Dos and Don’ts for Parents of College Students Seeking a Job or Internship

A recent survey by the staffing firm, Office Team, demonstrated the increasingly intrusive role that some parents are playing in the job search of their adult or college age children. When executives were asked to share the most unusual or surprising behavior they had heard of or witnessed from the parent of a job seeker, here were some of their responses:

• A parent called a politician to push me to hire his son.
• Someone stopped an employer at a grocery store to ask that person to hire her child.
• A parent called to ask about a job applicant's work schedule and salary.
• A parent called during the interview to try to push me to hire her daughter.
• I received a call from a father asking about the status of his son's application.
• A mother called to ask how her child did in the job interview.
• A parent called to find out why we did not hire her son and why we felt he was not qualified.

Of course in a competitive economy, every parent wants to do what they can to help their children find meaningful employment. However, some parents, in their anxiety to help, will take it too far. Here are some Dos and Don'ts to help parents establish job search boundaries for college students or college graduates and parents.

• Do encourage your jobseeker to explore all their options and reach out to people they know
• Do help them to clarify workplace expectations
• Do help to critique resumes, cover letters or job applications if possible
• Do let responsible colleagues know your soon-to-be college graduate will be job hunting
• Don't call companies and identify yourself as someone's mom or dad (unless in a dire health emergency, can't think of when that might be appropriate)
• Don't try and tell the manager why your child is right for the job
• Don't try and get into the interview room with them and don't wait in the lobby during interviews
• Don't call employers or college career center staff to check up on how your child is doing in interviews

Having said that, I totally believe it is appropriate for parents to involve themselves in the job search of high school teens especially where the teen's health, safety and welfare may be involved.

Office Team Survey about Parents and the Job Search