After going through seven long months of unemployment, Danielle Lazzaro used New York State resources to help acquire a new job. Employment reporter Asa Aarons filed the following report.

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"Basically called into [Human Resources] at 4 o'clock on a Tuesday and was told to clean out my desk and not to come back to work the next day," says Lazzaro. "My job was being eliminated due to budget cuts within the company."

Lazzaro turned getting a job into her full-time job. When we spoke with her in the fall, she was writing multiple customized resumes.

"I spend at least six hours a day on the computer. I make it my full-time job to find a job on the Internet," she said at the time.

She was also one of the early users of the New York State Department Of Labor's social networking pages. While the system did not deliver an immediate job, it did provide access to a community of knowledgeable labor experts and job seekers.

"They really know what you're going through," says Lazzaro. "They give support, and you can share stories and advice with each other."

She also took advantage of the State Labor Department's SMART Program, custom software that performs specific and deep searches to match job seekers with open positions.

In December, it looked like things were starting to loosen up. Lazzaro received some inquiries and interviews, but they did not pan out.

"You walk out of the interview thinking you're going to get it, and then they break the news to you. You get that phone call that says they hired somebody else," says Lazzaro.

Finally, a few weeks ago, all of Lazzaro's searching and resume writing paid off. She landed a full-time position in the promotion department of a Manhattan company.

"I was like a little 14-year-old girl on the phone, screaming things and saying 'Thank you,'" she says.

Lazzaro thinks her success was due to her expressing real, genuine interest in the position.

"When you see a lot of employers, I think when they hear that you're unemployed, they automatically think that you're going to take anything. And they want somebody that they know is going to be qualified and also really, truly wants the job and somebody that's going to be of interest to them," she says. "They want to know that the new person that they are looking to hire is going to put 110 percent in, and I shared with them that this was something I was really interested and I had a lot of creative ideas that I really believe I could share with them."

Lazzaro believes it is important to take advantage of any available help or programs, from crafting resumes to accessing super computers.

"Stay positive. You've got to stay strong and tough and just know that eventually something's got to give and it will work out in your favor," says Lazzaro.

Danielle Lazzaro generously shared her personal story of becoming ready to walk through the doorway to a new opportunity. Hopefully, millions more will soon make that journey.