Top tip reminders for being proactive in a depressed employment market:

1. Be positive by staying proactive
2. Keep in touch regularly with all your contacts – calendarise and be polite but tenacious
3. Reciprocate – try to help others if you can, they will remember the good deed and return the favour
4. Make sure you send your CV updates to a saved list of relevant contacts on a regular basis, which is a great excuse to be in touch
5. Keep an eye on agency, news and job board bulletins, RSS feeds and job feeds
6. Occasionally, respond proactively and professionally to appropriate blog articles
7. Keep current on world and industry topical affairs to add texture to your conversations
8. It is a marathon, not a sprint, keep persevering but treat it like a job in itself by giving yourself down time and breaks