Meet the Parents


Jon Kolbe, 40

Chances are this is not the first you're hearing of Jonathan Kolbe.  He made himself somewhat famous in his all-out quest for a job after being laid off in December 2008. Jon is all over Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, has his own website, and was even offering a new camcorder to anyone who helped him land a job.

His efforts got the attention of the local and national media. He was interviewed on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, featured in The Miami Herald  and in an NPR piece, Will Tweet for Work. His story was picked up all over the country.

Recently, he was rehired at his old firm, Affiniti Architects, but not for his old job. So he remains "underemployed.''

Through it all, Jon has remained his cheery self, optimistic that things would work out. And being laid off gave Jon the valuable time to reconnect with his wife, Krisa, and their 3- and 7-year-old daughters.

"I spent more time with the kids during the nine months I was out of work than I did in the previous seven years! I got to know them again,''  he said.

Jon even built them a lemonade stand, which the neighborhood kids used to raise money to benefit the sea turtles at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. He blogged about it at Moms and Dads, The Sun-Sentinel's parent blog.

"I did laundry, swept, wiped noses and cleaned potty training 'oopsies.'  The lawn had never looked better.''

All this made him realize what he had been missing at home while working long hours for so many years.

"All in all, it was a great experience, but, you know, without a paycheck ... that got a little stressful.''