If you’re one of the many Americans currently unemployed, then you may feel like the odds are stacked against you. Not only are employers hiring at a slower pace, but employed workers are holding onto their jobs longer, creating fewer opportunities and more competition for the roles that are available. As a result, the percentage of long-term unemployed people—those who have been without work for 27 weeks or longer—reached 25%, up from 23% this time last year, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

This means that in a slow hiring market like we have today, simply sending out more applications isn’t necessarily the answer. I spoke with four experts about how job seekers can be more strategic in their search, as well as the steps they can take to improve their chances of getting hired.

Below are some of the top pieces of advice from those interviews:

LinkedIn’s Head of Economics, Americas, Kory Kantenga says that using “your network to connect with people who are in the roles and in the industries that you have an interest in” is crucial.

“That way, you’re not just sending cold resumes out and you’re actually making a warm connection and potentially getting a referral, which is very important in a market like this,” Kantenga says.

Avoid Using AI To Completely Write Your Application:

“AI can be........

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