Susan Zingaro of firstPRO Staffing and Executive Search Appears Live on CNN

Today, Susan Zingaro, Executive Vice President of Traditional Services and Healthcare at firstPRO Staffing and Executive Search, appeared live on CNN Newsroom Saturday to address concerns about finding a job in tough economic times. The segment was part of the continuing series, “Jobless But Not Hopeless.”

“You have to be a salesperson,” Zingaro said. “Your product is yourself, and you are selling yourself. If that is too hard to do, I cannot stress enough how much you need a recruiter. You absolutely need somebody that can present you as an entire package.”

Zingaro offered viewers other sound advice, including how to make yourself stand out during the interview process. “Flexibility is what it's all about,” she said. “And that's not just flexibility in title. It is flexibility in salary, location and hours. People are being offered positions every day, and those people are the ones that are flexible.”

In the end, Zingaro was optimistic about the job search as a whole. “It is all about ownership,” she said. “Your unemployment, unfortunately, is your ownership. But your employment will be your ownership as well. I'm not saying it will be easy. Some people will have to dig very, very deep to go back to that grind. But remember, there is something about you that made someone hire you before, and they will surely hire you again.”