Dear Joyce: I've been an engineer and project manager for 25 years, but the last layoff capped it for me. I have strong concentration ability and I want work that isn't here today and gone tomorrow. How can I apply for one of the 28,000 airport screener jobs that the federal government will be filling? -- H.K.

Dear H.K.: Hiring standards and application procedures are up in the air. The law allows new federal screeners who don't pan out to be fired, so don't sew a "JS" for job security on your jacket.

Monitor a Web page of the Department of Transportation's newly authorized Transportation Security Administration or call the DOT Connection at 1-800-525-2878 to leave your name and address; you'll be sent application information as soon as it's available, probably by the end of the year.

Tests will attempt to screen for such characteristics as concentration, stamina and the ability to find obscure threats in cluttered bags.

The work is not unlike standing before a cluttered pantry and being able to instantly spy the ketchup or like a mom's unerring instinct for hidden contraband when searching a child's room. You'll need terrific focus to keep your eyes from glazing over as bag after bag rolls by, holding yourself alert for that critical moment when a weapon appears.

Dear Joyce: I read your column about hiring for federal jobs, but you didn't discuss security clearances. Do I need one? -- A.A.P.

Dear A.A.P.: Some jobs in government require a security clearance. "An agency will hire you on a tentative basis and then apply for the clearance for you," explains Kathryn Troutman (www.Resume-Place.com), an expert in the federal hiring process and applications. "It may take six months to receive your clearance and you can't start the job until the clearance is complete. Many people keep another job until then."

As for a security clearance to work for a defense contractor, Troutman says you also have to be hired tentatively, based on having a clearance process performed.

New terminology is emerging. "The 'full lifestyle polygraph' is the same as a security clearance," Troutman says. She recommends you follow the security clearance issue on the Defense Security Services Web site, as well as on her own site in her "Career Corner" column.

Dear Joyce: To borrow from an Air Force expression, the nose of my job search is down and the houses are getting bigger. I've sent out nearly 200 résumés and nothing is working. What now? -- W.J.D.

Dear W.J.D.: Two hundred résumés? Try 2,000 résumés! "There's no point at which people should think they have sent out enough," advises Ralph Stow, senior vice president of Dallas-based executive search firm Whitehouse & Pimms.

"Senior-level people in particular will find that business libraries can be an invaluable resource in targeting the right firms with the correct market focus. Use every avenue -- online job boards, executive search firms and old-fashioned networking. Cold calling is -- and always has been -- dead. Smart job seekers network through referrals and learn to ethically and efficiently drop names to get callbacks," Stow observes.

Dear Joyce: How seriously should I take the admonition "No phone calls please" in a job ad? -- R.B.

Dear R.B.: Treat the prohibition as gospel if the ad directs responses to the human resource department.

But a side-stepping strategy can be effective: If you can identify the hiring manager through directories or anonymous calls to the receptionist, attempt to network your way to a third party who knows that manager. Start fresh. That is, don't answer the ad but contact the hiring manager directly and ask for an interview. You'll use the name of your mutual contact to get past the manager's gatekeeper.

Chances are you'll be told to send your résumé to HR. Do it. Next -- and this is a winning touch -- send the hiring manager a short thank-you note for the referral, mentioning that you hope HR will soon route your resume to the manager because you're enthusiastic about the company and delighted to learn there's an opening.

Send career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007, or e-mail her at jlk@sunfeatures.com. Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.

©2001 Tribune Media Services, Inc.