[JohnFen]

> Find a way to achieve balance in the search.

Oh, what a good point!

When I'm looking for work, I tend to divide jobs into two piles. Jobs I really want, and jobs I know I can get.

I usually work out how much time I can afford to go without work. I divide that in half, and spend the first half of the time chasing the jobs I really want (even if I'm not sure that they'd have me). If I haven't landed any of those at the halfway mark, I switch to jobs I know I can get.

My track record is 50-50 on landing my dream jobs, but those are the jobs that made me more valuable on the market in later days, because those were the ones where I stretched and expanded my skills.