What is is like to be looking for a job six months after finishing your degree?

Funny you should ask, because this is the situation I am in. 

Looking for a job six months after the completion of your degree doesn't do wonderful things for your self confidence. When people ask you about it, you feel trapped between talking about it and what you've been applying for in the hope of a bit of networking, and wanting to completely shut down the conversation out of shame. 

Today I got another rejection email.These are hard to read - they are so generic, and you feel like you poured your heart and soul into a personal application only to continue staring at a closed door.

Some days, landing a job seems as far off and as unlikely as living on the moon, and it feels like a situation that will never end. This is not a fun way to be thinking. Sometimes it feels like some sort of bizarre karma for excelling at university. You remind yourself that there are plenty of things that are not employment related worth looking forward to. Like holidays, celebrations, amazing friends and family, sleep-ins and big breakfasts. 

It would be easier (way easier) to give up, stay in retail, work my way back up the management chain. I know I can do it - I have before - and I know I am good at it. But I want more, and I want to make a difference in peoples lives and their health.

I don't have a quitters attitude, and I am made of strong stuff. I have a deep personal belief that working in Public Health/Health Promotion is what I should be doing, and I hear stories all-the-time about how long this can take to achieve. I figure someone has to get these jobs and why can't it be me?

Some days it feels like everything is starting to click into place - an awesome job advertisement, a lead from the blog, an email from a lecturer. I feel like I am getting closer now than I ever have. And I am proving that I can get knocked down, brush myself off, put my chin out and face the world head on.

How long did it take you to get a job in your chosen area of study? Was it worth the wait? How did you get employers to look at your application a little differently? I would love your comments!