This one is dedicated to anyone really struggling with their job search. Perhaps you've recently been made redundant and are in panic mode. Perhaps you've been looking for a long time without success, either while employed somewhere you've fallen out of love with, or after a period of unemployment that's starting to feel desperate.

One caveat before we start: some of this advice may come too late for some of you. As the old saying goes, sometimes the horse has bolted before the stable door was closed. But much of it can still be rectified, and I'll cover how.

Rule One: Do Not Panic

You've clearly been employed before. Others have seen value in you and hired you, which means others will see value in you and hire you again. You are not on the scrap heap.

The worst thing you can do is panic, because panic leads to poor decisions in your job search, and poor decisions rarely serve you well. Everything else in this article flows from keeping a level head.

Sort Your CV Out Properly

People tend to fall at two ends of the spectrum with CVs. Some are lazy: they slap something together quickly and assume it will do. If you've been searching for a while without success, this is worth an honest look. Others produce War and Peace: a ten page CV that, frankly, nobody reads. What you need is a concise CV that adequately sells you.

Treat Your Job Search Like a Job 

When you're employed, you behave diligently: you arrive on time, act professionally and work methodically. Apply exactly the same logic to your job search. Get up early. Some people even dress in business attire to get their head in the game. Be on LinkedIn, check the job boards, speak to good recruiters, and talk to ex colleagues to understand what opportunities might exist, perhaps in the firms they now work for. Be professional and methodical rather than slapdash, waiting for the miracle job to land in your lap.

Do Not Apply for Everything

Having said all that, the absolute worst strategy is "spray and pray," firing your CV out everywhere. Be selective.

People apply to the same recruiters or companies over and over, for almost every role available. All that does is make the recruiter or employer nervous about you, your attitude and what you're actually looking for. If you apply for literally everything, you're clearly not being selective, and that concerns people.

Choose Your Recruiters Carefully 

If you're going to work with recruiters, find niche specialists in your field whom you can trust, and limit yourself to two or three who are both trustworthy and knowledgeable in your space.

The very worst outcome is working with unscrupulous recruiters who fire your CV everywhere without your permission. Here's why it matters: if your CV lands on one hiring manager's desk multiple times from different recruiters, that company will very likely refuse to interview you, for two reasons. First, experience tells them there'll be a bunfight between recruiters over ownership of your CV, and the last thing they want is a dispute or the risk of paying two fees, so they simply stand back. Second, a CV arriving from every direction signals desperation and a lack of measured selectivity, and that alone kills their interest.

If Your CV Is Already Everywhere

If the damage is done, you have two options. First, go to every recruiter holding your CV and demand a detailed list of exactly who they've sent it to; under GDPR they have to provide it. Second, and this is the drastic option, you can instruct any recruiter who's been unprofessional with your CV to remove you from their database entirely, and to contact every client they submitted you to and ask them to delete your CV as well. That wipes the slate clean, so to speak.

Use that second option sparingly. Some recruiters will genuinely be trying to do a good job for you, and you may need them again in the future. Ideally, of course, you never reach this point, because you've heeded the advice above: don't panic, build a good CV, and be selective about who you approach and who you work with.

Do those things, and you can have every confidence you'll find the right opportunity.