Millennials bring parents on job interviews!

[BrightEyes1082]

I came across this article, and I was floored. It was written in the fall of last year, so maybe
I am tardy to the party here. People actually bring their parents on job interviews? Have any
of you ever interviewed someone and they brought their parents? I fall into the very beginning
of the generation of millennials, but I never would have even thought to do something like this,
and my mother would have knocked me across the head if I concocted such a scheme.


Here is the article, if you are interested:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theempl...-kids-job-interviews-whats-an-employer-to-do/

 

[C.A.B.]

*facepalm

i wonder if they leave the wet-wipes and the juice boxes in the family van?

 

[Sodahead]

This is the first I've ever heard of it and I know of exactly zero people who have taken their parents to a job interview. It never even occurred to me to take my parents to a job interview, that would just be strange. That must be awkward as hell for the employer

 

[Myriads]

I had a mother ask me if we'd hire her son. He was 20.

Myriads

 

[Mitchell]

Absolutely not. When I went on the interviews for Aflac, my father was never with me. I went to all interviews and training sessions alone.

 

[BrightEyes1082]

This is more referring to kids in their 20s, not people in their 40s. I would hope a 40-something
would not involve their parents in their jobs, lol. I was curious to see if anyone here had interviewed
someone who brought their mother or father along.

 

[BrightEyes1082]

Myriads, I hope you didn't hire him! 😉

 

[Mitchell]

For the record.. it depends on what someone means by "Involving their parents in their jobs".

My father certainly didn't help me.. "Get the job". However.. I do think it okay.. if.. for example.. a person is introduced to a client by a family member., That has happened to both my dad in his business, and to me where we've had family members introduce us to clients. My maternal grandfather gave my dad the client.. that basically gave my dad all his business in the 1980s.

 

[BrightEyes1082]

When I was a travel agent, my mom gave me a couple of clients from her place of business. I don't think
that's a big deal. I wouldn't bring her to a meeting or an interview or anything, though. Awkward!

 

[Mitchell]

I don't remember how or in what way the introduction happened with my grandfather and my father with that client. I was.. 8 at the time, and didn't pay attention.

 

[chicago]

I work with a lot of people in their early 20s. Someones mom is always showing up or calling in. But let it be known that we are not all like that.

 

[milagros317]

We have just completed a hiring process for somebody to start full-time in September in an entry-level position. We started with many written applications, mostly people in their mid to late 20's, and eventually interviewed four of them.

I am happy to report that all four showed up alone, without their parents. If any had shown up with a parent, then I would have counted that as a huge negative factor.

 

[Flatfoot]

I haven't heard of this. However, in my HR class, a fellow student described a past experience in which a company that she had just been hired in to had to terminate her. Since she was so eager for the job, they didn't want to be the ones to fire her. They called her mother and had her mother give her the talk. I thought that was an unusual dynamic.

 

[GQguy]

I blame the parents far more than the kids. But then again......

"Daddy" has always been known to pull strings for their kids. The more powerful and wealthy, the more strings are pulled. There are even certain Presidents that would have never even gotten close to the White House without help from their parents. It's not that much different. It's ironic that the article is in Forbes where who you know is far greater than what you know.

 

[chicago]

My guess is the combination of hippie generation raising millennials as special snowflakes, rewarding them far too much and their focus on education versus basic knowledge of working in a professional setting. Add in the recession with many living with parents until late 20s or older and you have a recipe for whiny, inexperienced adult babies.

 

[Cosmo_ac]

I came across this article, and I was floored. It was written in the fall of last year, so maybe
I am tardy to the party here. People actually bring their parents on job interviews? Have any
of you ever interviewed someone and they brought their parents? I fall into the very beginning
of the generation of millennials, but I never would have even thought to do something like this,
and my mother would have knocked me across the head if I concocted such a scheme.

I also fall just under the beginning of the Millennial. I had heard something like this before, perhaps I read the article or another one while I was in school that was similar, but really I'm not surprised, though I have never seen or heard of something like this happening. While I think it strange, I don't entirely see it as a negative, and indeed, the article itself suggests that is can be a positive thing.

Really though, Parents have been helping their kids get jobs forever. Usually it is through favors, people they know, positions of authority in the business they work/run, or just being part of the company and getting their kid started there part time. This is nothing really new, more so a new twist on something old.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

I knew this young guy a while back who worked an entry level position and would wear a suit and tie to work every day because his parents insisted that doing so was a prerequisite to success in life.

I also once asked out a girl at my office who was in her mid 20s (as was I at the time) and she said she'd have to ask her parents.

But I never heard of parents accompanying somebody on a job interview. Though I imagine this is fairly common in the sweat shops in east Asia.

 

[duderino84]

No, I haven't heard of this.

But honestly from the way people discuss the job market with me and the way I see kids treating their jobs and their kind treating them or even how some people can't even get an interview because they don't have "it" to an employer, I wish they would involve the parents.

It's kind of a funny feeling when you talk to your parents and they go "and I was doing _____for __000 years and lived it and I can live like this!" And puts the success image in their kids heads, and the kids go out and bang their heads against the walls like the parents did, and they just bounce back....nothing works. I feel like my job is more like an asylum filled with disinformation and if anyone "gets it" the boss practically just nods their head and escorts them back to their chair. Employers just seem to live by "if you don't like it, quit".

So I'm interested in seeing what the downfall was. Having the parents coddle the kids is a bit of an extreme idea but in some cases I don't imagine that it's the wills of the prospective employee perpetually failing....

 

[chicago]

Yeah, when the realization comes that having a "dream job" is just that, a dream (shit, having a job you don't hate is a blessing), the brains to know that you have to be practical about what you decide to pay tens of thousands of dollars to study (got a liberal arts degree? hope you know how to make lattes) and that busting ass and being reliable are more important than college degrees in bullshit fields, you will be better off. My sister has a masters in psychology, she's been unemployed for 3 years. I have no college degree, but I love my job and there is lots of opportunity to move up. If I was out of a job for longer than a few months, it was either due to my not needing one that bad, or my not trying hard enough to find one.

 

[Sodahead]

Yeah, when the realization comes that having a "dream job" is just that, a dream (shit, having a job you don't hate is a blessing), the brains to know that you have to be practical about what you decide to pay tens of thousands of dollars to study (got a liberal arts degree? hope you know how to make lattes) and that busting ass and being reliable are more important than college degrees in bullshit fields, you will be better off. My sister has a masters in psychology, she's been unemployed for 3 years. I have no college degree, but I love my job and there is lots of opportunity to move up. If I was out of a job for longer than a few months, it was either due to my not needing one that bad, or my not trying hard enough to find one.

This is right on the mark, though I don't think many fields are bullshit, even if they don't get put to use because it never hurts to be more educated. But I understand what you're getting at.

I was an Urban Planning Major, which there's actually a lot that I could have done with that degree, but today I do freelance work in a different field altogether and I'm able to make a living and love the work I do. So yeah, busting your ass and tenacity are just as valuable if not more so than a college degree.

Further to your point, it breaks my heart when I hear of people like your sister, who probably busted her ass to get her degree, who can't find jobs in their field or even at all. I realize how lucky I am to be able to do work I enjoy and provide for myself and it's something I'd wish for everyone else.

 

[chicago]

This is right on the mark, though I don't think many fields are bullshit, even if they don't get put to use because it never hurts to be more educated. But I understand what you're getting at.

I was an Urban Planning Major, which there's actually a lot that I could have done with that degree, but today I do freelance work in a different field altogether and I'm able to make a living and love the work I do. So yeah, busting your ass and tenacity are just as valuable if not more so than a college degree.

Further to your point, it breaks my heart when I hear of people like your sister, who probably busted her ass to get her degree, who can't find jobs in their field or even at all. I realize how lucky I am to be able to do work I enjoy and provide for myself and it's something I'd wish for everyone else.

How does it not hurt to be educated if you spend the rest of your life trying to get out of debt? I don't feel bad for my sister because the difference between me and her is that she is in her mid 30s and very entitled. She quits a job if it is too hard or if she doesn't like her boss or something. It's called "work" and not "fun" and she believes she deserves something better which is why she's been unemployed for 3 years. Also, if you find yourself in a situation where you are unemployed for 3 years, maybe look for other jobs and take whatever you can get, unless living off friends and family doesn't bother you... I see your point, just think it's a little soft and the real world is pretty harsh in comparison.

 

[Sodahead]

How does it not hurt to be educated if you spend the rest of your life trying to get out of debt? I don't feel bad for my sister because the difference between me and her is that she is in her mid 30s and very entitled. She quits a job if it is too hard or if she doesn't like her boss or something. It's called "work" and not "fun" and she believes she deserves something better which is why she's been unemployed for 3 years. Also, if you find yourself in a situation where you are unemployed for 3 years, maybe look for other jobs and take whatever you can get, unless living off friends and family doesn't bother you... I see your point, just think it's a little soft and the real world is pretty harsh in comparison.

I stand corrected.

I didn't know she was in debt. So yeah, maybe it's done more harm than good for her and others in her situation. I guess I can speak only for myself when I say that it doesn't hurt.

I certainly don't think college is necessary to be successful, as you and many others have demonstrated. Plenty of folks do just fine without it

 

[chicago]

No worries, I didn't mention it. But yeah, I hear of a lot of similar situations, but I feel like if you're hard working and persistent, you will be successful or at the very least you won't find yourself in such dire circumstances for too long. I do believe education is a great thing, but I think at this time, you have to be really practical and think hard about what is going to allow you the best chance at making a living and paying back loans you may have to take out, etc.

I stand corrected.

I didn't know she was in debt. So yeah, maybe it's done more harm than good for her and others in her situation. I guess I can speak only for myself when I say that it doesn't hurt.

I certainly don't think college is necessary to be successful, as you and many others have demonstrated. Plenty of folks do just fine without it

 

[fireguardian]

If I was interviewing someone and they brought their parents it would probably make me less inclined to hire them. If they need their parents for the interview what makes me think they will be able to make it on their own if they are hired. I can understand getting a ride from them but in that case have them spend their time else where until you are done with the interview. Cell phones are a great way to let them know when they can come back and scoop you. But no that would not be an acceptable thing to see in an interview.

My folks would look at me crazy if I had ever suggested it and then probably given me a lecture on being responsible and taking care of yourself. The we won't be here to do things for you forever. And frankly I wouldn't want them to do so anyway.

Leave the rents at home and grow up. No one is going to be there to hold your hand everyday.

 

[texastickler]

I never had my parents take me to an interview or be present during one. That is amazing.