I love this time of year, but I hate to hear people say, "Well, I guess I'll put my job search on hold until after Christmas. No one makes job offers this time of year."

That is some very bad dogma, not only because it's not true but because it puts additional stress on already-stressed-out jobseekers. When you're under financial pressure and worried about the future, it's good to be able to put your available job-search time to good use. It's bad to be put on hold, and to feel as though you have to cool your heels until the new year.

The companies-don't-hire-in-December hogwash sticks around, year after year, notwithstanding its foolishness. Companies make offers all year long, and the most common corporate fiscal year-end is Dec. 31.

Managers who have job openings budgeted for fiscal 2008 need to fill those jobs. "Use it or lose it" applies to office-supplies budgets and marketing budgets, and it's just as relevant in the recruiting realm.

My friend Mary got a great job in Boulder last week. Carol got her offer letter on Friday, and Paul is waiting for his written offer (the verbal version arrived yesterday).

Organizations hire people when they have problems to solve. Do employers have problems to solve right now? You bet they do. Job candidates who can solve those problems are valuable.

What Mary, Carol and Paul have in common is that they took time to present to their soon-to-be employers the business case that unites Mary, Carol and Paul's backgrounds with the employers' current challenges. That's the key for job-seekers now; not just to say "I've done X, Y and Z" but to say "As I understand it, your challenges at the moment are in the area of A, where I've thrived before."

They'll give examples of their successes in the specific zone that's vexing the employer right now. They won't make the in-house screener do the heavy lifting that explains why their past experience qualifies them for the job they're pursuing. They'll spell it out with pithy mini-stories (always) and metrics (where appropriate). This isn't selling; it says "I've taken the time to learn about what's on your plate over at XYZ Corp. Here's how I've prevailed in that situation before."

If I were job-hunting now, I'd be sending out resumes like crazy. Of course, I'd send out carefully constructed, highly targeted cover letters and customized resumes --the mass-marketing approach was never especially effective, and it's dead in the water in 2008. I'd research and reach out to a few new employers every day, and use my on- and offline networks like crazy in my job search, right up until Santa's helpers have dismantled the big man's throne on the Pearl Street Mall. My job offer might very well arrive before 2009 does.

Liz Ryan is the CEO of Ask Liz Ryan, a Boulder human-resources and organizational strategy consulting firm. She can be reached at liz@asklizryan.com.