CAREER COACH: The "Job-Hunter's Survival Guide" is a slim paperback manual of little more than 100 pages, chock-a-block with bullet points and tips, wrapped in a road-sign shade of yellow.

The author, Richard Nelson Bolles, 82, wrote the best-selling "What Colour is Your Parachute?" guide to job searching — now running at over 400 pages in the 2009 edition.

"There are a lot of people hanging on the ropes in the present, brutal economy that don't have time to read a big book," Bolles said. So he gave them a best-hits collection of advice, due out this month, culled from his 40 years of career guidance:

— Yes, unemployment is at its highest level in more than a quarter-century, but "there are always jobs out there". In May, the Labor Department said there were 2.6 million job openings. Competition is fierce for these openings, but keep telling yourself that there are always going to be vacancies, Bolles' book says.

— The average length of joblessness was 24.5 weeks in June, according to the government. You have some time. So sit down and figure out what you really want to do, as specifically as possible, Bolles says. Not what the marketplace is asking for, but what your ideal job would look like. "The more focused you are, the more likely you're going to find a job."

— Post as complete a resume as possible everywhere online that you can: LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, he advises.

— Now, the key: Approach the companies you've deemed a good fit. Seek out potential employers — from the phone book, acquaintances, online searches or social-networking sites — and sell them on your specific skills, Bolles says. Even if they don't have anything to offer you, they'll find it easier to help you out.

That's the most active and hardest way to approach a job search, Bolles says, but much more effective than using online job boards or replying to companies' posted openings. You're offering your services rather sending in applications with swarms of others.