West Michigan's Morning News
Gen Z Parents at Kids' Job Interviews
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There are differences in expectations sometimes. But the numbers that I'm looking at here blow me away. 26% of Gen Z respondents brought their parent to a job interview. Now Maya, here's why I have where I have the biggest problem with this. It's with the parents because they're going at some point. Don't you say, listen, Johnny, you got to do this part all by you. Yourself, or is it just me? Oh, no, it's not just you. It's an unbelievable number. And seeing the lack of independence that this generation is showing is, I think, surprising to everybody. You know, when a parent interferes in a professional work environment or a schooling situation in upper education, it really makes the employee or student look less than they would if they just did it on their own. I was just about to say that cannot be a positive for any hiring manager. And is there any part of this that's good for the kid? I mean, if you're not able to handle a job interview on your own, I can't imagine you're going to be doing real well with those big world problem stuff. That's a big kid. I agree completely. I don't think there's anything good in it. When we don't allow our children to fail forward and learn those lessons on their own, frankly, they become difficult in the workplace. They expect and sometimes demand special treatment because they're used to getting that at home. I will admit to running questions with a kid to help them in a job interview, calling them just before and wanting to hear all about it afterwards. But my gosh, to actually physically get in the vehicle and all this time have the ability to stop and say, well, what am I doing? And then drive and maybe encounter a couple of stoplights and still think I'm doing the right thing and then getting what weight in the lobby, or do you come all the way in to the interview and then answer for the, this is just what's going on. I've become my father, my, I've officially become my father. We had a situation where we had an interview, we come with their parent who sat in the other room and was text messaging them, answers to questions or things to say and it was disruptive, it was distracting. And needless to say, that candidate did not receive the job offer. So I guess maybe we need to take a step back and discuss best practices for any parent that might be listening that thinks it's a good idea, right? It's a different world and I've been through it and I want to give them all the knowledge that I have and all the experiences that I had. And my parents weren't nice to me. This isn't being nice to your child, right? This is being overbearing and setting up some rotten expectations once they get or don't get a job. 100% if you coddle your child constantly than when the child or adult gets into a work environment, they expect leadership to coddle them as well, often becoming the squeaky wheel of the, of the workplace. And oftentimes their coworkers are not a fan because of all the extra attention and lack of work they actually do. Don't like that. What is a good thing for parents to actually do for their Gen Z kids job hunting? What's actually helpful from a parental perspective? I believe that having mock interviews with your child and asking the questions that you know as an adult are going to be thrown at them, do a little grown play and hype them up, do a good job of being secure and encouraging of the parent, but allow them to shine through and let their personalities be seen by the employer, just a little back and forth as a parent with your child and then let them fail forward. By the way, in this same survey, it shows that if there was a virtual interview, that 71% of the parents were just off camera. Like you said, Maya, maybe holding up little signs to help answer questions. And so it's even worse if it's on Zoom or Teams. Unfortunately, we're out of time. But if you're one of those parents at a stoplight right now and you have your child in the car and you're going to a job interview, get an Uber for your kid and get out there. Done it now. We've talked to Maya before. She is the CEO and founder of Hawaii Fluid Art, which is the fastest growing art franchise company in the country. Thank you for your time today. Thank you guys. Have a great day.