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"Can you teach a dinosaur to dance? More importantly, can you teach him to network in 21st Century style? I was skeptical. But George Langis, a veteran turnaround executive, dispelled doubts by learning new networking steps that may hasten his job hunt. He went from conventional handshake networking to creating a personal brand that would be easily marketable online. Though Mr. Langis still hesitates to plunge into "tweeting," his experience could benefit countless other older applicants with rusty job-hunting skills. "

"In a tight job market, building and maintaining an online presence is critical to networking and job hunting. Done right, it can be an important tool for present and future networking and useful for potential employers trying to get a sense of who you are, your talents and your experience. Done wrong, it can easily take you out of the running for most positions."

"As the recession continues, unemployed people over the age of 50 continue to face steeper job hunting challenges than their younger counterparts. People over 50 search for new jobs for an average of 36 weeks or longer, compared to 27 weeks for younger workers. And while the overall unemployment rate has held steady, the rate for those over 55 actually rose from 6.8% to 7.1% accounting for more than 2 million people in that age group out of work."

"With the country's unemployment hovering around 10%, many professionals are on the hunt for the perfect job. But what job? What industry? To the rescue are online career-assessment tests that aim to help workers (and daydreamers) identify suitable jobs and work environments. We took four tests to learn what fields are a good fit for a longtime reporter: the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Kolbe A Index, the Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential (MAPP) test, and a service called Careerkey. "

Typically, the length of a job hunt is a factor of what you do and the demand for it, says Tony Beshara, a Dallas-based job-search consultant and author of "The Job-Search Solution" (2006). Economic conditions may play a role, too. For instance, the current turmoil in banking and financial services means that someone in that industry probably will take longer to find a new job than a candidate in another field, says Nella Barkley, president and co-founder of Crystal-Barkley Corp., a career-coaching company in New York.

The recession is complicating job hunts-and the lives-of two-career couples, particularly when one lands an offer out of town. The search for employment is forcing more couples into long-distance relationships.

Last December, with unemployment at 7.2%, The Wall Street Journal enlisted eight people who had lost their jobs to write about their hunts in a new blog called "Laid Off and Looking." All eight had M.B.A. degrees; five had worked in finance at big banks. They had been unemployed for a median of nine months.

Internships-temporary positions that pay little or no salary-are typically designed for college students or recent graduates exploring potential career paths. But with unemployment at 9.5%, some older laid-off workers are taking on these stints to stay busy, gain new skills and expand their networks. In the meantime, they continue to job hunt and, in some cases, collect unemployment benefits.

The 2009 job market is very different from job markets of the past. If you haven't job-hunted in a while, the changes in the landscape can throw you for a loop.

The unorthodox gambits failed these job seekers-but taught them plenty about finding work, and could provide a playbook for countless unemployed Americans. Mr. Persky learned to become a multi-faceted entrepreneur. Mr. Williamson discovered why personal networks matter. Ms. Greco recognized the importance of targeted marketing.

MY last column, about the best way to use the Web to find a job, got an enormous response - a reflection of our economic times, I recognize, rather than my deathless prose. While many people agreed with the premise of the article (and some vehemently did not), one question popped up several times. It was about my assertion that searching online was great, but that nothing beats face-to-face contacts.

I am looking for a full-time job that uses my writing, people and information-gathering talents from 25 years as a Los Angeles Times staff writer. My concern, validated by the coach at the retraining corporation, is that I am over 40. That coach actually told me to leave the dates of college attendance, etc., off my resume. My brother, president of a publicly-traded company, said this advice was nonsense, although he did say age is an issue (and he's older than I am).Can you address this issue of inferiority complex for those of us competing with candidates 20 years our junior? How do we address it? How can we compensate for the potential perception that we are burn-outs or tired when we might -- in my case -- just be bored because we know the job so well?

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