Heather, thanks for this!  I went through this exact process during 15 months of not being 'directly employed'.  I was determined that my career continue during that period (which I didn't expect to last 15 weeks, never mind 15 months) and took other advice to participate in blogs of higher profile people in my field as well as be active on Twitter especially during major conferences (which I attended remotely, via online broadcasts, social media, etc.).  I also used my network to link up with a number of startups founded by some of my past contacts and volunteered as a pro bono consultant.  In all those activities, I took advantage of my freedom to speak my honest feelings without fear of contradicting my superiors' corporate line and widened my view since I was no longer limited by a defined role or job description.

In the end, I found myself with a roster of recommendations (some public, some private) save but for one ... an older startup that I had advised on their relaunch, who invited me to join for not only a senior technical position, but my first real executive position!

While I did devote most of my days to searching for regular employment, I'm glad that I didn't limit myself to that.  Thanks again for this article!