Southern California Job Market : Serious Tips for the Newly Jobless

* Relax a few days, for your mental health, then begin looking for work.

* Make an honest assessment of your finances, then design a sensible monthly budget. Expect to be out of work anywhere from three to nine months.

* Get up at the same time you usually do; keep business hours--your job is getting a new job.

* Get dressed; avoid the temptation to lounge around in a bathrobe--this only invites depression.

* Make a daily schedule for phone-calling and letter-writing and stick to it. Make exercise a key part of the day.

* Don’t forget college alumni networks--in addition to trade journals--as a source for job-search information and contacts.

* Write personal thank-you notes to those who have been helpful to you.

* Don’t isolate yourself; meet with friends--not from your former job, if possible.