The mother properly should have left the job hunt thing alone. In the end it led to the Father organizing something, but it was a fragile thing for MC to go out on his own. Messing with it might have hindered it. You saw, that a whole torrent of questions followed. That could also have stressed and freaked him out. Just let him have a look and let him struggle on his own. If he manages to find something, it's good for his ego, and if it would have taken some time and he would have talked about it on his own, his father could also have stepped in then.