Why did it take you 3 years to get your degree? The way I would look at it if I was the employer, you didn't go to school full time (or it would've taken you 2 years at most), and you didn't even hold a part time job. Plus, there are the couple years of not working before you even went to school. This does not look good. Plus, since most people you'll be competing against do not have employment gaps this large, the overwhelming majority of employers, if not ALL employers, will view you as too much of a risk (sorry).

One thing you could do is sign up with a temp agency. They are usually less put off by unstable work history. Temping can help you get your foot in the door of some local companies and, if you prove yourself, can actually lead to being hired full time.

If long term temping does not work for you and you need stable employment NOW, you'll need a strategy for overcoming your hiatus. If the reason you didn't work was because you took care of a disabled family member or raised children, you should tell the employer that. You could say "In the past 5 years, I dedicated my time to raising a family, as well as going to school part time. I am now ready to return to work and am confident that I can trully contribute and grow in this position. My degree in ______ and my experience with _____, ______, and ______ line up nicely with the requirements of this job and I am sure I have what it takes to succeed in this role." The key is to sound confident and not feel self-conscious or think that you need to make excuses. Also, you may need to briefly mention this in the cover letter because otherwise a long unexplained gap in your resume may prevent you from getting interviews. It will take you a while to find a good job, longer than someone with an uninterrupted work history, so you may want to think of taking a job, any job, even if it's lower than what your degree entitles you to, to tide you over while you are looking for the right thing.

If you don't have a valid (from the employer's point of view) reason for being out of work for this many years, it will be a lot harder to overcome the gap. What have you done in these years apart from going to school? Did you volunteer, travel, work on a personal project, were involved with your church or community groups? If so, you should emphasize that experience and the transferable skills you've gained from it in your resume and cover letter. A functional resume format (look it up if you don't know what it is) may be best for this.

If you don't have any way to account for this time, and I hate to say this, you may need to lie. Do you have a friend or family member who owns his/her own business and can say that you've been working for them part-time while you worked on your degree? If so, this could be a start, but your job skills better be up to date so that this sounds believable. However, this is not to be used as a shortcut for overcoming career mistakes, but should only be resorted to if all else fails and if without it you are unemployable. When you have no other options, you do what you have to do. Otherwise, it's not really an advisable option because there is always a risk of being found out and terminated even if you do get the job.

Whatever you decide, be prepared to provide potential employers with a detailed explanation of what you have been doing in the past 5 years and to make a case for why you should be given the opportunity and what you can contribute to the position if hired. Employers don't just want an explanation of why you haven't been pursuing a career in the last 5 years, you need to let them know why they should hire you regardless of that fact. Right now, they may see you as a risk, someone not really committed to building a long term career. You need to be able to convince them that's not the case.

Good luck!