An open letter to Parents of New College Graduates
Dear Parents of New College Graduates,
Congratulations on your child’s graduation! I have a son who graduated four years ago so I know the pride you feel for them on this wonderful accomplishment!
Allow me to share some insights regarding the next phase of your child’s life as they transition from college and enter the “real world” job market.
Entering the job market is an exciting milestone in itself with the twists and turns of multiple job interviews, so let’s discuss why they (and you) should strongly consider hiring an experienced interview coach.
Your child will now compete in the job interview process against the top talent from every corner of the world. The economy has rebounded so there are plenty of jobs to be found. Add the elite STEM graduates from abroad and that just increases the job candidate pool. With all of this competition your child must be properly prepared so that they can position themselves apart from all of the other highly qualified job candidates. It would be wonderful if every student in every college in the country had in-depth interview coaching available during their college days but the reality is they do not. I am not demeaning the wonderful work performed by college career services across the country, I’m just saying there are far more students than career service team members. This is a fact. So where do you turn to help your child get fully prepared for the interview process?
Your child is now a young adult venturing off on his own into the world just like you raised them to do! Depending on your relationship, your child may or may not still seek counsel from you. Most college graduates really don’t want our opinions as they are stretching to leave the nest! Even if your child is entering the same or similar professional field that you work in, they may want (but really need) an outside pair of eyes to help them prepare for a job interview. Interview prep takes time and as a parent are we really prepared to tell them they are horrible at interview skills? They need the unvarnished truth. Also, consider when the last time you have had an in-depth interview for a job? We as parents may be rusty ourselves, so how can we assist our children in such an important task? Total objectivity is key here recognizing that a professional interview coach is the only person who can fully prepare your child to be a stand out candidate in any job interview situation.
An interview coach will take the time necessary to get to know your child in an objective manner. What are their likes, interests and hopes for the future job? The coach will familiarize them with interview questions and give them authentic feedback after each session on what their interview answers sound like and how they are being received. They will learn what most corporate core competencies are and how to relay their stories to each of these competencies. Mock interviews are vitally important to a new graduate assisting them as they build confidence in order to answer questions in a professional manner and not be taken off guard. Through these mock interviews your child will build the muscle memory necessary that is so important to stay focused and on track during the interview. They need to practice, practice, practice their responses to build their armor of confidence. After all, most new graduates haven’t had that many interviews for their shiny, new professional degrees so extra attention needs to be taken.
Most interview coaches have conducted scores of interviews so they are qualified to give productive feedback. This feedback is priceless and is one of the main reasons you should consider hiring an interview coach. The time investment will pay dividends helping set your new graduate up for an optimal interview experience as well as giving them tools they can use in their new positions.
Getting prepared for an interview is more complex than just looking up interview questions on Google. The reality is one can indeed find thousands of interview questions with a simple Google search. That’s great but I promise you this will not prepare your new graduate to successfully navigate the full scope of the interview process. If you search you can even find the answers to interview questions! Utilizing these standardized answers is a huge mistake as your new graduate has their own unique story to tell. How strange is it to think one could actually use someone else’s answers! Please do not fall into this trap! An interview coach will elevate your child’s preparation hopefully making them memorable to a hiring manager.
Having interviewed 100’s of new graduates it is very easy for me to see who is prepared and who is not. A hiring manager wants to hire someone who has taken the situation seriously and gone to the trouble of preparing fully for the interview. With their interview coach, your child will practice giving their answers multiple times allowing their brain to be more prepared to give an articulate, persuasive response to each question they are asked. It’s like an athlete who grinds on the practice field so they can confidently make the big play during the actual game.
Parents, enjoy the celebration as your child moves into the next phase of their adult lives. It is a bittersweet experience that we as parents must all navigate as we remember them as children graduating from kindergarten, then high school and now college! We all want the best for our children, so give them the best graduation gift possible setting them on the path for a successful job interview. Hire an experienced interview coach.
Your child will be very grateful!
Sincerely,
The Father of a Recent Grad