When I graduated college, I had a decent résumé going: awards, recommendations from all my professors and a few employers, a handful of internships under my belt—things looked good. Or at least I thought they did. I ended up spending six months unemployed before taking a job with a lot less money and prestige than I had planned on.

These days I’m doing OK for myself (still with the same company, too), but that six-month stretch is always in the back of my head. If I’m forced through it again, I’ll have an unfortunate amount of experience to fall back on, which you may as well use to your benefit:

Set deadlines

Unemployment is like quicksand in the sense that, at first, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. In fact, it’s kind of nice: You’ve got all this free time, maybe a little money packed away—what’s the rush? Before you know it, though, you’re stuck: It’s been two months, you’ve eaten through whatever savings you had and you still haven’t made any worthwhile leads on your job search.

The biggest change from college to the working world is that no one cares what you do and there’s no timeline for anything. You could sit in your attic playing WoW for six months and no one would notice.

The cure for this is simple: Don’t let it happen in the first place. Before you even leave college, have a schedule set up for yourself: Apply for X job on this date; contact this person by…; attend development class on…; etc. Even if your deadlines are just for mundane things like “post to blog,” they’ll keep you productive and moving toward a situation that could lead to employment.

Decide what your standards are

It’s really easy to go from I’m looking for a job in… to I’ll take any job that pays! If you have the means to hold out for something you really want, though, there’s no shame in doing that. Like I said, the first job I took was a lot less than what I was expecting, but it was in the industry that I loved (journalism). I was OK with working for less money and at a less prestigious place because, well, it beat making a little more money serving lattes.

Figure out:

• How long can you afford to stay unemployed? (Apply that date to your Deadlines calendar.)
• How much does money matter and what’s the minimum amount you’ll work for?
• What’s the breaking point for the ratio of money to love-of-the-game? In other words, if you could have your absolute dream job but you would only be paid $35,000 a year, would you take it? $30,000? $25,000? Figure out that amount and stick to it.

Actually writing this stuff down will help out a lot as you’re looking for jobs, too. If you just have a bunch of numbers floating around in your head, it’s harder to winnow your search.

Blog (or, practice your craft)

There are few industries that can’t be “practiced” via a blog. Even if you’re just commenting on issues affecting your industry, it’s a way to show that you’re smart and know what you’re talking about (just, you know, make sure that you actually are, and do). Besides that, it shows that you have passion for what you do and are a hard worker even when you’re not working. (Hint: A huge part of blogging is reading other blogs. Find some that cover your industry and visit them daily.)

Moreover, a properly maintained blog is a way to be seen, which is huge. When potential employers Google your name (and they will), you want them to find the things you’re proud of. Consider where you are with your personal brand: Do you own your own domain name? Does your information come up when you Google yourself? Your appearance online is just as important as your appearance when you walk into the interview room. Practice good SEO so your best work shows up early in search results and scrub your social media profiles (you don’t want anyone finding those photos of you doing a keg stand in your graduation cap).

Network like crazy

You want to be sending out résumés, sure, but most hires happen through networking. For an employer, hiring someone is stressful; it’s a long-term investment and no one wants to feel buyer’s remorse. It’s a lot more comfortable for an employer to hire someone they’re already acquainted with and—this is key—someone they’ve interacted with in a semi-casual situation. It’s one thing to look at a résumé, call a guy up and have the awkward interview exchange. When an employer has met someone and determined that they like that person, it’s easy to pick his/her résumé out of the stack or just pick up the phone.

Use social media, too—it ties in with what I said earlier about personal branding and in most cases, prospective employers are already there.

Stay healthy

Make no mistake: Being unemployed for a long time is a massive drain on your confidence and sense of worth. Working out contributes as much to your mental health as it does to your physical health. You’ll look better, you’ll sleep better, you’ll feel better and even if you miss out on a few jobs, you’ll at least have a few people saying, “Wow, you’re in really good shape.”

Recommended reading:

• This Charles Apple post is called Guide for laid-off journalists, but it contains good advice for anyone in any industry, whether they’ve been laid off or just haven’t found work yet.
• For college grads: Ashley Nicole talks about the Catch-22 of the Entry-Level Job Search—the idea that you need experience, but a lot of employers won’t hire you unless you’re experienced. Good tips.
• Another journalist, Suzanne Yada, drops a lot of networking advice in Network like mad. As she says, “This isn’t just for journalism students at all. This is for everyone wanting to develop their career.”

About Paul Balcerak

Paul Balcerak works for Sound Publishing‘s New Media department as an assistant editor. Paul can be found optimizing the newrooms’ content for the Web, training staff to embrace new forms of media, and managing social media sites for PNWLocalNews.com. Paul can be found online at paulbalcerak.com and on Twitter at twitter.com/paulbalcerak.

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