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I get a lot of emails from people with the above statement, usually followed by some sort of plea for help. I have a lot of sympathy for their situation. I can鈥檛 even imagine how painful it would be to not have a steady income, have no luck finding work, and have others depending on you to provide an income.

Whenever I see an email like this, though, I usually respond with many of the same points (often tailored to a specific situation, of course, but the ideas are constant). What follows are the things I almost always tell people who are having difficulty finding work right now.

First of all, don鈥檛 waste another second passing blame for this situation. Yes, the economy isn鈥檛 particularly strong. Yes, depending on your political beliefs, it鈥檚 all the Republican Party鈥檚 or the Democratic Party鈥檚 fault. Yes, the president (Bush or Obama, choose one based on your political ideas) is/was a horrible individual who is trying/has tried to destroy the country.

Guess what? All of that time and energy spent thinking about or fretting about who or what to blame only reduces your own chances of finding work. You have an immediate problem on your plate that needs a solution. That solution requires all of your energy and your focus, and burning away that energy and focus by passing blame off to politicians or government or employers or former coworkers just takes away from what you need to be doing right now. Save that spitfire for the next election cycle, when you鈥檝e got a good job. If you鈥檙e unemployed, don鈥檛 waste your energy on it 鈥� spend it on getting employed.

Remember, no one owes you anything. People don鈥檛 鈥渄eserve鈥� things, they earn them.

The same thing goes for activities you do that help you 鈥渦nwind鈥� or 鈥渆scape.鈥� So often, I hear from people who say things like 鈥淚 can鈥檛 find anything, so I spend all day at home surfing the 鈥榥et.鈥�

Yes, it鈥檚 good to relax a bit, but treat your unemployment like it鈥檚 a job and spend at least forty hours a week specifically looking for work. If you need to unwind, do it in the evenings. I like to unwind with a glass of wine and a game 鈥� maybe for you it鈥檚 a television show or a movie or surfing the 鈥榥et. However, I also know that I should only be unwinding if I have something to unwind from.

So, how can you spend that time searching for a job?

One big thing you need to do is expand your search horizons in several different directions. You need to look for jobs outside of your local area and accept that you may need to move to find work. Look nationally 鈥� and even internationally 鈥� for jobs that match the skills you bring to the table.

Similarly, you may have to seek out a job that鈥檚 鈥渂eneath you.鈥� No job is 鈥渂eneath you.鈥� I always think of that snippet from National Lampoon鈥檚 Christmas Vacation when I hear that someone won鈥檛 apply for a job that鈥檚 鈥渂eneath鈥� them鈥�

Clark: 鈥淗ow can they have nothing for their children?鈥�
Ellen: 鈥淲ell, he鈥檚 been out of work for close to seven years.鈥�
Clark: 鈥淚n seven years, he couldn鈥檛 find a job?鈥�
Ellen: 鈥淐atherine says he鈥檚 been holding out for a management position.鈥�

If it came down to a choice between picking vegetables for minimum wage or losing the house my children have lived in since they were born, I鈥檇 pick green beans from sunup to sundown, go home, and work on job applications. The same goes for flipping burgers in the kitchen at McDonalds or any other job that might be 鈥渂eneath鈥� me 鈥� because, frankly, they鈥檙e not.

At the same time, you should always be searching for jobs in your field of expertise. Start by polishing that resume until it shines. Go over it and over it again. Have friends review it. Submit it to resume experts 鈥� even bloggers who might use it for a post on their site. Get it perfect 鈥� and make sure it highlights the best of you very clearly, so that you stand out.

You should also keep your skills sharp and, at the same time, promote yourself. How do you do that? Get involved in the community of people online. Dig into projects that utilize your skills. Never stop learning new things. Open a Twitter account and join in the conversation in your field (and link to your Twitter feed everywhere you can so that it comes up first when people Google you). This is not only part of the job hunt, it鈥檚 part of what will make you successful in your field.

The final key piece of advice? Don鈥檛 give up. Never, ever stop searching for the perfect job for you. Yes, you might find yourself working in something that you don鈥檛 believe matches your skills, but that doesn鈥檛 mean you don鈥檛 spend your spare time getting yourself ready to find that perfect job.

Good luck.

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