Q: I've been seeking full-time employment for a year now, but not putting my heart into it because I'm fine with working part-time. I ultimately need a full-time job, but it's not crucial and I'm not money-motivated. This bothers my friends much more than it bothers me. I don't ask to borrow money, but living on a lower salary limits my social life, and maybe that's why they keep pushing me.

Pushing encompasses sending me job ads, asking me for updates of the companies I've applied to and the status of interviews, but never asking how I'm doing. I feel good and it's been a nice break from the job stress I had. I want to pursue certain types of jobs, and they are realistic to my qualifications. My friends mean well, but I don't know how to tell them I am not interested in their help.

A: Oh, but you should be interested and appreciative for everyone who's willing to take the time to give you leads. Every place you go, every one you meet, and every lead you receive could be a lead to your dream job. It might be good to take a break from the stress you experienced, but not all full-time jobs cause stress. If you can't afford to live on part-time work forever, it doesn't serve you well to turn away the chance at finding your full-time dream job.

Reflect on your situation: If you're not open to friends helping, you are intentionally holding yourself back. You may seek to keep everything the same, but status quo doesn't work to your advantage. Change is the natural state of all life and certainly the state of a successful workplace. Those who are want things to stay the same will be left behind.

Gladly accept all leads from friends, acquaintances and strangers. You don't, however, owe people a full activity report, and there are many ways to politely sidestep these requests. Thank the person for thinking about you, offer a category or description of what you want, and say you'll let them know if anything good develops in your search.

If a friend ignores your information and sends you inappropriate job leads, use your delete key. When asked about those leads, admit you deleted them because they are outside your interest range. A true friend will listen and email you proper job leads, if any. If irrelevant job leads continue, you now have greater insight on this friend. He or she may disagree with your approach to the job search. Engaging a friend in your job search can bring forth personality traits — good and bad — you never saw before in that person. If this happens, you will then have the information you need to re-categorize this so-called friend.

Generally, use caution when sharing information on job hunting. People have different thoughts on how to conduct a job search, and everyone thinks their way is the right way. If you experienced extreme stress in your last job, you have the right to not share that complaint with others, but instead use that information in your new search.

All stress is not equal or as easy to change. Research a company's culture; if you fundamentally disagree with management's treatment of employees, don't apply there. If you love the work but not the boss, you can discover ways to work with personality differences. It's rare to like every co-worker, but it is important to get along with the ones you see daily. Meet the staff before accepting a position. Working in a job that's over your skill level will not only raise your stress, but also damage your self-esteem as your boss points out every mistake you make. If you can't learn quickly enough, start a job search before you're fired.

Email all questions to [email protected]. For more about her, visit www.lindseyparkernovak.com or follow her on Twitter @TheLindseyNovak and Facebook at Lindsey.Novak.12. For past columns, visit Creators Syndicate Website at www.creators.com.