I second Beckles' comments.

I'm seeing a lot of folks lately who have been out of work for three to six months. The ones who have been sitting home playing the recruiter game, as a whole, come across to me as much less motivated than the ones who have been working a part time job. (And yes, I DO ask what folks have been doing since they were laid off.)

One of the most charismatic interviewees that I had this year had been a dot-com displacee. She had gotten a part time job at a retail store (as so "not to climb the walls" in her words). While there, she discovered that a lot of her other part-time colleagues were similarly situated and so they started a semi-weekly support group to pass around job leads and teach each other skill sets. One former project manager taught her to use Project... she in return taught folks how to put together a marketing plan.

All this while being underemployed.

(And if you are wondering, YES, she did get an offer from me! )