Aiming for New Work? Think Like an Advertiser.

She and Bassik both suggest starting a personal blog or contributing to others' blogs, thus showing your talent and expertise. But write about solutions, and be positive and authoritative in what you write. "Be conscious and mindful what you put your name on," said Finnemore. "The words you use are a reflection of your personality."

· Know your target. Use the Internet and other tools to research potential employers. Only then do you craft your initial contact or message to the hiring manager. Targeted marketing pays off. Finnemore tells of a woman her firm hired recently. "She wowed us. Her cover letter indicated she understood our values, what we stood for, what we did," she said. So did her résumé and her PowerPoint presentation showing her communications philosophies.

· Give back. Volunteering can help your network and your reputation. It also can help with job leads -- the corporate sponsors of a fundraiser may have openings. And it's especially effective for introverts who don't want to advertise their skills, Dermody said.

· Keep going. Smart firms advertise and work on brand-building all the time. So it's important that your latest blog posts aren't nine months old and your online résumé is not out of date. You're going to master the art of selling yourself by continuing on with it -- even when your current job is taking 70 hours a week.

Enlist clients, co-workers and friends to make some of the sales pitches, too. "There are so many ways you can get yourself out there," Dermody said.