Being unemployed today is more like an excruciating 1000-page novel than a bad short story.

The unemployment rate held steady last month at 9.7 percent and overall fewer jobs were lost; a good sign, according to many economists. But for those of you who are out of work or about to lose your jobs, the average time you can expect to look for a new position is six months or more. Those are the worst statistics since the 1940s.

John Challenger, chief executive officer of recruiting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. offers some crummy statistics:

“Even after job gains begin to accelerate, some groups are so far behind that it will take substantially longer for them to enjoy the fruits of recovery. About one in four teenagers is unemployed. For African American teens, the jobless rate stands at 42 percent. Nearly 16 percent of those without high school diplomas are out of work.

“Regardless of what group you are in, the job market is fiercely competitive. In addition to the 14.8 million Americans who are looking for jobs, there are nearly 6.2 million who gave up on their job search, but still want a job. That’s 21 million people vying for what is probably between 2.5 and 3.0 million job openings.”

It’s disheartening news I know. But that means you have even less time to procrastinate folks when it comes to your job search, and you have to reassess you job-seeking strategies as often as possible.

My column this week on MSNBC.com deals specifically with the issue of shaking up what you thought were tried and true tactics:

If you’ve been job searching for months with few tangible results, it may be time to take a hard look at yourself in the job-hunter’s mirror.

That’s just what Cobain did.

Instead of wearing pajamas, he started dressing in a suit every day to go to his home office. He stopped searching the job boards. He hired a financial services placement firm and a career coach.

I’m not saying any of Cobain’s changes are ones you should make. I’m just saying this guy looked in the job-hunting mirror and decided to change what he saw. (Well, actually, he needed his wife to slap him around a bit. Are you listening to your significant other, friends, relatives?)

Do you feel you’re in a job-hunting funk? Tell us what you’ve been doing and maybe we can come up with a new strategy.