5 Ways Kids Can Help Your Job Hunt

If you’re a parent you know that any job you have will always be a second job to raising your children but when you are unemployed or underemployed finding work can seem to take priority. Maneuvering a career change is like a juggling act and is a tricky situation for the whole family.

From where you’re finding your finances to the attitude you display each day, your kids are affected by your situation as much as you are. It can be scary if they don’t understand and feel powerless to help. So why not get your kids involved in your search for something new?

Put their minds at ease by giving them a job to do. Enlist them as part of your job search support team. Even small kids can be a big help with these five simple tasks:
 

1. Envelope stuffer – Most kids can easily slide your resume in an envelope, close it and add a stamp. If your child is too small for folding, have her seal each envelope with a clean faced kiss.
2. Fresh eyes – Give kids that can read the classifieds and tell them to find any jobs where they think you should apply. They just might find something you missed. Kids of all ages can play the I-Spy game as you run around town and collect points for spotting the most “Help Wanted” signs.
3. Motivational coach – Keep your spirits up as you push through a difficult time in your life by keeping things in perspective. Give your kids a pack of index cards and have them draw or write about happy moments and things that are encouraging. Once they’ve completed the stack have them hide the cards around the house so you can stumble across their surprise affirmations.
4. Wardrobe consultant – Ask their opinion on what you’re wearing. Let them help you pick out a few key accessories. Most kids have a keen eye and natural instincts on aesthetics. Ask them why they like one choice more than another and you might realize your clothes are sending off a subtle signal you didn’t mean to project.
5. Time keeper – Turn your authority over to the kids. They’ll love it, you’ll hate it but it will work to tighten up your schedule and increase your productivity. Get a stop watch, an egg timer, an hour glass or any sort of time keeping device. Tell them to make sure you scour job search engines for at least an hour or that you can’t be on Facebook for more than fifteen minutes. They’ll love watching the clock and holding you accountable so don’t get upset when they do their job and make you follow through on the time limits you set. Your kids will revel in the chance to be the boss and hopefully pick up some good time management skills in the process.

Bringing the kids in on the team will lighten your load, bond the family and allow for life lessons along the way. Can you think of any other ways kids can pitch in and help on the job hunt? Comment with your ideas.


By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for Nexxt, she is co-founder of design and promotion company. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.