1.	Poor-quality candidates won't cut it. In a candidate-driven market, people with average or marginal skills are generally acceptable to employers. No more. From now on, you'll need to be much more selective, and associate yourself with a higher level of talent.
2.	The 80/20 rule flips upside down. In a strong employment market, companies hire in duplicates. In other words, they'll fill multiple positions that require the same set of skills. So 80 percent of your placements can come from 20 percent of your clients. But in a weak economy, companies trim the fat and eliminate overlap, which means that your next 10 placements may very well come from 8 different clients, or even 8 different skill sets.
3.	Waste not, want not. Now's the time to improve your presentation skills, learn new ways to handle objections and concerns, and close like there's no tomorrow. With fewer opportunities to make placements, you won't have the luxury to do sloppy work or let placements slip through your fingers.
4.	Follow the money. Beating a dead horse is fine if you like the exercise. But if there's no pulse in your niche market or no demand for the skills that would normally define your desk specialty, be receptive to new opportunities—even if they take you into new or unfamiliar territory.