@Adam: While your wife seeks the job she wants, she might do a job she doesn't want e.g. waiting tables. Yes, it's gut -wrenching having to go back to these student-jobs, but it's better than nothing. Besides, interviewers, for the top jobs, respect those who will get their hands dirty, when things turn against them.
@Joonas: When I attended graduate interviews I learned rapidly that when asked--What have you been doing with yourself while applying for jobs--answer's like--nothing much--watching TV
didn't go down well. You don't ask these things? Aren't you looking for initiative; resourcefulness; guts in the face of adversity? A PhD in maths tells you that the candidate is good at maths, anything else?
@tony Most people in research apply for jobs when they still have one. Some are looking for a new opportunity, but the vast majority simply know that their current fixed term contract is coming to an end. It is very rare to employ anyone out of unemployment into a research position.
If there is a career gap of some kind in the CV, that is often asked about. But if someone says they took a couple of months off between jobs to relax, I wouldn't consider that a negative sign at all.
What I want to see in my group in the face of adversity is realism. An amount of guts is appreciated, but it's much more important to know your limits and to take time off when needed and to seek help as appropriate.
To give up too early and too easily is an issue, but to keep on pushing for the wrong reasons is a bigger one. And a very harmful one in my experience.
@cmw I'd be curious to know if there's a study about how shareholders feel about hype-oriented communication instead of strategy-oriented. I can't bring myself to imagine that everyone involved is happy with the way things are set up either.
@tony Because of injuries and surgeries from an old job as a mental health technician, she can really only do office jobs. She has applied for entry-level or more "basic" jobs, but hiring managers pass because she's over qualified.
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