I wanted to write this article because I spent about a year and a half jobless. And let me tell you it was hard, hard, hard. I very much consider myself a career woman so having to struggle to find a job (which I never had to do before) was humbling. For those of you still in the trenches looking for work I’ll offer you a few tips that I helped me survive this very stressful time.

Find something positive to occupy your time
Do something that makes you feel good something even goal oriented to take the control back in your life in a time when you feel out of control. I exercised to help release stress and to get healthy and in shape. Taking better care of my health gave me a since of control and boost to my faltering self-esteem.

Look for a job like it’s your job
Set hours or set how many jobs your going to apply for. Have a goals set and stick to them because it’s easy to get discouraged and stop altogether. So make sure it’s something that you do no matter how you feel.

Create different resumes
This market may force you into a new career. Or if you have different industry experience then create a specific resume for that field. Customize your resume for each job you apply for. I ended up creating about twenty different resumes and tailoring my resume to the job. This doesn’t mean fabricating but it does mean applying for jobs that are suited to your work experience to make this process easier.

Be ready for the phone screen
If you can, keep a printout of jobs you’ve applied to. This is especially useful if you are applying for many jobs and really helpful with the phone screen. If the phone screen comes at a bad time and your not prepared to speak intelligently about the job you applied for let them know and plan it for a time when you have the time and quiet in the background to talk. The phone screen is important it can keep you from getting the face to face interview if things go wrong so take it seriously.

Organize your search
Use an Excel spreadsheet if you don’t have Excel use Google docs to keep track what jobs you applied for.

Network, network, network
Even online join online groups for your industry or interest. Find communities in Ning or Meetup. People are using social networks to post jobs and look for qualified employees. Also develop relationships with recruiters of staffing companies so that you have other people looking for jobs for you as well.

Repair Bridges & build new ones
Contact old co-workers, past supervisors. Keep relationships good and keep lines of communication open.

Don’t stop learning
Go to industry websites. Take your downtime and turn it into time to go back to school to get that degree you’ve always wanted or take continuing education classes at a local college. Even take online classes and tutorials. As a web developer I use Lynda.com to learn new skills and software.

Use an Internship Opportunity
To keep something on your resume, develop new contacts and keep your skills sharp. They just aren’t for college students anymore. This is a good option especially if your looking to get into a new field and have no experience.

Get ready to sell yourself
Always accentuate the positive about yourself, know your strengths as well as your weaknesses.

Stay professional
Even though times may be desperate don’t talk about pay, hours or vacation in your phone screen or interview.

Don’t be afraid to fight for the job you want.
I interviewed at the same company twice for different jobs and had to talk to some of the same people. It was embarrassing but hey I got a job offer out of it so a little embarrassment was worth it.

Respond to email and phone calls from recruiters or HR people promptly.

Keep your head up and keep going
Today you may have no prospects but 24 hours can easily change that so stay optimistic.

Have a pity party but keep them short & sweet.
It’s alright to have a bad day but don’t get stuck in a bad frame of mind. Pray, meditate, journal whatever it takes to keep your spirits up.

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