It used to be that you could graduate high school, get a job, work at that job for 30 years, and retire into the twilight of your life with a modest pension that would allow you to live out your days in relative financial security.

Today – change, complexity, and competition rule our global economy. The 30-year job and its accompanying pension are a thing of the past. Cheap labor in East Asia have all but subsumed the West’s ability to manufacture and even provide services competitively. A help desk in India is one less help desk in Oklahoma. A furniture factory in Xiaoming, China takes away hundreds of jobs from North Carolina.

North American companies have been feeling the impact of the interconnected global economy for a couple of decades at least. In order for these companies to remain viable and competitive, they inevitably have to get leaner and meaner, which means they have to find equally good or better labor at a lower cost. So unless you want to move to a lower cost of living area to work in a call center, you may feel the impact of globalization – and it could hit home in the form of a layoff.

So what happens if your job goes elsewhere, or your company has to get aggressive to meet its numbers and you do get laid off? What should you do? What follows is a list of ideas that might help.

1. Renovate your resume
2. Tap into anyone and everyone in your network (i.e. friends, family, church, kids activities)
3. Make it your full-time job to find another
4. Find temporary work
5. Freelance or get connected with a job finder in your industry
6. Volunteer part time in your industry
7. Look at industry association job boards
8. Be willing to take a slightly lower salary, you may not have leverage unless you have a high demand skill
9. Persistence, Persistence, Persistence
10. Beat your former employer at their own game, setup your own business in the same industry
11. Consider moving to where the jobs are
12. Retool yourself by learning a new skill or getting a certification in your field
13. Hold on to hope, it will happen for you, you have more assets than you think

Job hunting is like sales, it’s a numbers game. The more you put yourself out there, the more chance you have. You can shortcut the traditional job search by tapping into your network and asking your friends if they are aware of opportunities where they work.

Job listings are dynamic, so for any job posting, get your application in the first week or two of the job announcement date, because that’s when recruiters are actually paying attention to the responses. Align your resume to the keywords of the job description, because that is how recruiters will find you. If your resume matches their keywords chances are you’ll at least get a call. Hang in there, stay focused, have faith, keep putting in applications, keep asking friends, and eventually, you will find your next opportunity.

Question: What job-hunting strategy has worked for you or someone you know in the past? You can leave a comment by clicking here.