Comments on: The Spouse’s Role In Your Job Search

By: SusanParks

SusanParks — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:42:26 +0000

Question – Who is going to hire a coach and a therapist when you hope you can pay
for what you already have and want to keep?

Comment- The husband should be involved with the search too. Half of the family income is lost.
Compliments such as the children love having you home now makes a woman
feel shattered when soon after she hears how less needs to spent at the grocery store.
The husband needs to be proactive in a real let’s look together as a team way unless he
secretly likes the smug feeling of being employed over his hurting and unemployed other half.

By: Blog Review — JibberJobber Blog « The Job Quest

Blog Review — JibberJobber Blog « The Job Quest — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:25:58 +0000

[...] Daughter Cut Her Own Bangs (Related to Your Job Loss) The Spouse’s Role in Your Job Search – I would consider this a must-read. Religions Role in a Job Search – During my [...]

By: Rhoda Bernstein

Rhoda Bernstein — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:09:28 +0000

A thoughtful, well-organized post. What about the rest of a family? I am thinking particularly of a post that gives some insight for kids (tweens and older). They’re part of the mix and some guidance for them would help, too.

By: Karen O

Karen O — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:42:56 +0000

My husband lost his job the day you wrote this article Jason (never been unemployed in the over 20 years I’ve known him & is the sole provider for our family of 4, one just started college this year) and I happened upon your site tonight by chance.

I appreciate your perspective here as a spouse. While we are still in the initial phases currently of shock and regrouping, I am fully 100% supportive of him and his future. We get married for better or worse, in good times and bad and it’s been my experience over the years that you will indeed have the worse and the bad times in life – no one is immune. It’s how we deal with those curve balls that life throws us that is the true measure of our resiliency and faith. I believe a relationship really grows when you survive these types of life events. Not that any of this is easy, just rather channel it towards a positive future than reflect on the blip of negativity that was this job loss.

By: Jason Alba

Jason Alba — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:56:21 +0000

Hey all - thanks again for the kind words and great ideas. I posted this as a question on LinkedIn Answers and had some other fantastic input... you can find that discussion here.

By: Karin Combs

Karin Combs — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:12:43 +0000

Hi Jason,
Another career coach, Kevin Tucker, sent your post to me. It’s so very important that you’ve shared this and we thank you for that! More and more families are experiencing a job loss and no one is handling it perfectly. Your ideas are great. I will add that each person get their own venting partner. And the venting partner cannot be the motivational partner. As well, don’t keep the kids in the dark. They don’t need to hear all the gorey details, but they can handle knowing things are different. They will be supportive and will help! Say a thank you to your God each night for 3 blessings during the day. Thank you Jason for bringing this up and being brave. God be with you and yours. Karin Combs

By: Dealing with down days | Daniel Johnson, Jr.

Dealing with down days | Daniel Johnson, Jr. — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:08:30 +0000

[...] grateful to have great emotional support from my family. I’m glad my wife encourages me the way she does, and that I have a daughter who thinks I’m the greatest Dad ever. Because it’s so easy [...]

By: Dealing with down days | Get That Job!

Dealing with down days | Get That Job! — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:59:38 +0000

By: Philip

Philip — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:52:17 +0000

Jason,

This is the article that I am looking for so that I can share with my wife. I agreed with your points. However, if they are from me it would be self-serving. So thanks a lot!!

Janet,

I don’t know if it’s possible for you to write about what you have been through during that period of time and what kinds of support you needed from Jason. It will give us job seekers better understandings about what we can do to make it easier for our spouses.

Best Wishes,

Philip

By: Kathy Bitschenauer

Kathy Bitschenauer — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:38:41 +0000

Hi, Jason,

I totally resonate with your post. My husband and I went through many, many job lay offs that always included a move across country when he finally did land a job. The frequency of job losses became almost unbearable, as well as the length…after his last job loss he couldn’t find work for 22 months.

I wish I had had ANY form of guidance and help during those years, but neither of us knew where to turn for help. That made it all the harder on our family life and our relationship.

I am grateful for your honesty and of those who commented. I’ll keep this with me to share the next time I teach a job search strategy course. It’s so vital. You hear about the “trailing spouse” and their challenges when a partner/spouse must relocate for various career/employment reasons…but the topic of the “spouse in the unemployment relationship ” is rarely, if ever, discussed.

Thanks for sharing about this very touching topic.

Blessings,

~Kathy