Dreaming Wide Awake

So, I had a moment of panic today.  I was tempted to apply for a job across the country for a company I'd love to work for, in a city I eventually want to live in.  Sounds great, right?  Well, I actually applied for job this before.  Well, except then it was a full-time job.  This new one is the same position but part-time.  Ok.  Not too bad.  Well, the pay being offered is slightly less--still generous for a part-time job--but less than the full-time position.  Ok. Part-time usually pays less than full-time.  Well, it's only a temporary position with no promise of extension ..STOP.  Stop rationalizing a bad situation.  Stop dreaming while you're wide awake.  There was a job you really wanted but you didn't get it.  If the same job or a better job with that company opens in the future in that location, great, apply again.  But don't settle for the same job title, but worse job.  In this situation, I was considering taking a lower paying, part-time, temporary position with no promise of extension in another city, but was rationalizing it by saying it's the same job title with the same company.  This is not the same job, this is a worse job.

We all recognize that the job search is difficult.  There's lots of people searching for work, and their search takes a long time.  CNN states job search is +6 months for over 5 million people.  So, keep doing what you need to do.  If that means blasting hundreds of jobs a day on major job boards, do that--actually don't do that, that's probably not going to get you anywhere.  Try a more targeted approach.  Create a search agent on Simply Hired or Indeed, even Monster and Career Builder, and let the jobs come to you.  Are you eligible for unemployment?  Make sure that you file your claim, keep a work search record, and certify on time.  Connect with agency recruiters.  Recruiters may have access to jobs that you don't know exist, so connecting with them is a great way to get your resume out there.  Finally, keep networking.  In today's competitive job market, a great way to beat the resume black hole aka ATS programs, is to know someone (or know someone who knows someone) on the inside, that can physically walk your resume over to the recruiter, or at least tell them to be on the look out for you.  But whatever you do, stop dreaming wide awake and rationalizing about what once seemed like the perfect job, but is now nothing more than settling.  People of the Internet, have you been faced with a decision to settle or hold out for something better?  What did you decide?  What were the factors that swayed your decision?
*Disclaimer, I  recognize that everybody's situation is unique and they may have different needs and responsibilities and thus may need to take less a desirable position in the interim*