I was miserably, chronically, thunderously depressed from about 13 to about 19. I managed to motivate myself from "overweight" to "anorexic", dropping over 100 lbs in the space of a summer (and keeping it off, and going lower, and...). Willpower/motivation is a muscle; you build it by exercising until you have enough of it that you flex it like an asshole. (try to stop before that last bit - the rest of the world thanks you) lessismore is absolutely spot on. Reinhold Niebuhr composed one of the greatest pieces of writing in the history of the English Language with the Serenity Prayer: It's about picking your battles. One of the things that contributes most to depression is an overwhelming sense of helplessness. "Unemployed without any hope of finding work." There's a difference between "without any hope" and "facing an uphill struggle." You've given the Universe power over your employment - trust me, the Universe doesn't give the first fuck about you or your job prospects. Another piece of wisdom: A dream is something you want. A goal is something you have the power to accomplish. You can't set "get a job" as a goal because you're entirely dependent on outside forces to accomplish it. You can set it as a dream. "Improve my resume" is a goal because there's nothing between you and doing it. It's concrete. It's measurable. And most importantly, it's a step towards the dream. Know what else kicks depression? Exercise. Nothing better. Doesn't even have to be strenuous exercise. bet you've got some way to play MP3s. Google "free audio books." Pick, say, three. Load 'em up in your phone or whatever. Then set yourself to wandering for an hour every day. Two. Just walk around, listening to someone else's wisdom. Hell, torrent some of The Great Courses or the like. Let your mind wander to what you can do to improve your situation in one concrete way every day. Find things you have power over. Exercise your power over them. It's a workout for your soul, and will make it stronger with every step. Good luck.God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Piggybacking on kb's comment Outset. If you, or anyone else on Hubski, wants someone to look over their resume and provide feedback, I'll do it. I won't hold your hand and I'm American, so if there are vital cultural differences on resumes I might miss them, but I can throw a critical eye on a resume, help with organization, whatever. (If you do take me up on this, expect it to take me up to a week, just because, well, I'm doing it for free and it isn't exactly the most fun I could have.) Only catch is that if I ever down the line decide I want to start charging people money for this I might ask you to be a reference or glowing testimonial. Highly unlikely though. Hubski: People are Here to Help.Improve my resume" is a goal because there's nothing between you and doing it