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Juvenile Times

It is common for people in their middle-age or older to bemoan the falling standards of things and recall how things were better in their youth. We have all seen our grandparents and parents go through this phase and then it becomes our turn to repeat the pattern - I am guilty myself. But reading about Gen Z bringing their parents to their job interviews feels like something that would have been incomprehensible in my day and it legitimately sounds like things have taken a turn for the worse. 

In my day, no employer would take such a person seriously, there was no way such interview would translate into a job offer. What is interesting about the story is how HR is responding to this next level compulsive hovering of parents. They want to be accommodative and find way to explain and excuse the behavior and give this person a fair-shake. Sounds to me like a great disservice is being done to members of Gen Z who are perfectly capable of writing their own resume, conducting their own job-search and do not require a parent to accompany them to a job interview. It seems like attaining adulthood in the real sense should be respected and celebrated not treated as optional, nice to have. The way all this is explained away is fascinating: 

“We have a generation getting into the workforce now that likes connection,” she said. “They want people to get excited about their decisions so their process is about bringing people along with them. That’s their comfort level and as long as that’s still there, we’re going to see that kind of supported decision making in the years ahead.”

Why can't the person keep the parent in the loop, seek their opinion and counsel offline? That would keep everyone in the informed and cognizant of the decision-making process. Maybe this craziness needs to be taken a step further to its logical conclusion. Instead of being a passive participant, the parent should co-interview with the kid and get co-hired so the employer gets additional value and the kid can feel fully supported at all times in the workplace and the parent will never need to miss a beat.

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