National Study: Parents Need to Worry As Much About Getting Their Children Out of College As Getting In

As soon-to-be college grads and their parents are discovering the hard way, many have focused too much on getting into the right college and not enough on transitioning into the professional workplace, according to a new study authorized by More Than A Resume. 

A full 71% of parents were involved or highly involved in their child’s college admission process, with one-third paying for outside resources, including exam prep courses, tutoring, essay coaches and application consultants, according to interviews and a national survey of 250 parents of college students and recent graduates. In contrast, just 40% of parents are helping their children land that crucial first professional job after graduation and only a tiny 1% pay for expert support, such as resume preparation or job coaching. 

But parents are overly optimistic about how fast their children will secure professional employment. Seven out of 10 believe their child will land his or her first professional job with within five months of graduation while 23% say their child will have a job by graduation. But 40% of parents with recent graduates say it took their child six months or more to find a job while 22% report it took more than one year.  

“Parents freely admit they are in over their heads when it comes to helping their college grads launch their careers. And they are finding job-placement services at colleges woefully inadequate,” says Horowitz.  “Parents now realize that a top school education doesn’t guarantee a job. In investment language, parents have overlooked the exit strategy.”

A vast majority, or 95%, of parents agree that looking for a first job is very different today than when they joined the professional workforce:

• 73%, say they do not have the right knowledge and contacts to help their child
• 68% percent don’t know how help
• 58% say they do not have a trusted network for support and help in this process   

College career centers aren’t stepping up either. More than half, or 54%, of parents, somewhat or strongly disagree with the statement:  “My child’s college has excellent career service resources.” At 64%, the disappointment is even higher among parents involved with their child’s job search. In fact, parents in interviews related such experiences as:

• "My kid realized he has to go it alone. They don't know what to do with a history major." 
• "The career services center told him (a college senior) it was too early.”
•  "They told him since 80% of our students go on to graduate school, it's not our focus." 

“Just as with the college entrance process, parents and college students are seeing the need to adopt a more businesslike approach to moving through and out of college,” says Horowitz, who provides personalized coaching to help college graduates launch their professional careers. “There are steps every college student can take during school and afterwards to dramatically improve their chances of finding a professional job suited to their talents, interests and education.”

Read the full report