Fast-forward eight months.

I was shell-shocked, realizing for the first time how far Iʼd actually come. In less than a year, I had worked with four New York Times best-selling authors, a Hollywood producer, and several entrepreneurs. Venture capitalists and billion- dollar companies had approached me with job offers. I no longer had to send out my resume; employers came to me first now. I had actually reached a point where I was turning away work.

And the best part was that I was working on projects I actually cared about, with people I wanted to learn from. I was growing, and taking on jobs that typically were not reserved for people my age.

What separated me from the recent graduate, sitting at home, unemployed for the last six months and with no prospects on the horizon?

Anyone my age could have done what I did.

Iʼm not special or unique, and none of those jobs were handed to me. The only thing that still separates me from everyone else is that I know something they donʼt.

The recession is not the obstacle. The obstacle is to abandon conventional job-hunting methods. I had taken all the advice everyone had given me and ignored it. I did things differently, and it paid off.

Everyone is doing it all wrong, but I have a method that works.