We apply for a job in fervent hope that hundreds of others are not also applying. Finding work is too serious an issue to be considered a game or a sport. We need to find that position that will make everything all right, make us believe in ourselves again, and help rebuild self-esteem and self-confidence shattered by unemployment.

Unless we are very lucky, there will be competition for every position we identify. Our remaining option is to set ourselves apart from other hungry applicants.

How?

Take a global view and emerge from dank and slimy job search swamp by utilizing a number of techniques I call knock-out P-U-N-C-H-E-S, guaranteed to leave your competitors crying "Uncle" and throwing in towel.

1. P is for Persistence.

We all hate failure. We don't like being rejected, judged, or found inadequate in any way. Trudging on, day after disappointing day, requires all of our reserves of energy, reserves that are rapidly becoming depleted. From having to constantly present ourselves as enthusiastic and creative, we become blue, bummed, and bone-deep exhausted. We wonder how much longer we can keep up façade of self-confidence that we secretly admit has long ago evaporated. How can we present ourselves as competent, successful, and eager when in our heart-of-hearts we have accepted that we are a despised failure in a success-oriented culture?

The secret is to keep plugging away. No matter number of disappointments we have experienced; no matter number of rejections we have encountered; no matter times when our age, our experience, our skills have been found wanting - we have to KEEP GOING. We never know if "this time" is "the one." We have to continue to act, no matter how difficult or painful it may be, as if this were one position we have been seeking.

Ask any newly hired worker and they will tell you that just as they were about to give up, along came gold at end of rainbow. Not giving up, no matter how discouraged you internally feel, is secret weapon in finding a position, no matter how long it takes for right opportunity to appear.

2. U means Unswerving Focus.

There is so much going on in your life: family stresses, financial pressures, multiple demands on your time and your energy. The search for work, although prioritized for a long time, has moved down "to do" list somewhere below Timmy's first tee-ball game and in-laws' anniversary party.

If you have mastered art of multi-tasking (juggling activities around as changing deadlines demand), you will have realized that finding work is your overwhelming priority and that nothing can, or will, interrupt your focus on that, no matter what else may be happening in your life. Ignoring peripherals and always keeping your eye on immediate objective, obtaining a job, ensures that opportunities are not missed and that every possible avenue is explored. While there may be time for other things to maintain your balance, time allotted for job search must remain intact and sacred, no interruptions allowed.

3. N stands for Networking.

The often-touted "hidden job market" is merely a term to cover multiple job openings that always exist but are never publicized. Literally, millions of positions are filled without classified advertising, internet postings, or agency listings. Such positions are identified, and obtained, through personal referral: a job seeker knows someone who knows someone else who has a need for job seeker's skills and abilities. Networking is merely a fancy term for using friends and acquaintances to help locate employment. The process requires that when you are in need of work, you make sure that everyone you know is aware of your situation and that you ask them for information and assistance. Beyond exploring job leads with your contacts, it requires harvesting of names and additional contacts through personal referrals from your first line friends. Like ripples of a pebble cast into a lake, your access to unadvertised positions multiples exponentially as your network of contacts, and their contacts, expand your chances of being in right place at right time when that long-sought employer connection occurs.

Many workers draw back from process after a few attempts, fearful of exploiting family and friends. At its best, this is a mutually beneficial relationship as their self-esteem is increased by having opportunity to help you. At some future juncture, you may be able to return favor.

4. C for Communication.

A job seeker doesn't necessarily have to possess spiel of a professional salesman nor creative presentation of a marketing specialist but clear, unambiguous communication is critical throughout hunt for work.

Your resume, cover letter, and completed application need to be clear in at least three areas.

Initially, it felt wonderful not to have to go somewhere each morning. Days, weeks, months of leisure lay temptingly before you. At last there would be time to do everything you wanted. No stress, no strain, just pleasing yourself for a change.

You can't quite remember when everything started to change. Maybe it was when you realized that you couldn't really afford to do all traveling you had planned. Maybe it was third day of puttering around in garage trying to ignore boredom and emptiness you felt inside. Maybe it was when you looked around mall in middle of afternoon and realized that you were one of youngest people present. Maybe it was when you watched evening news and suddenly felt like an alien in a strange world in which you no longer belonged.

Whatever happened, you wake up one morning and know that you have to rejoin world for sake of your sanity, your self-respect, and your deep need to be productive: to count, to matter, to have community and personal value. With a determination, and a strong sense of relief, you step out on road to un-retirement.

The following strategies may help make your journey more satisfying, more successful, and more fun.

1. Assess your current needs.

Before running out to look for work, take stock of your needs, your comfort zone, and your long-range goals. Are you looking for just "something to do" or do you intend to continue or develop a new career? Review your financial requirements, your willingness to make a long-term commitment, your health, your abilities and limitations, your family situation. If you only want to work part-time, or temporarily, or if your primary concern is to avoid stress of your former work, consider entry-level unskilled work. If you yearn to return to your prior career, consider offering to work for previous employers as an independent consultant. It will provide you with some considerable tax advantages while benefiting your employer who will no longer have to furnish benefits. Many retirees see a return to gainful employment as a "rounding out" of themselves. You may have worked in one industry for several years while harboring a secret dream of doing something completely different. Now may be time, with your safety net of retirement income, to try something new, just based on personal interest and a strong desire to spend your energy on something that is personally gratifying.

2. Entry-level, stress-free work.