How to Help an Unemployed Friend

One of the hardest things to do in life is to tell your friends and family that you have been laid off. This scenario is becoming more and more common as the recession drags on. For most people, unemployment is not a pleasant road to embark on. I've gathered some helpful tips on how to help a friend or relative who has lost their job.

If you are still working for a company, offer to look for job openings at your company and if there are any positions that match your friend's qualifications, submit an internal referral for that job. Of course, this is not always feasible, but at most stable fortune 500 companies the human resource department lists a wide variety of positions at different levels.

If your friend or relative is not Internet or social media-savvy, offer to help them set up profiles on LinkedIn and Twitter. Many human resource professionals and small businesses heavily rely on these two websites to scout out qualified candidates for job openings. If your friend or relative hasn't had to look for a job in several years, he or she might not be familiar with the powerful tools of Twitter and LinkedIn.

Keeping up the same amount of contact with your friend or relative is essential to helping them maintain a sense of normalcy. If you used to socialize together at events that the unemployed friend or relative can no longer afford, scale back in your plans. Unemployed people still need an outlet for having fund and nurturing friendships when they aren't busy looking for a job.

Another way to help out a friend in need is to offer free babysitting if they have kids. Many times, if a parent is unemployed, financial needs dictate a cut in the hours of daycare that they can afford. In extreme cases, the child might not be able to attend pre-school or daycare at all.

An offer of free babysitting can give your friend a few hours of precious time to concentrate on the activities which are needed for job hunting including sending emails, making phone calls, crafting the perfect resume and attending meetings.

A kind gesture and just the simple act of communication with your unemployed friend or relative can make a tremendous difference in their day. Job searches can get discouraging and lonely. It's not so easy to stay positive, even though that is what's socially expected.