talented candidates in short-term projects as well as full-time permanent jobs in the creative, design, marketing, advertising and public relations fields.

For more information, please contact us by E-mail at info@hire-profile.com or phone at 404-806-2285.