Ask what she needs.
Before jumping into solutions, find out whether she wants a listener, a sounding board or practice. The kind of help you offer matters as much as the advice itself.
Try: “What would be most useful from me right now?”
GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS
Be in her corner.
Keep her in the driver’s seat.
You can offer perspective, encouragement and a place to think out loud. You don’t have to run the job search to be useful.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUPPORT
From managing
to guiding.
Parents are often the first people a student calls after a rejection, before an interview or when she is weighing an offer. The goal is to make those conversations more helpful—not to become another person she has to report to.
Ask before advising. Make space for uncertainty. Encourage her to use career services, alumni networks and people with first-hand experience. Then leave the action with her.
START WHERE SHE IS
A question for each chapter.
A CONVERSATION FOR COLLEGE
“What are you curious enough to try?”
Help her explore roles through experiences, projects and conversations—not pressure to choose a perfect career.
ONE USEFUL NEXT STEP
Invite her to choose one person to talk with about work that interests her. Let her write the message.
MAKE SUPPORT MORE PRACTICAL
Three habits to keep
in your back pocket.
Small shifts can make a career conversation feel less like a performance review and more like a chance to think.
Get curious about the process.
Instead of counting applications, ask what she is learning about the roles, organizations and environments she is considering.
Try: “What has changed in how you’re thinking about this?”
Leave room for her next move.
You can help her weigh tradeoffs without making the choice. A useful next step is often better than pressure for a perfect long-term plan.
Try: “What’s one thing you could do to learn more?”
WHAT SUPPORT ISN’T
Care doesn’t have
to become control.
INSTEAD OF
Sending applications or contacting employers on her behalf.
Offer to review a draft if she wants feedback.INSTEAD OF
Comparing her timeline with a friend’s offer.
Ask what she has learned and what she wants to try next.INSTEAD OF
Turning every conversation into a job-search update.
Agree on when career conversations would be useful.USE THE RESOURCES ALREADY THERE
You don’t have to build
a support system from scratch.
College career centers can help with exploration, recruiting timelines and application preparation. Professors, supervisors, alumni and student organizations can offer perspectives and experiences that complement those services.
Launching Her is designed to complement that ecosystem, not replace it. Encourage her to use it early and to make those connections herself.
Read common questionsTHE NEXT CONVERSATION
A first job is a beginning, too.
Explore a focused coaching option for the first 90 days of a new role.
A STARTING POINT FOR PARENTS
Career readiness.
Start the conversation.
A parent reflection on six areas of the college-to-career transition is coming soon.
For now, explore our articles for ways to support her next step.
Parent scorecard · coming soonThe parent scorecard is coming soon. Email delivery and saved results are not available yet.