PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon's unemployment rate is one of the worst in the nation. As of October, 11.5 percent of Oregon's workforce were getting unemployment benefits or were unemployed and getting no benefits at all.

The job losses have been lopsided, according to the newest research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In June, women held nearly 50 percent of America's jobs.

In job sectors that actually grew during the recession, women now hold the vast majority of those newly opened positions, according to Bureau of Labor statistics. Meanwhile, industries that have relied largely on male workers - such as construction and manufacturing - are laying off workers rather than filling new jobs.

This marks the first time in America's history where women could very soon outnumber men in the workforce. Experts says that by the end of November women will hold the majority of jobs in this country.

The conclusion? Men have been hit the hardest in this recession, both by job losses and by difficulties in finding jobs to get rehired.

Career counselors tell KATU that it is going to take a lot more than just a great resume for guys to get back in the game.

In KATU's special report on "Getting men back to work" we show the reason career counselors have said women may have a special edge in the job market, and what men can do to level the playing field.

Some things don't change
When it's time to start looking for a new job, first realize that some things never change: "It's who you know, not what you know," said CareerMakers Division Director Peter Paskill.

Paskill has counseled nearly 4,000 individuals - all looking to switch careers - over 19 years at CareerMakers, a Tualatin-based coaching firm. In this recession, he said he is busier than ever.

"I have men who have worked 30 years for the same company, who don't have a clue on how to get a new job," Paskill said. "They were hired right out of school, now they're laid off and they're just lost."

Paskill said that, in his experience, this recession indeed has hit men the hardest. Job skills aside, he is talking about networking: getting out and meeting people.

"Oftentimes men are not as good networkers as women are," Paskill said. "I think for guys, this is harder to do."

That's a lesson Portland job-seeker Gerhardt Quast is learning the hard way. He has been unemployed for more than a year.

"I'm a great lens designer," Quast said. "I'm now also supposed to be a great networker."

Paskill has been working with the lens designer through much of his unemployment. For Quast, that time span has been much longer he expected.

"I thought it would be three or six months, and I would be back to work," Quast said. "It didn't happen and it didn't happen, so obviously I have to do something different."

Something different
Quast's resume is in good shape, and he spends a lot of time online looking for work. In a recession state, however, Paskill said that is no longer enough.

"You just can't sit home and send resumes out to the electronic black hole and expect results," Paskill said.

What you can do is start talking. Quast will tell you to find out where your friends work, especially if you have a job opening like one Quast recently went after and failed to land.

"I didn't know that I knew somebody who worked there," said Quast, thumping his head in frustration.

For him, the process hasn't come easily. He said he's still learning.

"It has taken me awhile to say to someone I know, 'If you work for some place that has an opening, can I talk to you about it?'" Quast said. "And they go, 'Of course you can.'"

Gerhardt also has joined a "career-search support group" like those offered through WorkSource Oregon and job resource centers. He said he joined not only to begin networking but also to practice it. Networking doesn't come naturally for a lot of people, so Gerhardt said that a support group like this is a big confidence booster.

Think bigger
Forget the specific job title you once had. Paskill says to think bigger.

"You just can't think with labels and titles," Paskill said. "You have to start reaching out; you have to become vulnerable."

Finally, prepare for that interview; you've worked so hard to get.

"You are there to sell yourself," Paskill said. "If you go in with a gut or disheveled or don't look nice and are not presenting yourself well, that's going to have an effect."

Paskill said he is telling people to multiply however long they think it will take to find a new job by three. Quast can testify that it is taking people like him a lot longer to get hired. Data from the Oregon Employment Department backs up his experience.

The state employment department cuts checks for 240,000 people each week in Oregon. It tracks what is known as the "exhaustion rate" - the percent of people who have filed for and used up their first 26 weeks of benefits. That rate is 45 percent.

"Just about half the people that file are not going back to work by the time they run out of their regular benefits," said Tom Fuller, communications manager for the Oregon Employment Department. There are extensions for benefits beyond 26 weeks.

The Oregon Employment Department also tracks "duration" - the average length of someone's claim. In July 2008, the average duration was 13 weeks. In fiscal year ending June 2009, it was up to 17 weeks. Fiscal year statistics are the newest available.

"The fact that it has moved up by four weeks is pretty significant," said Fuller. "In terms of averages, that kind of jump is very hard to do."

Keep in mind that there are segments of even the current shrinking economy that are growing. Those segments are health care, government and education. Paskill's job as a trainer is in one of those growing categories.