Should You Talk About Your Job Search?

Okay, so you’ve decided to leave your job. Maybe you’ve just been made redundant. Perhaps you have just resigned in a blaze of glory. Whether the move is sudden or planned, the moment that you make up your mind is the moment that a thousand and one thoughts explode into your mind. But when do you talk about your job search plans with others?

These thoughts are hard not to share with your loved ones. I would like to question just how many of them we should be sharing and at what stage we should share them.

To my mind, you won’t be the only one worrying when you lose your job or start to think about pastures new. The moment your partner understands that change is coming, they too will have all sorts of “what if” thoughts. That is perfectly understandable, but the only problem is that they are not in control of the outcome. I’m not so sure that sharing every random thought that pops into your head will be constructive. You will be able to cope with the volume of ideas because you will be mapping your way forward. For them, it might sometimes be a little overwhelming.

I know that many people share everything as a matter of course and that this is what loved ones are there for, but a job search is a unique situation to my mind. Your partners can give you advice about specific things. However, just brain-dumping all of your thoughts on them without a two-way conversation might serve to overwhelm them. When your sounding board can’t see the wood for the trees, they are not much of a sounding board.

Job search shifts

I have had two significant career changes in my life, firstly from retail to recruitment and then from recruitment to writing about recruitment. In both cases, I carefully worked out the pros and cons in my head for myself before mentioning the subject to my wife. When such emotive topics are discussed, it is always a good idea to have a rough idea of what you think before entering the conversation. Again, people will have different ideas about this, but that is my view. I would rather guide the conversation, asking my wife to fill in the gaps, than allow her to walk through the options with me.

No matter how close you are to your loved ones, it is your career. You need to seriously consider where you want to be. Sharing your worries will undoubtedly help lighten the load. Sharing too many unresolved issues could make the load a little bit heavier.

I suppose I have an introverted streak, which may be clouding my judgement. When you talk about your job search, you need your partners to give you their energy when you need it. If they have spent it worrying about stuff that they shouldn’t be worried about, how much will they have left for you?

It’s a delicate subject, but worth a thought as to how you approach it.

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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists. 

Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).