I was a recruiter during the 2008 bust. That was not a good time to be the person hired to hire people :) I have a few random bits of advice, that mostly boil

I was a recruiter during the 2008 bust. That was not a good time to be the person hired to hire people :) I have a few random bits of advice, that mostly boil down to have a sense of urgency, and take what you can get: * if you need a job, and you've got exactly one crappy offer in front of you, take it, as you can take a better job if one comes along, and it's not in your responsibility to create a compensation package that is attractive enough to retain you * when interviewing, if you can get an interview, pay extra attention to what the employer really wants & speak to that, as they may have a ridiculous number of candidates to choose from, so you need to be as relevant as possible * if you see a job for which you're a fit, don't wait to apply to it (I posted a job ad in March of 2009 for a generalist software engineer in CA, and within an hour I had received 65 applications, most of which were qualified candidates with experience, and the person hired was in that batch & is still with the company) * don't talk about how crazy things are out there with a potential employer, as you don't need/want to remind that employer that you're one of many choices available * have some marketable skills in your toolset, just in case that fun-but-niche language doesn't map to any job openings for which you'd like to apply * interview with companies you'd like to join when you don't need another job, even if it's just opening the door with a phone interview, as a warm relationship is easier to call when you need a job than a cold one