Parents are joining Generation Zers at every part of the job interview process, a February report from Zety suggests. About 1 in 5 Gen Z respondents told Zety that a parent has reached out to a potential employer or recruiter on their behalf, and 44% said their parents helped them craft a resume or curriculum vitae.
Further, a handful of Gen Zers even had their parents join interviews, with 5% having parents sit in virtually and 15% arriving at in-person interviews.
Some parents even negotiated compensation and benefits on their Gen Z kids’ behalf.
What this means for HR
Potentially, even more Gen Zers are bringing parents to job interviews, with 77% of respondents saying so in a report from Resume Templates last year.
But what do these Gen Z quirks mean for HR leaders, who are intent on creating an inclusive, multi-generational workplace?
Parental collaboration may be important to these early-in-career professionals because they’re more comforting during the daunting job-search process.
“But it also raises questions about how and when young professionals begin developing independent career skills,” Zety researchers said, sharing the responses of 1,001 Gen Z workers gathered this past January.
In particular, a “critical confidence gap” exists for Gen Zers when it comes to negotiation. Overall, Zety researchers said, these findings indicate “a broader need for education around compensation, benefits, and self-advocacy before Gen Z enters the workforce.”
The February report mirrors previous findings from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and The Harris Poll, where only 41% of young people said they were “highly confident” navigating the job market.
The percentage was even smaller for those without career mentors.
“Today’s young people are facing a job market unlike any other generation,” Big Brothers Big Sisters of America CEO and President Artis Stevens said in a statement sharing the organization’s findings. “These findings confirm what we already know: mentorship isn’t optional — it’s essential.”
Gen Zers don’t need to be coddled
Zety’s researchers remind readers that the practice of parents joining the workforce is still largely uncommon; 80% of respondents said their parents had no involvement during interviews. Likewise, over half of Gen Z respondents also said they would feel “embarrassed or upset” if their parents reached out to their employer without their knowledge.
Additionally, reports also show that Gen Zers are self-starters and trailblazers in other aspects of their careers, such as work-life balance.
Until a Gen Z candidate actually gets through the door, all an employer can do is try to maintain proper boundaries between parent and child in the recruiting process.
Ultimately, employers should set clearer expectations about professionalism, researchers said — reinforcing the importance of direct communication with job candidates.