Just ask any job seeker these days: It's crowded out there.

Two new books, "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0" (Wiley) and "The Job Hunter's Survival Guide" (Ten Speed Press), aim to help the jobless stand apart .

Job Front talked last week with the respective authors, David Perry of Canadian-based executive search firm Perry-Martel International and Bay Area resident Richard N. Bolles, author of "What Color is Your Parachute?"

Work the system

Why did you decide to write a "Guerrilla Marketing" sequel?

I realized last June that we're heading into an economic storm unlike anything we've seen before and that employers will go into stealth mode. I'm about 50, and I've never seen anything like this in my life.

The old ways (of looking for a job) have gone by the wayside. Networking, looking in newspapers, none of that works. I needed to show people how to be found.

What are some elements of guerrilla job-hunting?

Network with the "newly departed." Search for former employees of the firm you want to work with … find their résumé online and call them. Ask about the company. Ask for a reference. That's one way to get in the door. …

There are (online) tools to give you an edge. If you're looking for jobs, LinkedIn is a good tool. If you're not on ZoomInfo, you don't exist. … You can tilt at windmills or you can work the system.

What's your main message?

You need to incorporate personal branding. We live in a fast-paced, visual world, but the résumés are the same generic stuff: "I'm creative. I'm dynamic. I'm a leader." If you're creative, dynamic and a leader, you need to demonstrate that in your résumé.

Examples? Put the logos of your last employers down the lefthand column of your résumé. We're all nobodies but benefit by the halo effect.

Web only 10% of solution

What's different about the new "Job Hunter's Survival Guide"?

I wanted to help people who haven't got the patience to read ("Parachute") or who have experienced unemployment for the first time. I see myself as an advocate for the job hunter.

You note the Internet's importance to the job search, but call it a "10 percent solution." Why?

Most novice job hunters want to see where job vacancies are or where they can post résumés. Trouble is, employers don't post. It's their method of last resort. Use the Internet – for researching a company or establishing contacts with people – but dedicate only 10 percent of your time.

What's your main message?

There's a virtue to working hard (at a job search) but not if you're uninformed.

Don't go into a job hunt in isolation. The job hunters who hunt in groups, they'll be more successful. You tell people what you are looking for and you have eight additional pairs of eyes looking for that job.

Hiring chill may ease in third quarter

The chilly hiring season could warm up, as more regional employers look to hire in the third quarter, according to a survey for Sacramento employment firm Pacific Staffing.

The quarterly survey, conducted in May and June, polled 70 of the region's top 100 companies.

More than six in 10 said they planned to hire in the next three months, compared with 39 percent in the second quarter.

Many said they'll hire for seasonal help this summer or to account for earlier layoffs and attrition. Hiring is likely to be modest, with companies filling sales or customer service slots, but "any kind of hiring is a positive," said local market analyst Rick Reed, who conducted the study.

Meanwhile, just 4 percent of employers said they expect to lay off workers in the third quarter, compared to 16 percent last quarter.

OSH is hiring in Fairfield. The home improvement chain is hosting a job fair Wednesday, starting at 8:30 a.m. at the state Employment Development Department office, 320 Campus Lane, Fairfield.

Orchard Supply Hardware is opening its new Fairfield location in October with plans to fill up to 80 positions from cashiers to department heads.

Bring a résumé to the Wednesday meet-and-greet with OSH managers. For more information: www.osh.com.

Call The Bee's Darrell Smith, (916) 321-1040.