The unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in August, up from 9.5% in July.

The U.S. economy shed 54,000 jobs, according to the same report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And private-sector growth slowed from July, dropping from a gain of 107,000 new jobs to only 67,000, while the government terminated 131,000 jobs.

So, if you’re searching for a job, it’s all bad news these days, right?

Not exactly.

Not if you choose to ignore the rules that ordinary job seekers play by. Because ordinary job seekers are hurting. Just look again at those numbers above.

One man, Mark Thomas, from Phoenix, Arizona, decided to rip up the ordinary job-search rulebook and go Guerrilla.

The result?

At a time when the average job search takes 33.6 weeks, Mark got a new job in about 5 weeks, putting 28 weeks of “lost” paychecks back in his pocket.

Actually, he had two job offers — and got to choose between them.

Wouldn’t THAT be a nice problem to have?

My interview with him is below. Click the “play” button and listen to learn how you can:

* Get a private audience with hiring managers using LinkedIn (completely bypassing the HR Department)

* “Write the script” for your next job interview, so employers talk only about topics you choose (do you think you could handle that?)

* Get a new set of skills you can use to find jobs — almost at will — for the rest of your working life (THIS is job security)

Then, take advantage of special savings on our best-selling collection of Guerrilla Job Search tools.

Don’t delay — the sale ends without notice. Click here to learn more.