(FORTUNE Magazine) – Dear Annie: I'm a graduating college senior, majoring in business, and I'm having the hardest time finding a job. I started job hunting last fall and have used all the resources offered by the career center at my school, including doing some mock interviews for practice. I've also had real interviews with several companies, but so far, no offers. I've searched the Internet, but most of those jobs require experience. If I find myself jobless after graduation, as is starting to seem likely, what should I do? --Eleventh-Hour Blues

Dear EHB: No doubt about it, this is the least welcoming job market that new grads have faced in recent memory. According to a survey by Drake Beam Morin (www.dbm.com), U.S. companies are planning to hire 36% fewer of you than they did last year--and last year wasn't so hot to begin with. "Nothing will guarantee you a job," says Brad Karsh, a former corporate recruiting director who founded and runs JobBound (www.jobbound.com), an online resume-writing and job-search service for newly minted college grads. "But there are ways to improve your chances." First, Karsh says, if you're like most college students, you aren't doing enough networking: "Kids don't know how to network, or they're too shy. But your best chance of getting a job is through someone who knows someone. Use your college alumni network. Find out who graduated from your school and is working in the field you want to enter, and call them. Don't be afraid you'll be putting them out. They want to hear from you." Another potentially rich but often overlooked source of leads: "Look around your parents' circle of friends. Talk to them. You know these people, but you don't know whom they know."

Once you've made a little list of people who might be able to help you get into your chosen field, he says, "do informational interviews with them. Treat these like real job interviews--dress well, show up on time--because there is always a chance that that's exactly what they will turn out to be. In each one, ask ten intelligent questions about the business and the kind of work you'd be likely to do in it." Of course, coming up with those questions requires that you do some homework. Karsh suggests subscribing to a few trade magazines that cover the industry, not only to get familiar with trends and terminology but also to look for clues as to which companies are growing, hence probably hiring, and which are not. When you find a company that is doing well, Karsh says, "go to its website. That's where employers will tell you what they're looking for, which lets you tailor your resume accordingly."

Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all resume, be ready to write a somewhat different one for each employer. "It should be a real-life summary of what you have done that is applicable to what they need," says Karsh. "For instance, if an employer's website says they're looking for people with leadership ability, leave off your summer job waiting tables and emphasize your student-government activities instead. Focus on what is relevant."

And if you have nothing relevant to say for yourself? Karsh, who runs resume-writing workshops on college campuses, has found that students tend to err on the side of modesty. "Almost every student has something in his or her background that would impress an employer if it were presented in the right light. Anytime you were part of a team that achieved a goal, that's worth talking about," he says. "One graduating senior told me he had nothing to put on his resume because he spent the summers doing construction work, which he said was 'just manual labor.' It turned out he operated a crane and a forklift. The company entrusted him with $300,000 worth of heavy machinery! He also trained several other people to use it. I would hire this guy! You have to take a really close look at everything you've ever done and try to see it the way a potential employer would."

Above all, be prepared to persevere and to treat looking for a job as a full-time job in itself. You might also have to set your sights a bit lower than you would if the economy weren't so lousy. "Be willing to start as a secretary, an intern, anything to get your foot in the door," Karsh says. You know the old cliche about CEOs who worked their way up from the mailroom? Welcome to hard times.

Dear Annie: I was laid off by a large computer manufacturer while I was out on leave, under the Family Medical Leave Act, taking care of my mother during her cancer treatments. Do I have any recourse? Is it legal for an employer to lay off someone who is away on this kind of leave? --Shocked in Silicon Valley

Dear Shocked: I wish I had better news for you but, yes, it is legal. The purpose of the Family Medical Leave Act is to preserve your status as a regular employee while you are out--and regular employees do get laid off. "The FMLA doesn't confer any special rights. You have no more protection from a layoff than if you had been at work," says Jay Waks, who heads the employment law practice at Kaye Scholer in New York City (www.kayescholer.com). The sole exception: if you could prove that you were laid off because you took an FMLA leave. Says Waks: "Like all federal protective laws, this one does guard against retaliation or discrimination aimed at employees who exercise their rights." Has the company laid off only people who took medical leaves, or a disproportionate number who did? Then you might have something. But otherwise, no.

Send questions to askannie@fortunemail.com. Annie offers advice weekly at www.askannie.com.