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    Categories: Business

Mom and Dad on the Job

There is a growing and distrurbing trend among younger people to bring their parents on interviews.  They are called "helicopter" parents, because the hover around their offspring, often shooting down any chances the new grad might have had of getting the job.

Employers universally see this as a problem, and I have yet to find anyone in the career guidance field say anything positive about the practice.  There are just certain things parents can’t do.

But that doesn’t mean that parents can’t help in certain ways.  For example, paperwork is more than inportant in the real world, it is vital.  Most companies must gather proof of identification and tax information before hiring, so parents can help their grad organize paperwork and collect identification papers.

And certainly parents can prove to be a base of support and encouragement.  providing advice is another area in which parents can excel–maybe Jr.’s first job out of school should be something other than MLM.  Money is always welcome.

But for all those parents out there wanting to see their child succeed, keep the Golden Rule of interviews in mind; Parents should be neither seen nor heard.

Thomas Spriggs: An award-winning graduating student of Arizona State University in Journalism. I am originally from southern Ohio, but have put down new roots in the southwest.
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