In this economy, it's all about who you know AND who knows you – people matter. Here are four job search strategies from which any MYCOOLCAREER.COM fan can benefit:

1. Ask better questions
Don't just walk into a retail store or email HR asking whether they have any openings. The answer will either be 'no' or 'here's an application'. In this economy, applications without a previous relationship are almost worthless. The reality is always that most jobs are unadvertised. As a professional recruiter in Silicon Valley, I can tell you that the qualified candidates who ask the best questions are always hired.

At the end of a job or career interview, ask questions like these:
• Do you have any suggestions for how to network?
• Could you help me improve my resume?
• Can you tell me how you were hired here?
• What advice do you have for me on finding a job?
• What is the hiring procedure at your company?
• Do you know anyone who is hiring?

2. Employee referral programs
In this economy, most companies will not interview candidates who have not been referred by employees currently working at the company. Whether you're applying for a $6/hour job at the mall or looking for your first job following college graduation, it pays to get friendly with the people already working at the companies where you want to work.

Larger companies, especially, use formal employee referral programs to attract qualified candidates, believing that talented employees know other talented employees. Even the local retail shop probably has an incentive they offer to current employees if one of their friends get hired. So it pays to start asking your friends, all of them, about any referral programs at the places they work. You may even find they get a bonus or reward if you're hired – sometimes up to $500 for entry–level positions. Many people split this once the person is hired.

3. Become The Person of Influence Among Your Friends
If you have a natural knack for networking and keeping in touch with others, help yourself and your friends. One woman in my area did this a few years and now her list sends 20–30 open positions to 13,000+ people every day. Go to www.groups.yahoo.com and either join or start a 'young adult job search list for my city' and send it out to your friends. With a little work and an announcement in your local paper, you could become the point person for all job openings for people under 25. This would be an excellent entree into companies, telling them you're doing research for your region on job openings for young adults.

Obviously, you'll keep your ears open for positions that interest you, but not all will. Over time, this is the best way to become known among your friends, and by employers, as someone who is knowledgeable about job openings in your area. This may seem like a lot of work, but if you get people talking and share openly, believing it will come back to you, you will find friends and employers are very responsive. Besides, you will find out a lot about available careers and some of the relationships could prove invaluable throughout your career.

4. Persevere and get creative
No one ever said finding a job was easy. But it is possible. Think outside the box a little bit. Instead of blasting your resume to 200 companies, get on the phone and start building relationships. Join the industry association in your field and inquire about student membership. If what you're doing isn't working, ask a friend or an adult for feedback on what you could do better. Offer to take an HR professional or recruiter out to lunch and just ask them questions – you'll learn more in an hour than most will learn in the first five years of their career. Focus on what you want and keep telling other people about it. As easy as it is to get negative, find safe people you can share it with and donít let this rub off on potential employers. And as Winston Churchill said long ago, "Never give up, never give up, never give up."

Dave Lloyd is a professional recruiter and author of the online book: Graduation Secrets: How to Guarantee Academic, Career, Relational and Emotional Success. Dave has put together an entire strategy for any teen or young adult looking to find their career fit and get a great job (plus lots more) at www.graduationsecrets.com.