Career makeovers: Don't settle for just a 'job'

Pam Susman thought she had her career figured out. After graduating from Fordham University in 2006 with a master's degree in counseling and personnel services, she took a job as a vocational and mental health counselor at a community center in New York City. She liked the career counseling aspect of it so decided to try her hand at recruiting two years later. But with the economic slowdown, her job became more administrative than she would have liked, so she jumped at the chance to volunteer in Israel.

Six months later, she's back in the Big Apple pounding the pavement once again for a job in college counseling. But it's been a frustrating process for the 29-year-old.

"I've looked for school jobs online, e-mailed private schools directly, contacted people I didn't know," Susman told WalletPop in a telephone interview. "Some of my fellow graduates have also had no luck."