Hi flyvirgin,
I'm in the same boat as you and I finished flight school in 2009, and I still haven't landed my first job.
I am going to offer you another option that most people don't talk about. Something different from just getting an instructors rating, especially if you can't afford one. It's what I am doing at the moment. Its not as fast as building time as an instructor or rewarding but it helps in a way that keeps your skills and knowledge fresh and not to rust up. Also it kind of helps you get a small foot in the door with a company with out you even knowing it.
I'm from the Caribbean and I found a small single crew operation that fly's BN2 Islanders for charters and a small schedule service around the close Islands. I approached the owner and asked if I could sit right seat to learn and gain some experience from them and even gain some hours if possible. I had a long meeting with the owner and he basically told me that's fine but he's not going to pay me and its at my own risk. Because if the flight is full coming back to base. I'm stuck where ever I am and I have to pay my own hotel for the night and try get home on the next days flights or find another operator to jumpseat back with. Also the other thing is, I can't log leg sectors with paxs on board but can log empty sectors as PIC/under supervision. So as you can appreciate, there isn't much empty sectors. I took all that home and had a good think about it all. In the end I said f#*k it. I'm going to give it a go, got nothing else to do, and of I went flying all over the Caribbean. With all that said, another privilege came my way not to long after when they realised how passionate and determine I was (and trust me, it wasn't easy having to sometimes find your own way home after being stuck somewhere). Over here in the Caribbean, the aviation authority says that its a requirement to fly 2 crew at night or in IFR conditions if the aircraft is not equip with a usable autopilot on board. With that said and only one aircraft fitted with an autopilot, I was given the opportunity to fly night flights and ifr flights as co-pilot and log those hours as SIC as long as I did my OPC on the aircraft, which I did. For these flights now I started to get paid for but it wasn't much and there isn't much night or ifr flights here.
Anyway, to cut a long story short. I've been with the company now nearly a year now and I've nearly build up 150 hours more. Not a lot but more than what I would have had just sitting at home on my ass. The other thing is now, the owner has spoken to his insurance people and they have come to an agreement to put me on the insurance once I reach a requirement of 500TT, 250ME and 50hrs on type. Which I'm almost close to (hopefully by the end of the year as season is slow now) which also means I can get hired fully soon.
I not sure if this is any help as I don't know how the industry is like near you, but no harm trying to find out and find something of the same operation near you and approach them the same way. Just another option to look at if possible and help you not to sit around and get your skills rusty. Its not as rewarding yet but still just as fun. This way you stay on top of things while you wait and who knows where it might lead.
Another thing that cTcPilot posted that I like, QUOTE 'You need a few years on old turboprops, that will put hairs on your chest or some single pilot IFR work' UN-QUOTE before u hit the big boys and just be patient. There is A LOT of us out there in the same boat and out there a lot longer than you, trust me. Just try and do something out the norm to get ahead and be willing to bend over backwards for it.
I hope this helps and has you thinking about other ways to get a head. Good luck buddy, we all need it.
P.s. What Coffin Corner said about getting your licence in the time of a recession. This is the best time because we will be ready and able for when the next hiring boom comes along.