I've been out of work for more than six months and got back into the thick of things. I chose the area of specialization I got back into. I did it by focusing on the project, rather than the company. I think, your chances of employment is actually lower, if you do not focus your search. If you're going to make an effort to focus on your search, you might as well choose, not just simply sending things out and seeing what sticks on the wall.

That you have focus, a drive, a goal, all bleeds through your body language. People want to go where you're going. If you're lost and desperate, people avoid you; it's sad, but people in general avoid needy people like the plague. This "knowing where you are going" is what people are really looking for when they screen out someone who has been unemployed for six months.

I have a friend whose favorite mantra is, "adapt, improvise, overcome." Ok, so recruiters have software that screens out anyone who has been unemployed for more than six months. Adapt. Improvise. Overcome. Don't send out resumes to recruiters; go to where the employers are. Or better yet, stop looking for a "job" (and all the things that go with it, such as social status, peer acceptance, etc.) and look for a project.