A similar story to me, except I have Aspergers, so I'm not that social. I too was living with my parents after graduation from a PhD program at 35 and unemployed etc. I didn't have any social connections and friends to rely on to help me find a job.

Yes, it seemed to me that many people find jobs via friends and colleagues, via a reputation they build up through working with people. People get to know you, you work. I bet half the reason people are chosen for a job isn't their qualifications but personality, they like that person and think they will get along in a company or research team. That said, if you're not so social you then have to rely more on qualifications and experience, so prospective employer is happy that you work well and forget you're a little odd or eccentric.

Well the social world seems to be how my brother often got work. He went to the US and then Australia with some of his many friends and made even more friends when over there, he found work easily. If I went, I imagine I would have ended up going on my own, without friends I think finding work and an adequate place to stay would have been a lot harder.

Realising that the social side of things was my weakness, I started a blog where I published tutorials and showcased my work online. It ended up very popular, it's now syndicated on other blogs and websites. That way people found out about me via social media, rather than relying on direct "people networks" that would have spread my reputation. Also, I think the days of a paper CV are over, you have to often publicise yourself online, be your own digital PR agent.

Right now I'm working in university in a postdoc on greenhouse gas emissions, a job I found via my blog. I'm also working with a community group on energy efficiency. I was put in contact with them by a friend I met in a internship last year, I knew it was important to work hard to make a friends with someone.