will i be able to find a job soon?

[Nicholas S]

I graduated from college in May of 2009 with a marketing degree. I have yet to find a marketing related job or even a full time job for that matter. The economy was horrendous in 2009 as you should know, I've sent out countless resumes in the past couple years, had only a couple interviews but wasn't able to land a job. Most jobs have wanted experience. It's discouraging when 2010 grads already have good jobs. I've been working part time jobs to get by in the meantime but nothing marketing related. At times I've given up and settled. It's just frustrating. I'm starting to think I'm alone in this situation as far as 2009 college grads go. Competing with 2010 and soon 2011 grads makes me think my chances are even worse as 2009 grads are becoming "stale bread" to employers. I've recently started networking on twitter, I'm going to start blogging, and I've been on a singer/songwriter's street team doing some marketing related work. Will someone still hire a 2009 grad? I feel like I'm in a bad position. I've considered going out of the country to teach English just to work and make money but I feel that will end up being counter-productive in the end because I still won't have marketing related experience. Advice?

[Employment Guy]

Your concerns have some merit -- employers tend to view anyone who has been out of work for a while as"damaged goods." You need to re-engineer the situation. How about finding some good volunteer opportunities to start building a portfolio of hands-on marketing experience? Find a local charity or church and approach them with some ideas. Here's a good example: pitch a social media project to them, complete with measurable results (employer love to see that). Such as, "I think I can double the traffic to your website within 3 months using Facebook, Twitter and a blog." You can count these volunteer experiences on your resume if they are significant enough.