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Employment Success Starts at Home: Preparing Your
College Student For a JOB
by Dr.Debi Yohn
More Lifestyle Articles

Published on this site: June 20th, 2009 - See
more articles from this month

When we parent well, everyone will reap grand rewards. The
fruits of parenting college students will be harvested in the
seasons that follow the college years, when the formal education
is complete. While there is an ease of parental controls with
college students, there continues to be a need for guidance that
is as meaningful and as valuable as it has ever been.
Parents can help make their maturing young adult children more
employable by teaching them core values, such as responsibility,
accountability, independence, and respect for others. These
values will make them a more attractive hire for prospective
employers in their future. Their parents are their role models
and teachers.
It is a good idea to encourage your children to practice their
social skills with adult family members and friends. At home,
where they feel safe, is a great time to practice adult social
skills. Learning to communicate well with adults and hold a
conversation will pay off later. I encourage parents to expose
their children to adults and expect them to behave
appropriately. These interpersonal relationships can be building
blocks. It also builds self confidence. Later this confidence
will reflect in reduced anxiety during job interviews and new
situations with people they do not know.
Confidence reflects in future relationships. Internships,
community activities and volunteer situations are additional
ways of enhancing relationship experiences. Your maturing child
may also discover some great people outside their normal circle.
Parenting College Students:
- Making Them Independent
Some students need their parents' encouragement to be more
independent during the high school years. Parents can teach
their children independence by expecting their youngsters to be
responsible for themselves. This process begins in the early
teenage years. It results in the transformation of children from
being completely reliant in preschool to relatively independent
young men and women by the time they are off to college. This is
a good thing. When you do your job right, your children will
leave home.
Parenting college students becomes an easier task if the
students have been given responsibilities. Daily living skills
and financial responsibility are key. Prospective college
students should be taught to do their own wash, to prepare
simple meals, to clean their own room space and to budget money
while living at home. They can learn from their mistakes while
they have a safety net around them. When they are on their own,
they are secure in knowing they have daily living skills.
Having a daily routine is extremely important with college
students. When they have a routine, getting up and going to work
every day is not so shocking. Going to classes every day is one
kind of routine but getting up and going to a job every day is a
different experience.
- Communication is a Key to
Employment Success
Good communication skills are essential. The goal of a graduate
is to be employable and to find a job they enjoy. After
practicing proper communication with adults at home, speaking
with advisers and professors in school, interviewing will not be
so daunting. A graduate will need to shine above all the other
applicants when it is time to apply for jobs. A confident
graduate will be able to sell themselves. An employer is looking
for skills but they are also looking for the right personality.
A child learns all kinds of skills in the family. They learn
the core value of respect for others. They learn kindness. These
skills will be reflected in the employment interviews and later
in the day-to-day interactions with their supervisors and their
peers.
When communicating with adults, good body language is
essential. Some practical suggestions are: maintaining good eye
contact during a conversation; having a firm hand shake is
important for both boys and girls again keeping good eye
contact; having slow clear speech in an audible tone shows
confidence.
A child learns these skills at home and by observing others.
Expose your child to situations where they can both practice
these skills and observe these skills. In a non critical way,
you might speak to your student in private and have them
practice certain situations that will benefit them later. Make
it fun and light. Also remember to comment when you see them
practicing what they have learned.
The life skills you teach are invaluable. These skills will
help your student to build their resume. Expose your children to
different situations and different kinds of people. Help them
grow as a person.
These are some simple steps to help your young adult child
become more employable. Parenting skills with the goal of
increasing their social skills is a tried and true winning
strategy for future job success!

Dr. Debi Yohn is
an International Speaker with an elite private practice and a
revolutionary parent mentor program. She has authored 4 books
helping parents and their college students find success and joy
in the college experience.
For more information visit www.collegeworks101.com/. You can receive a free eBook "Parenting College Students: 27 Winning Strategies for Success".


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