It has almost been a year now and I can't find employment

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Just continue, eventually you will wear them down and they will accept your computer habits

(Btw, astrology is pseudo-sciense and is not a good way to solve personal problems with.)

Does blogging on political issues and working on your own book counts as self-experience?

Computer science is not a good field to be in right now. If you are looking for a programing job don't plan on getting one anytime soon. Of all the computer and electronic fields I think computer programing is the only one that is expected to lose jobs.

Now add in bad economy and they are going to offshore programing even faster.

You CAN use that degree to get you into the other IT fields that are doing good. Helpdesk, testing, designing, implementing, ect.

Bls.gov is a great site to use to get an idea of which fields are doing what. Using that information should give you some extra job titles to look for. Also because of the economy you may have to take a not so good job for awhile or wait it out.

Also as someone pointed out already be sure to do some programing yourself. Make the most flashy program you can, show off what you know.

Well, it depends on what type of job you apply for, lets focus on writing:

Computer technician? Not so much.
Writer for a magazine? Maby.

Having political experience is sometimes seen as a good experience, i have done some personal lobbying against some things i do not like (software patents) and i have worked as an election worker during the last European elections. It is definitly worth mentioning since it shows some sort of "fire" inside you (and it certainly beats my other experiences like playing WoW or GTA )

Note that you may want to abbreviate what you did and only write "Election worker for presidential campaign 2008" if you apply for a job at a large company in a red state if you worked for Obama. Small details like that can make or break a recruitment.

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Some other tips you (or someone else) may find useful:


1: Examine the organisation like recruiters examine employees before hiring:

- Check their credit history/public bookkeeping records (we can do that over here, dunno if you can elsewhere). Are they spending lots of money on outsourceing? Are they about to go bankrupt? Then it may be better to just send them a Resume/CV and instead spend more time on some other application.

- Check news (Google em) and ask relatives/friends what they think of the organisation. Have they had massive layoffs or many disgruntled employes/whistleblowers? Is the CEO convicted for something? Then it may not be a good or stable employer.

- What type of positions have they had ads for earlier? It can tell you alot about what they are working on and expect you to do or how to behave.

Learning about the organisation and being able to tell them "i know that..." if they ask what you know about them, which also shows that you are serious and intrested in a serious working-relationship with the employer.


2: The Ad:

Circle any keywords you find and concentrate your application on those words. You do not have to be 100% perfect for the job, but you have to come close.

On jobs you really want: Spend at least a day writing it. Make sure they get to know how you feel about the job, i.e. "I LOVE to work with <this and that>, i have dreamt about it since childhood" - but only if you truely do, telling lies is not a good idea since the truth will eventually be told.

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Computer science is not a good field to be in right now. If you are looking for a programing job don't plan on getting one anytime soon. Of all the computer and electronic fields I think computer programing is the only one that is expected to lose jobs.
Now add in bad economy and they are going to offshore programing even faster.
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Amen to all that. I'm a programmer and they are sending all of our support staff offshore (Manilla, Mexico, you name it). We are just waiting for our jobs to go next.

You might start by volunteering with your favorite church/charity/non-profit just to get some experience. It will also help your self-confidence (which can't hurt if you are anything like me). I know it won't pay the bills, but as others have pointed out it's a scary time to be looking for a programming job. My uni is considering cutting back the curriculum drastically because so many people can't find positions.

When you say 'can't handle' sales or customer jobs, have you tried? I don't know why I keep getting only offers in sales and fast food, as a manager. They hired me a s a manger asst. for very little pay and I tried the work before, felt so insecure and inept at it! Why aren't people lining up for fast food jobs if they are so desperate? I WAS UNEMPLOYED ONE YEAR, WITH A GREAT EDUCATION AND MANY MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, and had to take this fast food mgr job without a car, then they moved me to a location requiring a car before I started my first day. Why does this happen?

I always wonder why people put down working at places like Taco Bell? Would you take a fast food job if it meant starvation and no money otherwise? I really would like to know.. the specific reasons I couldnt do fast food: the NOISE the loudness, the constant customer distraction, the micro managing and complaining, the SMELL which made me literally vomit and give me a headache.. how do people work those jobs for yrs???