Dear Jobless Readers

I have some advice for you, which I have collected with the help of some new (also unemployed) friends. Below you will find a list of the most commonly reoccurring pieces of advice from the gainfully employed:

1. Don't hang out with other unemployed people. It will give you the false impression that everyone is unemployed, and that it's ok not to be working.

2. You should apply for the (insert low-paying mindless) job. Dog walking and espresso making are two suggestions I have heard. (This is part of the "take any job you can while there are still some left" school of thought.)

2. Keep checking Craigslist, because no one else knows about it, so employers are posting well-paid jobs up there and *no one* is applying to them.

3. Have you thought about applying to Google? It doesn't matter that you didn't graduate at the top of your class from Harvard, Yale, Stanford or MIT, you have *good* experience. You should go for it. Or gopher it!!

4. And, finally: Don't forget to include a cover letter.