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Just before the current recession set in, 35-year-old Samuel Peery quit a stable job as a vice president of marketing to start his own social-networking company. Unable to secure funding for his start-up, Mr. Peery, of Lehi, Utah, was left unemployed, with an unrealized dream.

“I got some gigs through my marketing consulting firm, but it wasn’t enough to pay the bills,” he says, adding that he had to find a way to adapt to the new stresses he was feeling.

Mr. Peery decided to take his happiness into his own hands. “I now make meditation and prayer a part of my daily routine. It helps me to connect to something larger than myself and has provided tremendous comfort and direction,” he says.

He also makes it a priority to engage in activities that will boost his mood, from exercising to listening to a song mix or motivational recording. He’s still pursuing life as an entrepreneur, and plans to release a multimedia online marketing course for small businesses next year.

Happiness, it seems, has become a new mandate. That’s partly thanks to people like New York-based writer Gretchen Rubin, who was on a city bus in the rain a few years ago when she asked herself what it would take to make her happy.

She didn’t have an immediate answer, leading to a year of research and a new book, “The Happiness Project,” and corresponding Web site (www.happiness-project.com), that includes insights on well-being from history, philosophy, scientific studies and life experiences.

Happiness is something everyone should think about, even if you have the staples of a good life — health, career and relationships — says Ms. Rubin. “It’s easier to consider how you might improve things when you aren’t completely miserable.”

When it comes to finding a job that makes you happier, start with a roster of things you genuinely like to do. Note that your list should not include things you feel you ought to like. “You have to look inside yourself, because everyone has different inclinations and varying definitions of fun,” says Ms. Rubin.

If you’ve had a rough year at work or have been laid off, being happy might be easier said than done. But you can try to change your attitude for the better by focusing on particular thoughts.

Mr. Peery, for example, made a conscious effort to concentrate on the good that came out of his period of unemployment. “I decided to look at my situation as an exciting time in which I could choose my own path,” he says.

Write to Alexandra Levit at reinvent@wsj.com

By TODDI GUTNER

Voluntary buyout packages seem to be commonplace in Corporate America during troubled times. Deciding whether to accept or reject that offer is never easy. There are a few things to consider as you decide. Most important is to realize that you have “some leverage in the negotiation process,” says Paul Gavejian, managing director of Total Compensation Solutions in Armonk, N.Y.

Determine the financial feasibility. Work with your financial adviser to help you figure out how much money you’ll need until you land another job — or whether retiring earlier than you’d planned is feasible. If you decide to take the offer, discuss with your planner how you should take it: as a lump sum, which could have steep tax implications, or in installments. Consider installments only if you have confidence in the financial health of the company.

Assess the remaining job. Ask yourself why the company is offering the buyout. “If business is really bad and the company is a sinking ship, do you really want to hang around?” says Brad Karsh, president of JobBound, a career-consulting firm in Chicago. Try to figure out what your job will be like if you stay. “Ten people might be doing the work of 20 since they won’t be replacing those who leave,” says Mr. Karsh. If you believe the thinned ranks means more opportunity, you might want to wait it out.

Know your numbers. Not everyone is offered the same terms, so ask colleagues about the packages they received. While buyouts vary, most severance packages typically offer six months to a year of salary for vice president titles and above. “Ask how the severance has been calculated,” says Alane Baranello, a managing director at Eileen Finn & Associates, an executive search firm. Standard best practice is two weeks’ pay for every year you’ve been with a company, with up to four weeks at senior levels. Make sure pay for unused vacation and sick days is included in your package.

Secure your future. Hammer out the least-restrictive noncompete agreement you can get and get clarity about the impact of the buyout on any stock options, restricted stock, or retirement accounts you have with the firm, says Mr. Gavejian. Ask to convert the company’s group life-insurance policy into an individual plan. And request a positive reference letter or recommendation to help you in your job hunt.

Consult with an attorney. Don’t sign any offer until an attorney has reviewed the terms in writing. By law, you are entitled to a certain amount of time to review the package, typically 45 days if a group of employees is affected, Ms. Baranello says. If the terms aren’t favorable, go back to the bargaining table. You have more power if your particular group is a target of trimming or if you are a high performer.

Take stock of the job market. If you aren’t ready to retire, ask yourself whether your skills are in demand, or if, conversely, the market is flooded with professionals in your field. Ask executive recruiters or people in your network how long a search in your field will take. To make the search easier, ask your employer if you can continue to have a title — like project consultant — at the company until you find a new position, advises Mr. Gavejian.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page D6

Just before the current recession set in, 35-year-old Samuel Peery quit a stable job as a vice president of marketing to start his own social-networking company. Unable to secure funding for his start-up, Mr. Peery, of Lehi, Utah, was left unemployed, with an unrealized dream.

“I got some gigs through my marketing consulting firm, but it wasn’t enough to pay the bills,” he says, adding that he had to find a way to adapt to the new stresses he was feeling.

Mr. Peery decided to take his happiness into his own hands. “I now make meditation and prayer a part of my daily routine. It helps me to connect to something larger than myself and has provided tremendous comfort and direction,” he says.

He also makes it a priority to engage in activities that will boost his mood, from exercising to listening to a song mix or motivational recording. He’s still pursuing life as an entrepreneur, and plans to release a multimedia online marketing course for small businesses next year.

Happiness, it seems, has become a new mandate. That’s partly thanks to people like New York-based writer Gretchen Rubin, who was on a city bus in the rain a few years ago when she asked herself what it would take to make her happy.

She didn’t have an immediate answer, leading to a year of research and a new book, “The Happiness Project,” and corresponding Web site (www.happiness-project.com), that includes insights on well-being from history, philosophy, scientific studies and life experiences.

Happiness is something everyone should think about, even if you have the staples of a good life — health, career and relationships — says Ms. Rubin. “It’s easier to consider how you might improve things when you aren’t completely miserable.”

When it comes to finding a job that makes you happier, start with a roster of things you genuinely like to do. Note that your list should not include things you feel you ought to like. “You have to look inside yourself, because everyone has different inclinations and varying definitions of fun,” says Ms. Rubin.

If you’ve had a rough year at work or have been laid off, being happy might be easier said than done. But you can try to change your attitude for the better by focusing on particular thoughts.

Mr. Peery, for example, made a conscious effort to concentrate on the good that came out of his period of unemployment. “I decided to look at my situation as an exciting time in which I could choose my own path,” he says.

Write to Alexandra Levit at reinvent@wsj.com

By SARA MURRAY

Despite signs of life in the job market, the outlook for newly minted college graduates remains grim and many are trying new strategies for landing positions.

Students are starting their job hunts months earlier than usual, while others are looking into short stints at positions outside their major.

Bob Tutag began beating the bushes in October, a time when most college seniors are barely back from summer vacation. But it paid off: The 21-year-old Michigan State University student in March accepted an offer at Developers Diversified Realty Corp., a commercial real-estate firm in Beachwood, Ohio. He starts in May.

Mr. Tutag knew he faced a challenge, having majored in accounting with a specialization in real estate, a sector of the economy hammered by the downturn.

Career-fair recruiting at MSU is down 25% this year. The same story is heard on college campuses from coast to coast: Companies have cut back hiring and when they do have jobs, they have plenty of experienced applicants to pick from. College graduates typically need further training and seasoning, so many employers are skipping college career fairs this year or tapping former interns if they need fresh talent.

Meantime, the job opportunities that are available aren’t spread evenly—either by sector or region—and can be hard to spot. And unlike previous years, employers are making offers, and students are accepting them, early in the fall to lock in specific candidates.

Usually, graduating students have held off until the spring to accept positions.

“Some employers might be encouraged enough to begin to add some employment,” said Philip Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at MSU. But he said, “I’m really not anticipating a significant turnaround until this time next year.”

But there are some bright spots: The unemployment rate for people ages 20 to 24 with a bachelor’s degree was 7.2% in March, down from 7.6% a year earlier and below the 21.9% jobless rate for those in the same age group with high-school degrees only.

Preliminary data from a spring poll of employers by the National Association of Colleges and Employers show college-graduate hiring could rise 3% to 5% this year after falling 22% last year.

Erika Skalski, 22, another MSU student poised to graduate in May, is still searching for a job in event planning after studying hospitality, another area hit by the recession, and Spanish. She was encouraged by the interviews she has had, but so far has no offers.

“I’m actually very nervous about it,” Ms. Skalski said, adding that if nothing pans out she will apply to programs that would allow her to move to Spain and teach English for a year or so.

Such plan-Bs are common this year. “We are seeing more students coming into the office talking about what we call the ‘gap-year opportunities,’ ” said Rebecca Sparrow, director of Cornell University’s career services, where recruiting is down slightly this year. She often directs them to programs such as AmeriCorps, Teach for America and similar alternatives.

At the University of Florida in Gainesville recruiting has fallen 40% to 50% from the 2007-08 school year. Education is one of the hard-hit career paths this year, said Wayne Wallace, director of the university’s career-resource center.

“Several years ago the state of Florida could not find enough teachers,” Mr. Wallace said, “now we have school districts that are doing massive layoffs.”

Meanwhile, business and technical majors are likely to see the most demand, particularly as Wall Street resumes hiring.

A recent survey from 7city Learning, a financial-services training company, found that 76% of Wall Street firms plan to hire more recent graduates than a year ago.

Certain regions of the nation are expected to do better than others. At the University of Texas at Austin, the communications school attracted 77 employers at its spring career fair, up from 51 last year. Meanwhile, Facebook Inc., which is opening an office in Austin, has been collecting student resumes to help fill 60 jobs.The country’s south central and northwest regions are expected to increase hiring more than other areas.But with such a competitive market, the biggest worry for hiring experts is that students will give up on their job search without ever starting. In some cases that means heading straight to graduate school, an investment that is only likely to pay off if students know what they want to study and why that will better position them to land a job in the future. Graduate-school enrollment rose 6% last year and will likely continue to rise this year.