First of all, don’t be embarrassed to be jobless.

It’s a natural reaction to hide a recent layoff from friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and peers.

But that would be a mistake for an out-of-work job seeker, said Cathy Lexin, vice president at Wilcox Miller & Nelson, an executive staffing firm in Sacramento that works with employers and employees. That’s because maintaining contact with a network can be one of the best ways of learning about possible jobs before others and get an inside track on the competition.

“Tell everyone you know that you’re out of work,” she said. “Make sure you pursue that network, and not just a few people, but everyone in your circle.”

With the nation’s unemployment rate above 10 percent, there is a lot less stigma attached to being jobless and looking. Experts who connect employers and employees say they have seen glimmers of an uptick in hiring. There hasn’t been a rash of new jobs, but fields such as health care, renewable energy, and marketing are picking up, they say.

But finding a new job can still be more of a marathon than a sprint, with some job seekers searching for months or more than a year in some cases.

Apart from the potential embarrassment of informing friends and colleagues of a job-status change, it is important to practice interviewing, Lexin said. Most job candidates hate to do it; mock interviews can often be as uncomfortable as the real thing. But most job candidates won’t be able to breeze through a real interview without some practice.

Sandy Stenhouse, manager of the Sacramento office of Ultimate Staffing, said flexibility can be key in landing a new job.

“Don’t be afraid to take a temporary job,” Stenhouse said. “That can lead to a permanent position.”

Some companies routinely start workers in temporary roles as workload increases and then hire them permanently if the need for the position remains constant or grows.

She also recommended a three-point plan: submitting a properly formatted and professional-looking résumé, tailoring it and a cover letter to a specific job, and following up with a phone call within a week.

“You don’t need to go overboard, but let the hiring manager know in one or two points why you are the right fit for the role,” she said.

Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. suggests using social media to search for jobs, getting involved in community-service groups to build a network of contacts, and joining a professional or trade association in the appropriate field. Those can provide training and education and often hold functions that can lead to new jobs.