If preparation is complete and you still are not getting any swings at the bat, it is time to show your entrepreneurial spirit. I am not sure where your core CS degree lies, but if you have strong Web skills or mobile skills, you could research a company's website or mobile technology (including the lack thereof) and design and model suggestions for improvement. Show them how a Gen Y skill can help their company. If you can't get in the door, ask for the name of the chief marketing officer and send him or her your suggestions with a nice cover letter.

The other option is to get out in the community -- walk in the doors of some smaller businesses and share with them your background. Offer a 90-day contract-to-hire opportunity, where if they feel that it didn't work out, they can simply not hire you.

Good luck!

I took a job at a smaller company last year. One thing I was looking for was less office politics, but there is actually more of it here. What's the best way to stay out of all that nonsense? Office politics is a part of any job -- small company or large. Politics in an office is not necessarily bad, and you are guaranteed that there is no real way to avoid it. So the question must be how to effectively cope with it.

In order to be successful, you must learn the rules. Politics is the most competitive game you will ever learn, and playing poorly can cost you recognition, opportunity, promotion and even your job. First, remember that office politics greatly differs from office gossip -- stay out of the latter. Office politics centers on someone trying to gain advantage. It is the way workers engage together. This can be positive, when leveraged for cooperation, or negative, when used to compete. Learn the dynamics of the organization. For example, how is collaboration rewarded?