Hello everyone! I'm new to the community and hope for input into my situation. I was recently let go from my job, despite having written prior approval from the manager at the time of my request, because I took off for Christmas to spend with my elderly mom, who ask me as well as my siblings to spend Christmas with her so she wouldn't have to be alone. She lives in another state. I've been searching for a better job anyway but I'm having no luck finding anything and now it's pressing that I find something quickly. I feel as though my past jobs at restaurants after a significant gap in employment due to a layoff aren't helping me to stand out to potential employers. I'm trying to highlight the skills that I've gained volunteering as a film producer, director, scriptwriter and various other crew positions so I've included that volunteer work on my resume. I've built skills such as team building, leadership, project management, time management, teamwork, communication skills, being highly detail oriented and idea generation, etc. I also have started offering script consulting, editing and formatting services as well as book editing services. Yet I'm either only getting the usual "thank you for your interest in our company" responses, no response or rejections without one interview. I've been considering creating a website and/or starting a blog to build a social media presence and to shine a light on who I am and the film, scriptwriting and creative work that I do. I've also been researching about building a brand but honestly I feel like I'm fumbling around in the dark and possibly trying to do too much. I need opinions, input and suggestions on how to move forward.