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Karen Kodzik is a career management consultant and founder of Cultivating Careers.
It is not unusual for her to counsel both the job seeker and their spouse during a job search. Kodzik also hears from clients who wonder how to handle friends who are trying to be helpful, but sometimes miss the mark.
"Don't assumer you know how to help," says Kodzik, "the key is to ask them because everybody's different."
Kodzik says another common mistake is asking the job seeker what they've done in their search that day.
"It's really saying to that job seeker that 'I don't trust you have a game plan for your search,'" says Kodzik.
Family members can be very useful, as another set of eyes to proofread a resume, accessing your own network for leads for the job seeker, and even just reminding the job seeker what great qualities they have.
Kodzik says losing a job can take a toll on self-confidence, so it's a good idea to remind the job seeker in your life about all the skills they bring to the table.
Kodzik also counsels her clients to sit down with family members and discuss how NOT having a job will affect duties at home. Looking for work is a full time job itself, and Kodzik cautions against expecting the job seeker to pick up a lot of extra duties in addition to undertaking a job search.
You can see Kodzik's entire interview on how to support a job seeker by clicking on the video link to the right.
(Copyright 2009 KARE. All rights reserved.)
