On Thursday, September 8, President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve a nearly half-trillion-dollar plan called the American Jobs Act, which seeks to bolster the economy by cutting payroll taxes for employers and employees, aiding the long-term unemployed, and improving the country’s physical infrastructure.

Most notable, in my opinion, is the $65 billion designated to encourage small businesses to hire more workers. This will be done by cutting employer payroll taxes to 3.1 percent for the first $5 million of a company’s wage bill, which Obama claimed will reach 98 percent of small businesses. And those companies that increase their payroll over last year by hiring new employees or increasing existing employees’ salaries will receive a total payroll tax holiday.

Stay Local to Find Employment

As a founding member of the Career Advisory Board, presented by DeVry University, I’ve often advised people out of work they should go local, and this is a critical piece of advice now more than ever. Businesses with fewer than 500 employees make up half of the workforce in the United States, and over the last decade or so, have created about 70 percent of all jobs. Even at the height of the recession, many small businesses were still hiring. Case in point: executive coaching firm Visage recently found that 54 percent of small business CEOs planned to add employees over the next 12 months.

If you’re a teacher, police officer, firefighter, or construction worker, you may find additional job opportunities opening up as a result of Obama’s plan. But everyone else on the market should at least consider making small businesses a search target.

Marketing Yourself to Small Businesses

When it comes to marketing yourself to small businesses, you must rely even less on the Internet, because many hire through word of mouth. They want to bring in candidates referred personally by someone they trust, or candidates they have already seen in action. Perhaps they have worked with these candidates in some capacity before, or have met them through third-party professional associations, chambers of commerce, or local volunteer events. So if you want to be hired by a small business, you have to go out of your way to be visible in your community and leverage any opportunity to network in person.

In an interview with a small business CEO or owner, you need to demonstrate a solid knowledge of the company and its mission. Remember that many people start their own businesses because they have a particular vision, so make sure you understand what that is and can speak about it with passion. Explain why you want to work with a small company as opposed to a large one to assuage fears that you’ll jump ship when a multi-national conglomerate comes calling.

Finally, it’s imperative that small business employees wear many hats, so emphasize your wide range of skills and your enthusiasm for picking up new ones. For example, maybe you’re in finance but would like to learn more about sales. Any way you can underscore your ability to work hard, impress customers, and mobilize a small team to get results quickly will earn you points.