Do You Have a Friend Who Has Been Laid Off? It Is Time to Take Positive Action.
Oct. 27, 2009
In 1976, I lost my job. A friend intervened and told Congressman Lawrence McDonald that I was available. McDonald told newly elected Congressman Ron Paul, who hired me. Paul had been a subscriber to my Remnant Review. He did not know I had lost my job. He did not know I was available. I became his research assistant.
My friend did not tell me that he had intervened until months later. I always appreciated this. His name was Larry Abraham.
This experience was good for me. It gave me a sense of concern for anyone who has lost his job. It is a bad experience at the time, but it is a maturing one. It removes the sense of autonomy that plagues ambitious people. The market registers its negative assessment. the unemployed person has to scramble.
Some people do not scramble well. They need help.
When someone loses his job, he hits the panic button. He is not sure what to do. At that point, you can help him if you know what to do.
This site is filled with materials on getting a job. Use the search engine for "job search". You will find lots of articles. Print them out. Offer to sit down with him and go through them.
You could direct him to Joe Sabah's website, http://www.joesabah.com/getthejob.html.
Never offer money. That degrades a person. Instead, offer help in getting him a job. People are glad to have new ideas about ways to get a job from someone who may know more about this. Sharing specialized information is seen as a favor. It can re re-paid by sharing specialized information, if the opportunity ever arises. No problem. Taking money is seen as a creating a monetary liability. Big problem for someone who is unemployed. He already sees himself as overwhelmed.
An unemployed person is grasping at straws. Job-search strategies are a lot better than straws.
Here is a healing phrase: "This might work." If offers hope. What he needs is hope.
You will help the person focus on positive steps he can take. This is important for his mental state. Doing positive things is better than sitting at a desk, paralyzed.
You may think that spending a couple of hours talking with him won't help much. But it will help a lot. Almost no one he knows has any expertise in getting a job.
The information on this site that is related to marketing is serviceable for a job search. Most people have not heard of any of this. Just going through the articles in my department on Marketing Case Studies should provide at least half a dozen things a job-hunter can do. Just apply the ideas to self-marketing.
Don't sit on the sidelines. Print out a few articles, mail them, and offer to sit down and discuss them. It can't hurt. It may help.