While it's true that finding work has become tough now that there are more jobseekers than jobs, that doesn't mean that companies don't need people. It's just that the nature of their needs has changed.

In fact, there are currently some 190,000 job postings in the 104 Job Bank database. "But when you compare the top ten industries this February versus those last February," says Rocky Yang, "you see that the semiconductor industry has fallen from second to tenth in terms of the number of postings it has up. It's fallen by more than half, from 7.7% of postings to just 3.6%. And the optoelectronics sector has fallen out of the top ten entirely."

Sales professionals are most in demand, followed by finance professionals, client services professionals, research engineers, marketers, and software engineers.

Yang explains that no matter what the state of the economy, businesses always have need for employees who can help make them money. But sales vacancies always take the longest to fill. They are challenging positions, and tend to be the last choice of jobseekers, who prefer to first look for other jobs.

Job skills trump education

When the economy is stuttering, corporations naturally seek to streamline their workforces. If they discover something that isn't working well, they quickly "deal with it." What can office workers do to protect themselves?

Besides the obvious-working hard-Yang recommends that employees develop what he calls the "five skills." These are foreign language skills (the ability to speak, read, and write well in a foreign language), financial skills (the ability to read basic financial statements to better understand your company's circumstances), professional skills (job knowledge that isn't easily replaced), sales skills (including interpersonal skills and networking), and innovativeness (to create job-related value-added).

Yang's "five skills" are similar to the language, financial, and problem-solving skills recommended by Japanese management guru Kenichi Ohmae. But Yang argues that in recessionary times, the sales skills and innovativeness he includes among his five assume a greater importance.

He explains what he means by sales skills using a hypothetical situation. Most companies have a sign on their door that says "no soliciting." Someone without sales skills sees such a sign and walks away. But people with sales skills are aware that going inside will put the receptionist in an uncomfortable spot and act accordingly when they enter. Speaking very humbly and politely, they may say, "Excuse me, but our product so perfectly meets your company's needs-could you possibly give this brochure to your president?"

A good-hearted receptionist will take the brochure in. But the president might be in a bad mood. If so, he won't just chuck the brochure on the floor, he'll also have the receptionist give the salesman NT$10 and tell him to take a hike.

The salesman won't let this upset him. Instead, he'll pull out his name card and tell the receptionist, "I'm very sorry to put you in such an awkward spot, but please tell your boss that NT$10 only buys these two name cards."

"Salespeople need to be aggressive, have good judgment, and arm themselves with a good sense of humor," says Yang. "They have to use their high EQs to bolster otherwise weak positions." When coupled with innovativeness, these traits can help individuals develop new business lines. Take Apple's Steve Jobs, for example. Though an internal power struggle forced him to leave the company for a time, he returned and used the iPod and iPhone to lead it to new heights.

People who have all five of Yang's strengths are exceedingly rare, but Yang believes that the skills can be learned and honed. You just have to tell yourself that you're going to learn them no matter what.

Back in the game

Take Yang himself, for example. Sixteen years ago at the age of 36, he decided to take a chance by leaving a job with seemingly limitless potential.

A graduate of the foreign languages department at National Cheng Kung University, he was a vice president of marketing for a tech company and earning more than NT$80,000 per month by the time he was 36. But then he noticed that the manufacturing yields for his company's products were declining, and concluded that the company was losing its competitive edge.

Disappointed that his warnings went unheeded, he chose to leave. Though he cut a dashing figure when he quit, his wife and daughter say his departure marked the start of two years of torture.

With few savings and no plans for the future, the family scraped by on the NT$50,000 per month his wife earned as a middle-school teacher. Their NT$24,000 mortgage and their basic living expenses left little money for anything else.

Yang wasn't interested in looking for work. When he wasn't holed up at home, he was at the library. He had once wanted to write for a living, but soon learned that writing involved a great deal of work for very little money. The act of writing itself turned out to be a struggle, too. He racked his brains every day, but produced nothing that he was happy with.

"I had no dignity when I was unemployed," he recalls. "The only time I had any dignity at all was when I was holed up in our study, trying to work out what I wanted to do." Based on his own experience, he recommends that the unemployed accept their fate, recognize that they are not making a financial contribution to their family's well being, and try to economize. Yang didn't spend a penny he didn't have to. For example, he would refrain from buying water when out and about, and walked rather than rode the bus whenever possible.

Then he started taking classes, just to get out of the house and put some feelers out. When he glimpsed a note in the paper for an Internet class being offered at National Taiwan University, he got curious and went down to listen. The class gave him the idea for his job bank, which connects jobseekers with online job postings. Yang resolved to roll the dice, and took out a second mortgage on the family's apartment.

Unfortunately, he was still struggling eight or nine months after he established the company-the website still wasn't widely known and wasn't generating much traffic. In fact, it was a year and a half before his fax machine finally spit out an order and the business began to take off.

Learning from animals

Yang, who swallowed many a bitter pill waiting for things to turn around, knows all too well what it feels like to be unemployed and at a loose end, as well as to be an entrepreneur who's getting nowhere but can't turn back. He argues that unemployed people who want a brighter future have to let go of their old selves and have to stay determined. Failing to do so will only lead to greater pain and disappointment for their families.

He believes that we can find insight into how to remain resolved by observing four animals:

The chicken: You have to continue getting out of bed at the same time you used to when you were working. You can't neglect to punch the clock and let your schedule fall apart just because you've lost your job.

The horse: Note the way horses run to keep their legs in shape. The unemployed invariably lose their zest for life and may even be afflicted by a sense of desperation. Make exercise a habit. It releases endorphins in the brain, which elevates your mood. When you are feeling good, good things happen.

The cow: You don't have to work like a cow or a horse, but you should keep moving forward at a steady pace seeking opportunities. The cow teaches us diligence, and spurs us to continue learning. Spend three hours every day learning new things.

The dog: The dog teaches docility and consideration for others. Become your family's loyal servant.

Yang survived his two years of unemployment, but they were far from easy. He says the hardest part was facing the fact that almost no one believed he'd ever stand on his own two feet again. But he had to believe in himself because it takes determination and grit to turn things around.