Advice for New Graduates (and Others) During a Tough Job Market

What do you suppose the biggest obstacle for new graduates in a tough job market (or any job market) is?  Experience—or, rather, the lack of experience.  That’s a significant question for employers.  They take a risk when they hire anyone, but it feels like a huge risk if the candidate has no experience.  So your biggest task is to take away that risk and answer the question:  why should they hire you?