Unemployment or sudden loss of a job has not only a financial impact on a person but it also affects the person’s mental strength a lot. Most of us would have faced a part of life where we were in a position of searching for a job and that part of life may or may not be so easy. Having unemployed friends or an unemployed family member does not need to be seen with pity or who needs only a caring shoulder to console them. All they need is respect, mental support and above all guidance to face this particular part of life.
Read this post to know how to deal with an unemployed friend or a family member.
Ways to Comfort Unemployed Friends and Family Members:
1. Take a move to remove their shame feeling by talking to you:
Naturally, your family or friends who are facing unemployment might feel bad or very shameful to address the issue to friends or family. They generally have a notion they might look down on for their state, and also feel the stress of doing a favor.
It is very important at this point to make them feel comfortable talking to you. Try to make them feel you are ready to face this issue along with them and show them that you are interested to get them a job from any means possible.
2. Financial help is the first step:
If an unemployed friend or a family member has a family, the very first step is to know about their financial commitments.
Not many of them would come forward to explain their personal, but this is very important because the unemployed person even though it does not express, financial stress might create a devastating effect on their family hugely.
So, make sure you talk to them kindly about borrowing money for the most important things like kids’ education, family maintenance, etc. This might be hurtful to their ego at first but this is the most needed help even if it is a little amount too.
3. Help them to get a part time even if it is a small time job:
At this point, your friend or your family member might need a job full time to meet their financial needs. But, when things get tough it is better to help them get a part time job for time being rather than sitting at home and searching for a better job.
Always lookout for good field related part time on job search websites or in your organization. This might help them in a small way financially as well as give them good mental strength.
In the worst case, try giving them some of your jobs like for example handling tuition for your kids or looking after your share business and getting paid for it. Make sure you offer them this kind of help in a very delicate way possible to not hurt their ego.
4. Call for a coffee or arrange for a private discussion:
Most of the people who face unemployment does not want to get involved with the crowd or feel bad about their situation. Because of the inferior feeling, your unemployed friends tend to hide their emotions and do not take a step to discuss their unemployment.
In such times, it is always better to call them by phone or send a warm email to call for a private discussion and address their issues.
Never try to pinpoint their mistakes or show you feel sorry about the situation. Show them you are here to get them a job and help them to deal with the difficulties facing in getting a job.
5. Indirectly receive updates and do not embarrass them:
It is not necessary you need to inquire about their job search every time you meet them or call them often to ask about it. It will naturally make them feel worse about the situation and it will create complex in them. Instead, try to indirectly guess their mood, and open up when you find the right moment privately.
Sometimes, they might feel to hide their joblessness even to the closed circle. Hence, try not to nag them in public and help them without making them embarrassed.
6. Encourage them for their every move:
Always try to be positive about all their moves and encourage your unemployed friends to proceed further with their job search confidently. These are the tough times were they might feel lonely even though they have many people around to be supportive.
So make sure you speak encouraging and never fail to cheer them up by making good comments like “ yes, just a few more steps and you will be done with it “, “ Great going you have met the most potential interviewers and I am sure they will call back “ etc. Be their strength and help them stepping forward.
7. Be a companion to work along with them:
Many times preparing for series of interviews might be tiring as well as boring for them. Help them to solve critical problems while preparing for the interview as well as suggest a brainstorming discussion for preparing tough questions.
Give them a helping hand to sit along with them for some time and show that you will stand by the side. This will surely make them feel confident.
8. Quote real life examples to motivate them:
No one in this world would never stay worried or never get a job. So, give them a real life example of people who have struggled for years together and have been successful in life presently.
Do not quote historical examples which they might not connect with real life exactly instead speak about your friends, or colleagues who have struggled previously and presently doing great in life. This will surely make your unemployed friends feel positive as well as encouraging crossing the barriers of tough times.
9. Support them to become an entrepreneur:
No one in this world is born to incapable of doing something on their own. When in the period of unemployment, it is natural to feel of being useless or there might be a lack of clarity in thoughts.
So in such times talk to them kindly about their interests in doing business on their own or you can also ask for a partnership with them. This might make them feel confident about themselves and also push them to do something to get out of this situation.
10. Help them to master the art of networking:
Networking plays a very important role in the job search. It’s evident that once they are in contact with many people, it’s natural that they get noticed in times of vacancies in all their closed contacts organizations. So try arranging a get together or make them meet many friends possible to make their network strong.
Just not by this method but you can also encourage them to reach out to friends on social media websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. This is a very effective method of job search as it reaches out to a huge group than networking with the close circle who are nearby them.
11. Refer as much possible and also forward their resume to all friends:
Getting a referral is a big advantage for them at this step. So try getting a maximum referral for them either in your organizations or get help from your friend’s circle. Forward their resume to almost all possible friends of your contacts and also to your colleagues.
This will increase their chance of getting a job very soon than by a series of interviews attended in all random organizations.
12. Be in touch with them almost every day:
The most crucial part of being unemployed is facing friends and family. And it is natural for them to think that they have isolated from gatherings or people might think they talk for getting a favor. But above all, friends or family member must make them feel comfortable to be in the crowd as well as make them feel supportive at all tough times.
Be in touch with them and it is not necessary that you have to talk about the job search every day. But remind them that you are always with them in all the struggles they undergo.
Unemployment might sound like a nightmare to many of them as it’s after-effects are very crucial to face in society. But the reality is, it is nothing when is been faced in the right manner with the right set of people around.
It is the duty of every single friend or a family member to show at most care and guidance to the people who are facing a period of unemployment. It might or might not be financial support but it has to be given to them at the right time instead of feeling pity for them.
Hope this post helps to know how to deal with unemployed friends or a family member.
