How do I help get my husband a job?
What you should and shouldn’t do to help a family member
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Your husband (or wife, or boyfriend, or daughter) is trying to find a job but isn’t having any luck. They keep applying but can’t seem to score a job offer. No problem, you think. I can help. I’m going to call up those hiring managers and let them know just how awesome my husband is – I’ll even schedule the interview for him.
Hear that noise? That’s the sound of every single one of his job opportunities being flushed down the toilet.
We get why it’s so tempting to take the initiative and help out a family member with their job search – but you can’t do it for them. Not only do hiring managers find it weird, it actually can hurt your loved ones job search instead of helping it.
Here’s the right way and the wrong way to help someone find a new job.
If you want to help out, you should:
Offer support
Let’s face it. The job market still sucks. The odds are pretty good that the reason your loved one can’t find a job has more to do with the economy than their experience. Try to be patient (and we know that’s a tough one); something will come along soon.
Be a proofreader and mock interviewer
Support your loved one by helping them prepare. Read over their application and check for mistakes. Come up with a list of commonly asked interview questions and have them role play an interview with you.
Network
You never know when someone you might know might have a job lead for you. Your co-worker might have heard about an awesome job that would be perfect for your daughter. But you’ll never know about it if you don’t network with him.
Don’t ever:
Call the hiring manager or HR
It really blows my mind, but this actually happens on a pretty regular basis. A dad will call, harassing a hiring manager for not hiring his kid. Or a wife will call, asking HR when they want to interview her husband. Talk about crazy. This is one of the fastest ways to not get a job.
Go with your children or husband to the interview
Are you interviewing for the job? No? Then you shouldn’t be there.
Do everything for them
Proofreading, networking and helping a loved one search for jobs is one thing. Writing the application, applying for jobs and writing thank you cards after an interview – that’s just a step too far.
We know you want to do everything you can to help out your loved ones with their job search. But knowing when to step in and when to back off is crucial to making sure you’re a help – and not a hindrance.