A local nonprofit with which I've been affiliated is selling Christmas trees to raise funds this year, and they asked Pat Rice to run it. He's a little overextended, so he came up with a brilliant and charitable idea: he'd hire someone at $9 an hour to help him run it, paying the salary out of pocket as a donation to the nonprofit. He posted on craigslist and, within hours, had 117 applications, most with sparkling resumes packed with great experience. Most way over-qualified.

He ended up hiring three people and spending $1,000 on the project -- and deciding to start a nonprofit job-creation program, as well, to put all these valuable unemployed individuals to work doing good things. And then this morning on BBC, another story described a man who ran a small construction crew; he posted jobs on craigslist, too, and he too received hundreds of great applicants within hours. He picked the college-educated, over-qualified job seekers to work for him; so he could listen to NPR on the job site without complaints.

It's a bad time to be looking for a job, but if you're hiring for a low-paying job, you've got the cream of the crop hoping to work for you. And it's interesting to see many white-collar types searching for work in decidedly blue-collar jobs; the promise of Joe the Plumber is paying off and Americans, more and more, are seeking the sorts of skills that get your hands dirty and promise way more exercise than the walk to and from the conference room. It's not surprising that, when I announced on my instant messenger's chat client status that I was "working at Starbucks" (I was using the wifi there to write), one of my friends thought I was actually working for Starbucks (hey, she figured, Starbucks has a generous benefits policy!)

The economy may be in trouble, but there are silver linings; and some real opportunities to expand your set of marketable skills. If you're unemployed, where have you looked for work?

It's getting increasingly competitive in the job market these days. With current unemployment figures ranging anywhere from 5% to 7.5%, depending on who you believe, the search for a decent, well paying job has become an undertaking which can quickly lead to disappointment. Job hunting is a different and exciting challenge these days. It is a far more specialized process now, than it has ever been before.

Because I have been invited by my employer to pursue our open position for an Industrial Production Manager, I have had an opportunity to get a special view of the hiring process, from both sides. Today's Human Resource Managers are a savvy bunch. They are highly trained and quite sophisticated. They have new tools and a multitude of new information sources. I'd like to share with you a few of the insights this opportunity to compete for position has provided for me.

These days, simply having a sharp resume isn't enough. Although a well prepared resume is essential, presentation alone won't win you an interview. Today's HR Managers are placing less emphasis upon what you have accomplished, while placing more emphasis upon how you'll fit in. In other words, they want to know more about what you can do for them than what you did for your previous employers or in school. Today's resume writers must adopt an in depth strategy of forward thinking. Quality resumes must now present a picture of future success.

Gone are the days when you could expect job hunting success by writing up one good resume and then carpet bombing a host of potential employers.

It's amazing to me with all the books and internet resources on careers, resumes, and job interviews, that people still make big errors on a wide scale. CNN offers up a list of the eight worst things to say during a job interview, and each one of them made me say "People really say that in an interview?" Apparently so.

One of my favorites from the list is ranting about things you hate. Hint: A potential employer doesn't want to hear gossip or negative remarks about your last employer. All that does its make you look like a problem employee who has no manners.

How about asking for raises, promotions, and time off in the job interview? No, that doesn't fly these days. I hear that the younger generations really feel it's a privilege if they even show up (let alone work), but I think the better advice is to play it safe in the interview. Don't let them know that you feel entitled to more and you're already planning your days off.

The article highlights one issue that I think is often overlooked by candidates, and that's learning about the company beforehand. Who wants to hire someone who hasn't even bothered to look up the company on the internet? Before the internet, an interviewee had some legitimate excuses for not knowing much about a company. Not anymore. You should at least know the basic things the company does, and probably some of its recent accomplishments if it's been in the news. Formulate three or four good questions that you could ask about the company and the position for which you're interviewing to demonstrate your interest in the company. Who wants to hire someone who doesn't care about the company?

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

For years, I didn't have a resume. I figured I didn't need one. I work for myself, out of my home, writing mostly magazine articles. Every so often, however, I've lived vicariously through one of my best friends, who moves to a new job every three or four years on average. He would spend hours, studying every word, and trying to make his resume look just right, perfecting the size and type of his font, making sure the spacing was perfect. I really thought he was worrying a little too much. I still do.

But then a couple years ago, I updated my own resume. I had started writing for the occasional company or corporation, and somebody would ask for it. It just seemed like a good idea, and suddenly, I started to see my friend's point of view and remembered why I had stopped updating my own.

It's hard. What do you say on your resume? You don't want to be too modest and minimize your accomplishments, but you probably don't want to go overboard either. In my early 20s, when my resume was thin, I had "transportation food engineer" as one of my occupations, hoping that I wouldn't have to explain that I actually meant "waiter."

Layoffs are never fun, especially when they seem to come out of the blue. But you can get through it, as many before you have successfully done. Here are some tips for coming out of the layoff with your finances intact.

File for unemployment immediately. Some states give unemployment benefits based upon the day you file for benefits, rather than the day you lose your job. Sign up right away to avoid missing out on any benefits you're due.

Take a hard look at your family's budget. Where can you immediately cut costs? What bills absolutely must be paid, no matter what? Evaluate your family's needs and wants, and come up with a worst-case-scenario budget so you can see where you have to start cutting your spending immediately.

Begin your job search right away. Don't sit around waiting to be called back to work, even if your employer promises you that you will return to work soon. You don't know for sure if you'll ever go back to work there, so do yourself a favor and start your job search right away. If you do get called back, good for you. If you don't, you'll be glad that you've been pounding the pavement.