Do You Mind If I Sit in on My Son’s Job Interview?

09.13.2016
HR & Safety

Do mom and dad know best when it comes to their children’s employment search and job interview?
Not always, new research from staffing firm OfficeTeam suggests.
helicopter-parentsMore than one in three (35%) senior managers interviewed said they find it annoying when helicopter parents are involved in their kids’ search for work.
Another one-third (34%) of respondents prefer mom and dad stay out of the job hunt, but would let it slide.
Only 29% said this parental guidance is not a problem.
Senior managers were asked, “Which one of the following statements most closely describes how you feel when a candidate’s parent is involved in the job search process?” Their responses:

  • It’s annoying—job seekers should handle things on their own—35%
  • I wouldn’t recommend it, but I’ll let it slide—34%
  • It’s totally fine for job seekers to get help from their parents—29%
  • Don’t know/no answer—1%

(Responses do not total 100% due to rounding.)
Managers were also asked to recount the most unusual or surprising behavior they’ve heard of or seen from helicopter parents of job seekers. Here are some of their responses:

  • “The candidate opened his laptop and had his mother Skype in for the job interview.”
  • “A woman brought a cake to try to convince us to hire her daughter.”
  • “One parent asked if she could do the job interview for her child because he had somewhere else to be.”
  • “A father asked us to pay his son a higher salary.”
  • “One mom knocked on the office door during a job interview and asked if she could sit in.”
  • “Parents have arrived with their child’s resume and tried to convince us to hire him or her.”
  • “A job seeker was texting his parent the questions I was asking during the interview and waiting for a response.”
  • “Once a father called us pretending he was from the candidate’s previous company and offered praise for his son.”
  • “Parents have followed up to ask how their child’s interview went.”
  • “A father started filling out a job application on behalf of his kid.”
  • “I had one mother call and set up an interview for her son.”
  • “Moms and dads have called to ask why their child didn’t get hired.”

And one parent took a reverse psychology approach:
“When we called one candidate, his mom answered and asked us not to hire him.”

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