Elizabeth, age 25,  moved to New York City in 2010 after working in the health care field, hoping to break into non-profit, social justice work. After almost a year of under-employment and freelance work, she landed a full-time job in her field of choice thanks to a lot of networking, self-care and persistence. Here are the secrets of Elizabeth’s success:

1. How long were you unemployed?

When I first moved to NYC, I was completely unemployed for two months. Then, thanks to a cold email, I secured a part time job at an organization I loved, but the job paid next to nothing. A month or so later, I accepted a full time at a position that I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy, so I kept part time work as a means of staying sane.

After 3 months, my boss at the part time job thought it could become a full time position, so I quit the soul-sucking full time job. And then the funding dropped out for my part time job, so I started doing a lot of freelancing to try and make ends meet. If I wasn’t living with my partner, I would have been in financial trouble for sure. I was also doing a lot of self-care — fostering dogs, going to the park as often as possible, spending time with my family, getting to know New York City. I had a lot of job interviews, some that went well and many that didn’t. I learned which organizations in my field were actually looking for someone with my background and which were not interested in someone with a brain.

2. What was your job search strategy during this period?

It was a multi-pronged strategy. I went to a lot of networking events, and had personal business cards so I could give those out to as many people as possible. I sent follow-up emails to people I met to make sure they knew what I was looking for, and to ask how I could be useful to them in some way.

I made sure people that I respected in my field knew that I was looking for a job, but not just any job — I made sure they knew my passions, strengths and talents. I asked for advice about what organizations they thought were doing work that matched my interests.

Of course, I looked on a lot of job posting websites, and also went directly to the sites of organizations I was interested in to check on job postings. What I found most helpful was connecting with people at those organizations and getting inside information about upcoming job openings.

3. How did you ultimately come to obtain your current new job? (Through a friend, cold application)

I found out about the job opening through an acquaintance I met at a networking event. She had been monitoring my work over the previous months and really wanted me to work for her organization. As soon as she found out about the job opening, she let me know, and sent me the job description before it went online. I prepared my resume and cover letter and sent it in as soon as the description went up.

4. What do you think were the secrets to your success?

The moment I stopped feeling desperate for work, everything seemed a little easier. After I started freelancing and was able to pay my bills, I let myself relax a little, and didn’t feel like I had to compromise on finding a job that was the right fit. In person interactions were the most beneficial for me, and making sure that people could make the connections between my online and offline work.

5. What advice do you have for jobseekers out there?

Do what you have to do to make ends meet — don’t compromise on a job that your gut tells that you’ll hate. Desperation and anxiety feel awful because they are — take care of yourself, and find a community of people who reinforce the importance of self-care.