Heading into a yoga class in Miami last week, I met a woman who was also from New York. Like most of us, she walked fast and talked fast. But even for a New Yorker she seemed a little…on edge.

She worried aloud about whether she was experienced enough for the class, worried about where she was going to go next, worried about the apartment she’d bought in a neighborhood she didn’t like.

During our conversation it emerged that she’d lost her job a couple of years ago and was still unemployed. I sensed that her jobless state didn’t cause her sprawling anxiety, but it did seem possible that it was part of a dreadful spiral—unemployment feeding unhappiness, making it harder to find a job, which caused more unhappiness.

In August, 30 percent of Americans who were unemployed had been out of work for over a year, according to an analysis by the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative. That’s about 4.4 million people—not just a big economic problem, but a big psychological one.

So how do you keep your chin up if you’ve been jobless for a while? Here is some of the advice out there (and in here):

Get out. “Isolation is a dangerous thing,” psychiatrist Robert London told Forbes. “When you live in your head, you ruminate and feed your depression,”

Give yourself structure. “Having a schedule you can rely on will help keep you from going insane,” says CNNMoney.com.

Start something. We know a little something about this. Whether it’s a blog, new business, or home repair project, having something to invest in can be invaluable.

As a friend of mine recently advised, “If it’s not working, change something.” If you’ve been relentlessly hunting for the same job you had and not getting anywhere, it might be time to re-examine your career goals.

Mix it up. Take on some freelance assignments, get a part-time job (even if it pays crap) and/or do some volunteer work. Modern Gal dishes out advice from a friend who was unemployed for months, and who was burned out on revising her resume.

Travel. Adventures don’t have too cost a lot of money, and taking a literal step back from your life can give you perspective and inspiration. Leaving town for a week will not make you miss out on a job opportunity.

Be thankful. Gratitude journals can sound silly, but being aware of the good things in life—even if they seem few and small—can be powerful stuff. Take five minutes every day to write down what there is to be grateful for. Positive tidbits really add up.

Miami has a lot going for it–sun, Art Deco style and carb-loaded Cuban food. But just try finding work there.

A new report from job search engine Juju.com ranks the job search difficulty in 50 US cities. Washington DC is the locale where you’re most likely to score a gig–it has 1.18 unemployed people per advertised job opening. Miami, meanwhile, comes in at the bottom of the batch. For every job ad, there are more than nine people looking for work. Detroit is an unsurprising second. Check out the rest of the rankings below:

99er n./ a person who has gone through all 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.

This is one of the sadder definitions in our recession glossary. According to a story in the New York Times several days ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by June, 1.4 million people had been out of work for at least 99 weeks–the maximum time you can collect unemployment, even with all the extensions that Congress has tacked on to give people more of a safety net in tough times.

Let’s put that a different way: A population almost the size of Philadelphia has been out of work for nearly two years. Discuss.

It’s not just a load of Web 2.0 hype—you can find a job using social networks, according to Brad and Debra Schepp.

“ We’ve spoken to many people who use LinkedIn, Twitter and even MySpace to find jobs—regular 9-to-5 jobs or consulting gigs or freelance work,” says Brad, who with his wife authored How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Other Social Networks.

I get pitched a lot of job-hunting books. Most of them should have been made into pamphlets instead. But after my first glance through the Schepps’ book, I quickly made a few adjustments to my LinkedIn profile—and I’m not even looking for a job. Here are ten of their tips for getting the most out of social networks.

Get on LinkedIn

The site has become so widely used, that if you don’t have a profile, “it might give an employer pause,” Brad says.  “That’s often where they first check people out.”

Join Groups

That includes industry, nonprofit and alumni groups on LinkedIn. Once you join, you are automatically linked to everyone else in the group, so you can start becoming a thought leader. “If you belong to the humane society group and you are posting info about disaster relief and animals, people are going to think of you in that way,” Brad says. Debra was even approached by an agent after she answered a question about deadlines in a writing group. “She said she liked my ethic and asked if I would be interested in her representing me,” she says.

Post Things That Help You Get Found

LinkedIn allows you to share an “update” with others, which you can use to turn up in people’s searches.  “If you write an interesting blog post or read an interesting journal article, put it on your Linked in profile,” Debra advises. “Someone who is searching for related keywords might end up coming upon you.”

Don’t Use the “U” Word

If you happen to have been laid off, don’t tell everyone you’re unemployed—especially in a status update. Spin it in a positive way. “You might want to say something like, ‘Enthusiastically pursuing opportunities in IT,’” Brad says.

Follow Companies You’re Interested In

Twitter and Facebook let you see updates from companies, and now LinkedIn does too, Brad points out. Updates about a new business, new hire (or a new departure) might clue you in to opportunities. Employers have also been known to post jobs on their Twitter feeds.

Check Out People with “Your” Job

Look for people who hold a position you would like to have, and examine their profiles. What keywords do they use? How do they describe their work? “It will help you frame your experience in the same kinds of terms that other people are searching for,” Debra says.

Use “Consulting” Carefully

“It’s a really bad idea to say that you’re freelancing or consulting unless you really are,” Debra advises. “It’s going to come up in an interview and if you can’t back it up, it’s going to look bad.”

Don’t Lie

Desperate times may seem to call for corresponding methods. “Nowadays with the internet, it’s way too easy to find out that something isn’t true,” Brad warns.

Don’t Connect Generically

“Suppose you go to a seminar and the speaker is really fabulous and you leave with their business card. If you just send them a canned [LinkedIn] invitation, what’s in it for that person to open up her network?” Debra says. The Schepps advise sending a customized message to each person. If you’re building your network, start with former colleagues you know. “Say something like, I’m so glad to see you on LinkedIn, and I’m eager to find out what’s going on with you. Please join my network.”

Enhance Your Resume

Use LinkedIn’s tools to show more of what you can do. Link to your website or Twitter feed, and include slideshows of your work, Brad suggests.

If you care about this issue, you’ve probably heard that the US Senate voted 60-40 to keep emergency unemployment benefits going. Long story short: Good for jobless peeps, bad for the deficit.

Millions of people stopped getting checks in June when the program expired in June. According to the Washington Post: 8.7 million people were receiving jobless benefits at the end of June. A little more than half received state benefits, which are typically available for 26 weeks. The rest were receiving extended benefits financed by the federal government, which are due to run out soon unless the bill before the Senate passes. The Labor Department estimates that 2.5 million people had been cut off by the end of last week.

The House is expected to okay the bill this week–possibly today–and forward it on to the prez for his signature.

What’s good about getting laid off? Helping kids with cystic fibrosis. Starting a coffee roasting business. Teaching yoga. Becoming a painter. Lemonade is a beautifully shot 40-minute documentary about a group of people who used to work at an advertising agency, and the opportunities they created for themselves. It’s so appealing, we won’t even point out that our Lemonade Makers came first.

Oops. Just did.

For nearly five months, I’ve been trying to fill a few positions at our human capital firm, and along the way I’ve learned quite a lot about the many ways job candidates can blow their job prospects—obvious and not so obvious. In this still-challenging economy, it is not what the company can do for you, but what value you bring to the company. You should focus addressing any issues that could keep your candidacy from moving forward, and try NOT to shoot yourself in the foot with one of these moves.

Being Arrogant

Hiring managers want people who are confident—but most also want team players who work well in groups. There is a very fine line when it comes expressing confidence in an interview and what hiring managers see as being arrogant or cocky. Candidates blow their chances when they continually refer to projects they were involved in with the word I. One candidate recently crossed himself off the list by saying he couldn’t stand working with people from West Virginia—obviously, he thought West Virginians were not as smart as he is.

Trying to reinvent the job

About a year and a half ago, I interviewed more than 20 people for an external human resources manager. During her interview, one woman kept asking: “Why don’t they just hire someone?” We kept on telling her that is what the client wanted, but she just could not understand why an organization would want to outsource their HR. Apparently she thought we should tell the client they were making a mistake by outsourcing the department in a recession and saving $400,000. Guess who didn’t get the job?

Making disparaging remarks

…and not just about people from West Virginia. I can’t believe some of the things candidates say in final interviews—and in this economy! One candidate, at a final interview for a job that paid $90,000,  referred to a person he worked with as a “butt monkey.” The HR Manager said it was a first in her 20-plus year career. Another candidate went off the deep end and started making numerous negative remarks about his former company and boss. Not the way to score a job.

Frettting about the commute

Even when jobs are few and far between, we have candidates who bitch about traffic. Last March I went to a networking event and spoke to a woman who had been out of work for a few months and had interviewed at big agricultural company. She got the offer, but asked that the hours be changed to , say, 7 to 4, because of the 40-minute commute. (She ended up turning down the job.) Another candidate told us that a 25-minute commute was too far. She hated traffic.

Getting emotional

Just last week a candidate that had been out of work for over a year had a final interview with a Fortune 500 company. He got so, er, passionate about his field that he started crying, To make matters worse, he started talking about how his faith in Jesus Christ was getting him through this time of unemployment. Talking religion and weeping will definitely blow your chances.

Asking dumb questions

Dumb questions to ask in an interview are “When do the benefits start?” When will I get a raise?” “How soon before I will be up for promotion?” and “How many hours do you expect me to work in a week?” Some of these questions should never be asked and some should only be asked after you actually have an offer in hand.

Jay Hofmeister, who co-founded The Resume Bay and is co-author of Sharpening the Axe, has taken the pain out of the job-hunting process for hundreds of job seekers, from entry to executive level. He invites you to go to http://www.cariflex.org for help landing that next job.

Just when you’ve gotten used to spending your days curled up in a pink Snuggie watching game shows, UPS knocks at your door to deliver your future.

It comes from the law school you’ve been deferring for two years in hopes that you’ll find a scholarship, strike oil, or win big on Deal or No Deal. Inside is a leather bound notebook and a brochure showing how much fun you’d be having at said high-priced law school. There are pictures of attractive (but not too attractive) twenty-somethings playing soccer on the lawn and holding Tarts for Torts bake sales.

You almost buy it. Then you remember that the only thing worse than being broke and unemployed is being a broke, unemployed and $200,000 in debt.

Here are eight reasons it’s unwise to hide out in law school during the recession.

1. Paying $150,000 to defer unemployment will not get you a job

Since it’s nearly impossible to take economics courses without destroying your GPA, law students tend to bypass courses that help them understand the obvious: the supply of lawyers is greater than demand. Hence, you may not find a job after law school.

2. Everyone’s doing it!

Remember what Dad said: if everyone’s doing it, it must be wrong. He was referring to less expensive thrills. Look around. Are all your friends cramming for 2L midterms? See No. 1. Time to take the road less traveled.

3. No one will like you

You’ll try to reason otherwise, but your superior ability for rational thinking will not change the alleged theory that no one really likes you or your new vocabulary.

4.  No one will date you

Point: Law school will make you infinitely more attractive to the opposite sex.

Counterpoint: Girls, remember what Miranda taught us: after Harvard, it’s either Steve or pretending you’re a flight attendant.  Boys, wake up. You’re not working for Goldman and some models can do math.

Conclusion: Lawyers date other lawyers, so be prepared for romantic dinners discussing the loopholes in the fair use doctrine.

5. It’s cheaper to buy the dream car

If you’re going to law school to ensure a life filled with yachts and cars, save yourself the misery (and $100,000) and buy the car now.  You’re in the wrong field for yachts anyway.

6. You’ll never hear the end of lawyer jokes

What’s the difference between a lawyer and God?  God doesn’t think he’s a lawyer!  Ha! You’ll hear that one at least twice a week.

7. You’ll have a lot of love-hate relationships

Your friends will resent you—but will still call at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning asking if they should have taken the breathalyzer or whether it’s possible to claim child support on a poodle.

8. Law school won’t make you happy

When you were a little kid, did you really dream of doing contract work all day? If it’s all money and no heart, life after law school will be more miserable than life during it.

Disclaimer: There are some people who belong in law school. They include: a few decent people who want to be lawyers, people who generally hate other people, and those who take great offense to 3 and 4. In fact, if you take offense to any of this you should probably enroll in law school. Also note that the author is weak-minded and may one day attend law school anyway.

KT Boyle is a graduate of Georgetown University. Follow her life on the recession runway at TheGreatReDression.com.

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 5,076

The Jackson Health System in Florida is considering cutting a whopping 4,500 jobs and two hospitals to close its budget gap…In San Francisco, bio-tech company Exelixis Inc will cut 270 jobs, currently 40 percent of their workforce…In Tennessee, Ford Motor Credit Co. plans to lay off 200 employees by the end of the month…General Dynamics Robotics Systems handed pink slips to 90 employees yesterday, whose last day will be on May 6…Preferred Health Systems laid off 16 employees last week in Wichita, Kansas.

Are you one of the Screwed? Check out Recessionwire’s Laid Off 101. Read more about layoffs at the sites compiled on our layoff tracker page.

Most of us have heard so often that it’s important to have a personal brand that we’re sick of it. The overuse of the term is beginning to devalue it. I’m not a box of cereal; I’m a human being, you might say.

That is true. And it is increasingly difficult to find a differentiator as the competition for jobs and consulting assignments is so fierce. Maybe it’s because we’re looking at ourselves as a business. We’re using dull and dry terms to describe ourselves: team player, proven track record, top producer. They don’t exactly leap out and grab someone by the throat.

But a review in the New York Times last week of two young pianists got me thinking that we should be looking at it in a different way. The Times music critic began: “Many young classical musicians feel pressure to stand out.” Well, who doesn’t? It’s not just pianists; everyone in this tough economic climate is looking to stand out. But it was another sentence that really got my attention: “It is not enough to play an instrument – or sing or conduct – brilliantly. You have to search within yourself and define your artistic identity. Your performances should convey what you believe in, what excites you.”

I realized that same advice could be applied to business people or job seekers. It isn’t enough to be brilliant at what you do. What is it that makes you brilliant? Your performances – a presentation for a client, or a job interview – should reinforce your talents and core beliefs.

What’s missing in most personal brand statements is a sense of excitement. Throw away your pencil for a minute and think about what really excites you about what you do (or did). Did you accomplish something that still makes your heart sing? Tell your story to your spouse or a buddy. Bring passion to the telling. Then ask for their response. What words did you use? What about the story got them excited?

That’s your personal brand.

Jeannette Paladino is a personal branding expert and author of the blog Write Speak Sell.

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 887

Vodafone will make 500 job cuts throughout the UK as efforts to cut £1 billion in company costs…In LA County, 300 Los Angeles Supreme Court employees will be handed notices by March 16 about subsequent unemployment on April 1st…In South Carolina, the Union County School District plan to layoff 30 employees by next year…In California, the Calaveras Unified School District will hand out pink slips to 24 teachers by March 15…In other school layoffs news, the Dinwiddie School Board in Virginia decided on a budget cut yesterday, resulting 23 layoffs, including 10 teaching positions…In Texas, Sigma-Herron laid off 10 workers in a pharmaceutical plant this morning.

Are you one of the Screwed? Check out Recessionwire’s Laid Off 101. Read more about layoffs at the sites compiled on our layoff tracker page.