Will accent, obesity sink this job search?

she looks (and good for her, I guess).

I realize an employer cannot legally discriminate over weight or accent, but I would value your expert opinion as to whether I have a valid point.

A: As a state-school graduate who retains a hint of a drawl, I confess I had to swallow my first five or six reactions to your letter. But you do raise valid concerns for job seekers.

Although even the educated and industrious among us can make mistakes, consistent bad grammar suggests a lack of attention to detail that doesn’t bode well for someone seeking a research position. And there’s no federal law against narrow-mindedly rejecting an applicant for weight or accent, unless those traits can be clearly connected to a prejudice against gender, race or other protected class.

So, yes, those are fair points. But if you’re hoping to use them to helpfully needle your husband’s daughter onto a career path and out of your house, I doubt she’ll take them as anything but concern trolling, however many expert opinions you giftwrap them in.

Her dad might have a shot at encouraging her to seek “good for now” jobs or look into a job-hunting seminar.

Meanwhile, I suggest you try looking at her another way: as a self-confident graduate, motherless too young, who is starting her adult life as a dependent in a home where she likely feels judged and unwanted. Even if she lacks polish, and even if her aspirations exceed her abilities, her confidence and work ethic, bolstered by someone who believes in her, can still carry her far.

Ask Karla Miller about your work dramas and traumas by emailing wpmagazine@washpost.com.