(This post comes to you a day late and a few nights of sleep short. Turns out that even though Puerto Rico is technically America, you can still get food poisoning there. Oof).
I can’t remember where I was when I first heard that the parents of recent college grads are accompanying them on job interviews, but I remember my reaction: what idiot news outlet picked up an Onion News article again?
Then I read this on NPR: “Michigan State University surveyed more than 700 employers seeking to hire recent college graduates. Nearly one-third said parents had submitted resumes on their child’s behalf, some without even informing the child. One-quarter reported hearing from parents urging the employer to hire their son or daughter for a position. Four percent of respondents reported that a parent actually showed up for the candidate’s job interview.”
Wait. WHAAAAAT is going on here?!?!
I don’t even have time to do one of those cutesy/clever SNL-style REALLY?! posts. This literally needs to stop faster than I can write that piece.
I can’t decide who I’m more concerned about, the parents engaging in this ridiculous and inappropriate behavior or the kids who are letting it happen.
Let’s focus on the parents first:
Love for your child is a powerful thing, but a love that compels you to sabotage that child’s chances of getting a job because you can’t see the working world forest through the parenting trees is not okay. Guys, you’ve had jobs, perhaps you’ve even interviewed young people for jobs. How would you have felt if their MOTHER submitted their resume?? What about if their DAD called to negotiate their salary?? What would you think??? The correct answer is that the parent is insane and the child is incapable.
Do. Not. Do. This. Please. I beg of you. This generation does not need anything hurting their chances in an already horrific job market. You. Are. Not. Helping. If you disagree I suggest you share your plan or current practice with three adult people who do not have children of job-seeking age, and see how they react. It wouldn’t hurt if one of them happened to be a therapist.
Now kids, onto you:
Do. Not. Let. This. Happen. Yell, scream, threaten to stop Skyping, whatever it takes to make it clear to your Monster.com parents (get it?) that they have no place in your actual employment process. They can provide counsel. They can provide connections. They can provide funding for outfits. They can even provide interview coaching or resume review, but it ends there.
I can often see both sides of a story, even if there is a fairly obvious side to take. On this, however, I am unwavering – unwavering and annoyed.
Can we get a time magazine cover on THIS parenting issue please??
Your thoughts are welcome below, on either side of the issue, I guess.
2 comments
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Okay, it might sound weird, but I can see where some of these parents are coming from. I don’t have kids, and I’m not even 30, so I definitely don’t relate to that aspect of it. The thing is, my brother is 24 and lives with my parents while working at a grocery store part time. He has his bachelor’s, but he’s basically let the crap job market dissuade him from trying to find something that would allow him to support himself. My parents pay for his food, car, clothes, cell, EVERYTHING, and they’re at the end of their ropes. I think if she thought it would even give him a 2% chance of landing a job, my mother would apply to a job, disguise herself as him, and do the interview FOR him. They don’t want to kick him out, but he’s a major “failure to launch” case, and they really don’t know what to do.
Anyway, my point was that maybe the other side isn’t so hard to understand in some cases…
This is a whole other problem in itself. Maybe they should stop paying for everything and he’ll be a little more motivated to look for work. If your mom wanted him out that badly, she would make it happen. (PS. I obviously don’t have kids, but I hope this would still be my reaction if they were in this situation.)