I graduated university right when the recession started really picking up steam. Tail end of 2008. Was not a good time in my life. I applied for whatever job was available. Got one with a sleazy satellite company that laid me off after three days. Spent months looking, eventually wound up as a car jockey for a rental company. That's what I'm still doing. Despite the crappy job, all those months spent unemployed were a pretty horrible time in my life. Not something I ever want to go back to. There's nothing worse than feeling useless.
I went back to school and got a graduate diploma in new media journalism in 2009. I've been hunting since July for a professional job. Lots of stuff in my field but it's all senior level positions. I've gotten a few nibbles but most seem quick to shove me off. Just too much competition for too few entry level jobs. When everyone else is equally qualified, it makes it that much harder.
I do have a potential interview next week. Reporter for a local paper in some backwater two hours west of Edmonton. It's certainly not my ideal choice. I'd love to stay in Ontario but the big city job market for new grads is dry as a bone.