Rather than telling your co-worker, “Don’t worry, you’ll get a great job soon,” try a something simple and empathetic. “I’m sorry” or “Let me know how I can help” is much better. [2] X Research source Make a real offer to help. Can you help their revamp their resume? Maybe he’d/she’d like you to give him/her a mock interview? Or would they just like to get together for coffee? This can make more of a difference than words. [3] X Research source
Respect the space, as well. Try to read the body language from them – you may see that they are having a hard emotional time. In that case, don’t pain him/her with a long conversation or press him/her to go out to lunch or other things. It’s okay to try to help your coworker focus on the silver lining in the situation, as long as you don’t minimize any stress or sadness they’re feeling. For instance, you might say something like, “I’m so sorry that this happened to you, but I’m really glad that working there together gave us a chance to meet and become friends!”
Rather than saying, “You know, there’s lots of jobs in health care – maybe you can get one there,” keep it concrete and helpful. Try something like, “Let me know if I can do anything. I’d be happy to look over your resume or read your cover letters. ” If your coworker asks you for advice about what they should do next, ask questions like, “What do you really care about?” and “Ideally, what do you want to spend the next few years working on?”
Ask your co-worker questions like, “How are you doing? Are you alright?” Avoid sentences that start with I or my. For example, “Once when I got fired…” or “Once I used to work at Company Y…”
