Should You Help Your Kids With Their Job Search

Should You Help Your Kids With Their Job SearchShould You Help Your Kids With Their Job Search1Recently, CNN Living posted a story about How helicopter parents can ruin kids job prospectsand it hit very close to home. Working in client services at , I certainly speak to a fair amount of parents who are inquiring about the service for their children. During my term as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Colorado State University, I heard from my students parents from time to time but I never would have expected to see this behavior sneak into the actual job prospects for new graduates. Here are three highlights from this recent piece that highlight the importance of independence for the new job seeking generation.Hiring managers should not speak to anyone but the applicant on a job search.We, as parents, tend to think that our children are the most special people in the whole world. Our amazing rose-colored glasses can even illicit totally irrational behavior when it comes to protecting our children. Job seeking can seem like a special kind of torment interviewing and prepping for new jobs can be stressful and intimidating but the important thing about this process is to learn. Each bad job interview teaches a job seeker how to present themselves professionally and independently and how to be a good job seeker. Pushing a child to apply for positions that they are not qualified for or wanting to do can only platzset your child up for more failure with that position.The job market has changed so has the job search.The methods used in a job search and the requirements for applying are different. The expectations and requirements from 20 years ago are almost irrelevant for job seekers today. Gone are the days where college degrees and a firm handshake are enough to find a 30 year career with a top company. The competition is different, and the expectations of both employer and employee have changed. Employers can tell the difference between the expectations of a ne w graduate versus their protective parents. Every child cannot be an Einstein and every child will not enter the job market for the first time in the ideal job with the perfect salary. Again, this is where learning new skills and career paths are built. Allowing our children to choose and change jobs will strengthen their ability to work within the new job markets.Resilience, autonomy, and self-sufficiency are important to employers.Many of job seekers we speak with at are looking to work from home. Having telecommuted for the past two years, I can attest to the importance of self-sufficiency and autonomy in my daily jobs. New job seekers need to know that they can handle stressful situations and conflict themselves, without having to default to someone else solving their problems. They need to know how to negotiate a salary they are comfortable with and to say no when their boss is demanding too much from them. By stepping in, as parents, we are often implying that our children ar e not capable of handling the hard situations life will give us, and it lessens their ability to know when to stand-up for themselves.I can certainly empathize with parents who see the statistics about the economy and unemployment and shudder to think of their children struggling or suffering through hard times. The level to which parents can be involved in their childs career needs to be one of detached betreuung and love, not calling the recruiters and negotiating salaries or writing resumes for them. The beauty of a new generation of job seekers is seeing how they tackle and approach challenges and bring innovation into companies. Let them shine for who they are and bring to the job market their essence and skills, and if you really want to help them, you can always get them a gift certificate to .Readers what do you think about parents calling recruiters on behalf of their children? Is it helpful?