Finding Work In Recession

To put today's economy into perspective, let's say you're applying with a newspaper to be a film critic. Ten years ago, you wouldn't have quite as much competition. Getting paid to watch movies is a desirable job, so there are always people out there looking for work there, but there were also more jobs available.  

More and more papers these days are actually dropping their entertainment columns, meaning that there are a lot of out of work film critics out there, looking for work, and highly qualified with years of experience writing for national papers. If you went out looking for your first job as a film critic right now, that's some pretty stiff competition to be up against.  

What this means is that you're not as likely to nab your dream job right off the bat. The waiting rooms these days are packed from wall to wall with qualified, capable individuals, people who've had very successful careers in their field, who've built a reputation, and who were laid off because their company simply couldn't afford to keep them employed any longer. 

When there were more jobs than there were applicants, it wasn't difficult to find a great position on your first try simply by virtue of your qualifications and experience. Now, even the most qualified and experienced professionals are competing with one another for the few positions available.  

This doesn't make the situation hopeless, it only means that you need something more than simply the right qualifications for the job. You need to be passionate, versatile, aggressive and persistent.