With the dot-com party over, the job-hunt parties begin At Flanigan's Boathouse in Malvern, the mood last week was one of frustration, optimism, adaptability.

The days of hopping from one dot-com job to another are gone, say laid-off tech workers who swilled beer, munched on chicken wings, and hunted for their next job at a recent dot-com "pink slip" party.

The event, held at Flanigan's Boathouse in Malvern last week, drew 450 recently "downsized" tech workers and corporate recruiters looking to fill a variety of jobs, particularly software-programming and database-manager positions.

Pink-slip parties have been all the rage in Internet circles since the tech bubble burst. The first was hosted last July in New York's Silicon Alley, said Bob Etheridge, vice president of marketing at JobCircle.com, a West Chester online job search firm that cohosted Wednesday's event with Y100 radio (WPLY-FM 100.3).

Job-seekers at Flanigan's said the slowing economy would make it harder to find jobs immediately. No longer can dot-commers choose from among five offers the day they are laid off.

"It's been difficult so far," said Bob VanZyl, 32, who was let go at the end of March from R.D. Raab & Co., a Chadds Ford technical recruiting firm where he had been information technology manager.

VanZyl said he had spoken with several recruiters at the party, but he did not think a comparable job would materialize quickly.

"I'm looking for another IT management [position]," he said. "Most companies usually hire from within for that."

Kim Byron, 31, said her job search also had been slow. She was laid off last month from Infonautics Corp., an Internet consulting firm in King of Prussia, where she worked in product management.

"I've talked to a lot of people, but I think there are more technical jobs [available] here," she said.

She said she would consider going back to school to study biology to prepare for a job in the pharmaceutical industry if the economy did not pick up soon.

Katherine Keller, likewise, is considering more education.

"If I can't find anything that floats my boat, I'm going back to school," said Keller, 22, who was let go two weeks ago from CDNow Inc. when the Fort Washington online music retailer laid off 40 people. She had worked at CDNow for five months as an assistant merchandising manager.

Keller said she would not mind working for another Internet firm.

"The dot-coms, which I love - that's the culture I'm used to," she said.

Some at the party, though, were optimistic about finding work soon.

Dan Hawley, 34, who was laid off from a job as a recruiter for Vis.align L.L.C., of Philadelphia, said laid-off dot-commers needed a positive attitude when looking for a job and interviewing.

"It's only as hard as you make it," he said. "There's a slowdown in the dot-com industry, but unemployment is not high. If you have the skills and talent, no problem."

Plus, he joked, "You can always sell cars."

Wendy Tanaka's e-mail address is wtanaka@phillynews.com.