Negotiating pay when I have been out of work - 25 weeks in

I have been out of work for 25 weeks and feel pressure to accept less. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. I do not want to price myself out. What did you say?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 12 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It made the follow-up calls so much easier.