DearJoyce: My 28-year-old, college educated, unemployed son is moping around the house rather than trying to get a job. I guess his self-esteem took a hit. He says he's going to wait until the economy recharges before looking for work.

My son has changed jobs three times in the last five years, leaving the first two for more money and better training. The last one was different -- he was surprised when he didn't make the downsizing cut in April and was let go.

I've urged him to cheer up, show resilience and jump into the job market right now. Right? -- H.O.'s Dad

Dear H.O.'s Dad: An upbeat attitude is essential because potential employers can smell depression. Basement self-esteem translates as "loser." Before reaching for a therapist, try cheerful friends, happy movies and a new Web site.

Keep Smiling A humorous new Web site called www.PlanetPinkSlip.com out of Austin, Texas, is a perfect place to begin a job search. Calling itself a haven for the "laid-off, fired, downsized, right-sized or otherwise unemployed," the cast-out employee can't help but chuckle -- and feel better.

Founded by clever laid-off advertising writer Carlotta Stankiewicz, PlanetPinkSlip's content includes a humor corner, "Layoff Laffs," with slightly naughty Letterman-like lists. There's an e-commerce shop where you can buy T-shirts and coffee mugs ablaze with such announcements as "My severance package is bigger than your severance package."

Among free enticements, you can send a PlanetPinkSlip e-sympathy card to a friend or co-worker who was let go with such messages as "Sorry to hear you were laid off, but look at the bright side: You're no longer overworked and underpaid." Thanks a million smiles to Stankiewicz for her support of the American out-of-work workforce.

Good Advice Back to H.O.'s Dad: Your counsel couldn't be better. The net-net: Your son may be a Generation X-er who feels snake bitten in a job world where, until now, everything went his way. Most who entered the American workplace after the mid-1990s didn't find it necessary to master the ABCs of finding a terrific job; they merely sorted through competing offers. Times change.

Job Drain By one unofficial count, U.S. companies cut more than 650,000 jobs over the first five months of this year -- nearly 40,000 more than in all of 2000. Even when favorable long-term demographics (more jobs than workers) kick in, workforces are likely to remain thin; investors say the fewer mouths to feed, the more for them.

Unemployment, which had been envisioned by economists as maybe hitting 4.5 percent by summer, is at 4.4 percent and rising.

Perspective Still, the jobless rate is nowhere near the sinkholes of 10 and 20 years ago when it was twice that and even into the double digits. In those days, desperate college graduates were plastering their résumés on sandwich boards and parading on downtown streets.

Turnaround Timing When will the economy brighten? As layoffs became a business mantra late last year, commentators thought the economy might perk up by fall; it's not happening. Despite a few glimmers of an economic rebound, almost no one is predicting an upswing before early next year. Even if that timing turns out to be accurate, the job market traditionally lags an upturn by as much as six months. Does anyone really want to sit out the next year hoping for an easier trip through the employment maze?

Search Timing Seekers ask: "How long should a search take?" One researcher says today's timeframe is two-and-a-quarter months; another disagrees, pacing it at three to four months, depending on industry, position and age. Field reports note that slower searches drag on for more than six months. There's no one size for all seekers.

Search Lights Tips to H.O. and other Gen X-ers: If this is your first encounter with termination, make it an awareness-moment to focus on finding work that doesn't feel like work.

Shake a leg! No endless summer. No living off severance while you leisurely get your head together. Especially, no lying back and licking wounds. Network during prime business hours with lots of telephone contacts; study published job ads at night.

And remember to visit www.PlanetPinkSlip.com and other fun places for a good belly laugh to start your day.

Send career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007, or e-mail her at jlk@sunfeatures.com. Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.

©2001 Tribune Media Services, Inc.