Boston Career Counselor Blog

My disclaimer to the following open letter is that I don’t pretend to know the mind of every job seeker. Everyone is different and has different desires, personalities and goals. But this is a sentiment I get a lot this time of year. All I’m trying to say is to please tread lightly this holiday season. Let your job seeking friends and loved ones enjoy the festivities and relax for a brief while. Happy holidays to all!

On Behalf of Job Seekers…

Dear Family and Friends,

We, the people looking for new jobs around the holidays, appreciate that you care about us and want to help. And there are many ways you can help us. But please, please, from the bottom of our hearts, while we’re cooking turkey together, buying stocking stuffers or lighting the menorah, please…

Don’t ask, “So do you have a job yet?”

Why not, you might ask. Because we’ve heard it, many times, and unless the answer is “Yes, I just got a fantastic new job that’s everything I hoped it would be,” we don’t really want to talk about it. If we do want to talk about it, we’ll bring the subject up ourselves. Otherwise…

What we want to do is to be around our friends and family whom we love and perhaps haven’t seen in a while. We want to have some laughs and good conversation, maybe a glass of wine or two, and some time to relax and de-stress. Job searching is mentally and emotionally draining and around the family dinner table we’d like to forget about it for awhile.

“But I just want to help you!” you might argue. Well, that’s fantastic. No, really, it is a wonderful sentiment! Here are a number of ways you can help…

1. Take us out for a nice lunch and talk about anything but the job search.
2. Let us know of any helpful contacts you may have (which does require talking about the job search, but this one is a good exception!).
3. Enjoy our company and let us relax and have a good time together.

For more great ideas check out: Holiday Gifts for Job Seekers

Sincerely,
Those Job Seekers You Know and Love