Let Blue Sky Careers show you the smart moves that can get you noticed by recruiters and job influencers.

Here's a checklist of smart moves to get you in touch and connected with a community of job influencers:

1. Have a game plan: a scatter gun approach will look exactly that and fool nobody. Be thorough in your research, know who you are targeting and why – people, companies and industries.

2. Look at your industry experience and transferrable skills across the whole supply chain. It's an employer’s market. If you don't have the industry experience, there are smart ways to link the skills and experience you do have to the role you want.

3. Develop the essential tools of the trade. The first thing agencies and employers seek is a well written application (cover Letter/selection criteria and CV).

4. Interpret your value for the employer. Extract the killer content, strategically lay it out succinctly, and write well. There's an art to well written applications, and the outdated dutiful approach of the past is not sufficient.

5. Repurpose and broadcast your availability to your network via LinkedIn and other social media channels.

6. Create mutuality in your relationships with job influencers. Relationships aren't one-sided. Don't fire off and forget because nobody's responded to your initial phone call or email. Find creative ways to connect and stay in touch.

7. Use time productively to upskill. Let job influencers know that you've recently upskilled in areas that might be of interest to them.

8. Go wider, higher and become more valuable. Remember, in this environment, being a specialist may not be enough. Diversify, adapt and pivot; be brave and back yourself.

9. Use ‘Dear John’ emails as connections made rather than failed connections. When someone says no to me, it makes me intensify my efforts to built closer ties.

10. Ask for feedback on applications via phone and email. Try to make every contact count in evolving your relationship with prospective employers.

What we're asking you to do is hard and takes purposeful and concerted effort. You can't switch on a computer today, send off a batch of applications and expect immediate results. Contemplate too whether a batch of applications is a good use of your time. What about personalising and really customising a handful of applications, which is likely to be much more effective?

Making connections is personal – make every call, email or social media post count. As an employer, recruitment and career advisory agency, we're always looking out for the ingenious ways people connect with us. Some of our most important appointees at Blue Sky Careers literally chased us down and compelled our attention.

Be positive, patient and persistent. Each day, set yourself two to three things to do and do them. If the door does not open the first time, keep knocking!

Treat yourself as a priority and others will follow suit. Treat every interaction as a respectful and cherished opportunity; you never know where it can lead.