Hi Cody, Thanks for stopping by. Did you create a website about your copywriting and social media skills? How did you get your first sale?

This advice was very difficult to follow. I was ashamed of being unemployed, and I didn’t want my friends to know how strapped I was for money. It took me many months to build up the courage (and desperation) required to talk to anyone except my closest friends and mother about my situation.

But what a difference it made! All of my friends have struggled with unemployment at one point or another, some of them for years at a time, and most were sensitive to my embarrassment. About half a dozen came forward with opportunities they’d heard about, either through the grapevine or at their own work. They were very eager to help. We started hanging out more at home and at parks, instead of going to restaurants and spending money. No one judged me as I’d feared for so long.

Most important of all, I found myself applying more regularly for work. The shame I’d been feeling was so great that I’d stopped wanted to sort through job listings and write new cover letters. It felt pointless and my self-pity was taking a toll. But once I realized how normal it was to be unemployed, and how supportive my friends and family wanted to be, my confidence returned. My search has been more measured and fulfilling ever since.