Anonymous wrote:No one hires right now unless they really need someone. Hiring now means onboarding when everyone is on vacation.

I told her this, but she didn't believe me.
I'll tell her I read it on DCUM, so it must be true!

What kind of engineer?

Take he vacation. Take stock, survey the industry, choose a new direction. Pick up a book and study something new to break into a different area.

Yeah nothing is going to happen in the next two weeks. She’s gonna need to just take a break and try not to worry about it.

I need some sort of automatic button that just posts this reply to every question in the “Adult Children” forum:

Is she asking for help?

Complaining and panicking are NOT asking for help. Unless she specifically asks for your input*, go with commiseration and support. “Oh, that is so tough. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. You’re smart and industrious, I know you’ll figure it out. Not having a job is so stressful particularly over the holidays.” Etc. etc.

*This looks like this: “Mom, I’m really struggling with my job search. So far I’ve X, Y, and Z. Is there more I should be doing at this stage? What do you think?

What kind of engineer?

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that the average job search is 3-6 months and set her expectations accordingly. She should be applying to 10-20 jobs/week and networking 3-4 hours per week. Treat the job search like a job.

This is good advice.

Also have a real talk about white collar work in the "no loyalty" era.

This may keep happening over her career through no fault of her own.

Tell her that the average job search is 3-6 months and set her expectations accordingly. She should be applying to 10-20 jobs/week and networking 3-4 hours per week. Treat the job search like a job.

She will find a job. But not at the moment. Tell her to look.at BAE. My husband works there and they desperately need more people!

She should be prepared for it to take a few months after Jan 1. It always takes longer than you anticipate.

Did the contract go to another firm? Tell her to network there.

Anonymous wrote:27 y.o. DD got laid off right before Thanksgiving.
She's highly qualified, great education, great work experience.
Her boss loved her, but the co lost a big contract, so she and a bunch of her younger colleagues got laid off.
She's getting lots of interviews, but no offer yet.
Problem is: DD is starting to panic. Plus, she's really angry at her old firm for laying her off, since she was such a stellar worker.
I told her no one is hiring right now during the holidays, but she's still panicking.
I imagine she'll get an offer after Jan 1?
What can I say to her to calm her down?

Tell her you'll help her pay her bills until she finds a job....that will calm her down. LOL.

No one hires right now unless they really need someone. Hiring now means onboarding when everyone is on vacation.

Tell her the fact she is getting lots of interviews between Thanksgiving and Christmas means she is a sought after employee.

Most companies shut down all hiring activities in December...so it sounds like they are making an exception for someone like her.

27 y.o. DD got laid off right before Thanksgiving.
She's highly qualified, great education, great work experience.
Her boss loved her, but the co lost a big contract, so she and a bunch of her younger colleagues got laid off.
She's getting lots of interviews, but no offer yet.
Problem is: DD is starting to panic. Plus, she's really angry at her old firm for laying her off, since she was such a stellar worker.
I told her no one is hiring right now during the holidays, but she's still panicking.
I imagine she'll get an offer after Jan 1?
What can I say to her to calm her down?