I am working now in my chosen field. But that has not always been the case. Previously, when I have been involuntarily out-of-work, I would spend a couple of days feeling sorry for myself and then I would take a job, any job, just to keep working.
No matter how bad the job market, there is always some kind of job available. It might be at a quarter of what you were making before, but it is a job. And if it is a job, it is a job you can do well.
And when you are sitting in that interview, for your next “real job”, and the guy-with-the-tie asks what you have been up to recently, you can say that you are doing a great job at a really lousy job, and you would really like to get back in the game. That will sound a heck of a lot better to the interviewer than telling him that you are sitting on your couch watching Oprah.
Bingo!
Its way better to be under-employed than seen as a slacker on the govt dole for 12+ months. You’ll come across as a go getter, self reliant, self starter.