By Ed Orum for AOL Find a Job

It takes more than a good résumé to land a job in this market. You have to be savvy and a step ahead of other applicants. Cosmopolitan recently teamed up with the Society for Human Resource Management for a survey on what it takes to be a winner in these highly competitive times. Turns out the smart use of technology often tops the list.

Let's start with those social networking sites you're on when you're not scanning job sites. While you might share every detail of your life on Facebook or MySpace, it's a good idea to make sure hiring managers don't have access to your profile. A majority - 86% - said unprofessional behavior makes you less desirable as a candidate. Yes, this includes party pics and off-color comments. Not that recruiters are always looking - 70% of the organizations surveyed said they do not Google you or check out social networking sites while making a decision. Still, better safe than sorry.

Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

In the current economic climate, people are finding themselves in dire situations. Veteran workers find themselves laid off after 20-plus loyal years with the same company. College graduates, with their diplomas hot off the press, can't find a job. Parents, who perhaps have never had to work before, find themselves desperate for a job.

Sometimes, these parents find themselves job searching in an even more unique situation: with their children.

5 ways to shake things up

Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 38 percent of full-time workers were unemployed for 27 weeks or more in September 2009. That's equivalent to more than 5.4 million people.

Whether you're out of work for five days, five weeks, five months or five years, any period of unexpected unemployment can be frustrating -- especially when it seems to go on forever. Although the economy seems to be showing signs of recovery, any job seeker who has been out of work for a long period of time will tell you: It's still not easy to find a job.

Duncan Mathison and Martha I. Finney

Let's face it: Even when you're on top of the world, chances are good that the idea of networking sounds like a big, fat drag. You can probably think of 100 other things you'd rather do -- like cleaning the blades of your ceiling fan. But if you're one of the 14.9 million who are competing for what seems to be a handful of jobs, your confidence has probably taken a hit. So now is probably not the time to be meeting anyone new. In fact, now is not the time to get out of your pajamas.

By Anne Fisher

Dear Annie: I'm a week away from my 54th birthday and, man, am I getting discouraged. After being laid off from a fairly senior job in May, I've spent the past few months networking nonstop, and managed to get three interviews. One interviewer never got back to me at all, and the other two both said I am overqualified for the jobs they have to offer.

I suspect that "overqualified" is corporate code for "old and expensive," so I tried to explain that I am more than willing to take a step or two down in position and salary (both my kids are out of college now, and our mortgage is almost paid off), but I still hit a brick wall. How does one get around being seen as "overqualified"? --Highly Experienced