The number-one takeaway from Richard N. Bolles's new book The Job-Hunter's Survival Guide: How to Find Hope and Rewarding Work, Even When "There Are No Jobs" (Ten Speed Press, 112 pages, $9.99, paperback) - ?

There is hope.

Specifically, important actions on your part can improve your chances of finding a job.

I know numerous people who are out of work right now, and it's a tough, tricky, often discouraging slog.

But taking action—the right action—is a whole lot better than sitting around worrying. Or throwing darts at the wrong targets.

In a section of Bolles's book that he calls "The Five Best Ways to Hunt for a Job," the number-one way to improve your chances isn't sending out resumes, or answering ads in trade journals, or attending job fairs, or trolling the Internet.

Nope.

Of course, networking is important.

But the number-one way, says Bolles, is to "do homework on yourself, taking inventory in detail of all you have to offer and what you are looking for."

What does this actually mean? 

It means taking a cold, hard look at your transferable skills, says Bolles (author of the longtime bestseller What Color Is Your Parachute?). "Inventory and identify [the] skills you have that you most enjoy using," he says, adding, "I didn't say: [skills] that are most marketable. No, the ones you enjoy using the most. That's usually because you're best at them."

Why does this work? Isn't this a whole lot of needless navel-gazing, you might ask?

According to research, says Bolles, "Eighty-six out of every 100 people who use this method succeed in not only finding work, but truly rewarding work that matches the gifts they have."

Bolles stresses that you have to do the time—the hard work, the thinking, the analyzing, the real reflection—to get there. "It certainly is not for the lazy, nor for those looking for the easy way out of their unemployment situation."

And of course, so much is dependent on those on the other end.

But once you do the work, you can much more accurately define what you're looking for and what's unique about you, so that others along the way can help you get where you want to go. Says Bolles, "You must keep your eyes always on the target you are trying to reach. And the more detailed your picture of that target, the more likely you are to reach it."

I could go on, but it's better if you check the book out. It's a quick, handy, and info-rich read—even if you're not looking for a job.

Best of all, it accomplishes what it sets out to do—offers hope.