Thousands of jobs in the financial sector have been lost this year, but don't despair - opportunities are still available elsewhere in the industry.

In a recent column, Dona DeZube of monster.com offered financial jobseekers a variety of tips on how to advance their careers while riding out the current economic crisis.

"If you worked in sales, customer service, human resources, accounting or technology within financial services, you're in luck," writes DeZube.

"Lots of companies can use those skills," Challenger, Gray and Christmas CEO John Challenger told DeZube.

Some of DeZube's suggestions include seeking out start-up companies that need somebody with risk management skills, seek out positions in financial planning and insurance sales, seeking government jobs, going into business for yourself, and becoming a recruiter.

She also observes that not all companies are currently shrinking, and that some smaller firms could be well-positioned to emerge as future industry leaders.

As of mid-November, London's Financial Times estimated that 150,000 financial sector jobs had been lost worldwide this year. In October, the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. unemployment rate had climbed to 6.5 percent.

"When times are tough, strong people survive and everyone else goes back and does what they did before," Kevin Nussbaum of CBIZ Human Capital Services told DeZube.