In the words of Bill Gates, everyone needs a coach. However, it’s hard to convince graduates of this, especially when they’ve graduated from a good university with a good degree grade. As parents, you may have already benefited from career coaching or mentoring during your career which has given you a leg up or put you on a path of success and can see how a graduate career coach is the answer to help your struggling son or daughter to finally land a good graduate job that is a good fit for their skills, with a competitive salary and progression opportunities.
This post shares tips on how to convince your son or daughter to agree to graduate career coaching.
Why graduates need convincing to get a graduate career coach.
Despite the sobering statistic that 78% of graduates never land a graduate-level job (a job that requires a degree), graduates, often fail to believe that they will end up in underemployment.
This is especially the case when they have a stellar academic record. However, the truth is that a degree alone is not enough to secure a graduate job. This emphasis on academics over demonstratable employability skills is engrained in graduates as grades were used as a primary success metric to track their progress and performance relative to their peers throughout their schooling. However, when it comes to graduate recruitment grades are not a good differentiator between candidates.
After all, think of the tens of thousands of graduates with at least a 2:1 degree or above each year. Graduate recruiters use broader metrics as indicators of success in a candidate that extend far beyond grades.
The demonstration of key employability skills is prioritised by graduate recruitment teams because it is a stronger indication of a candidate’s ability to do the job well as well as their potential to exceed expectations. Secondly, graduates are generally unaware of the fierce competition in the graduate job market.
Equip with a new degree, most fresh graduates enter the job market completely unprepared and often clueless about what career is right for them with very little if any interview experience. The saying ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ holds here as graduates tend to be unaware of the great expectations graduate recruiters have of them and firmly believe that their degree alone is enough to get them interviews and a job.
Why parents often see the need for a graduate career coach before graduates do
As parents, the period between your son/daughter returning from university and getting their first graduate job can be challenging. You are doing your best to support them as they face inevitable setbacks on their journey to employment, but at the same time as they are now an adult, you are mindful of letting them take the lead and make their own decisions.
Naturally, after 6+ months of searching with little or no success however, many parents begin to worry about their adult child’s job prospects and sometimes even their mental health due to the toll the job search can have on candidates.
Even with a less-than-fruitful job search that has persisted for several months or even years, many graduates are reluctant to seek the help of a graduate career coach and often it’s the parents who step in and convince them of the need to get some professional help and support.
With that said, here are some tips on how to convince your son or daughter to get a graduate job
1: Emphasise the benefits of specialised career coaching and support
A dedicated graduate career coach works closely with grads to uncover their unique blend of skills, interests, and career/life aspirations.
This tailored approach helps pinpoint which graduate job titles align best with their profile, ensuring a clearer and more directed path towards graduate employment. Emphasising the bespoke nature of this guidance can highlight its value in helping them stand out in the highly competitive job market.
Our one-to-one graduate coaching transforms the career prospects of grads, giving them lifelong skills gained through personal mentorship, practical tasks and an introduction to a network of contacts. We provide specialised support in areas like graduate CV writing, interview preparation, and networking strategies, all of which are crucial for a successful job search. This expert support can demystify the often-overwhelming process of starting a career as a fresh graduate.
What our graduates gain:
- The right graduate job, not just any job. Guaranteed.
- Life-long career skills and a network of contacts.
- Continued career mentoring after landing a job.
2: Highlight the returns gained from investing in yourself
Investing in a career coach is investing in one’s future.
It’s about recognising the long-term benefits that come from professional guidance in these formative early career stages. Encourage your son or daughter to see this not as a cost, but as a valuable investment in their career development and future success.
The time and money allocated to graduate career coaching will yield a return as a good graduate job will result in bountiful career opportunities. Furthermore, the skills, insights, and strategies they gain will serve them well beyond just landing their first job.
3: Encourage them to be open-minded
Being open to new possibilities and directions is a cornerstone of career growth. A career coach can help them explore paths and opportunities they might not have considered, broadening their horizons and potentially leading to fulfilling roles they hadn’t yet considered.
Encourage your child to be receptive to the guidance and insights a career coach can offer, emphasising the importance of adaptability and openness in today’s ever-changing job market.
4: Highlight to them how competitive the job market is especially for graduates
It’s important to be candid about the challenges new graduates face in the job market. With many vying for the same positions, having a competitive edge is more important than ever.
A career coach can provide this edge, equipping them with the tools, knowledge, and strategies to stand out among their peers. Highlighting this aspect can underscore the practical advantages of engaging with a career coach.
Here are some key statistics on the graduate job market:
- 1,820,000 graduates are underemployed
- 90% of graduates said they found it difficult to work out what job would suit them best.
- 86% said they find it difficult to create a good CV.
- 85% said they find interviews difficult and nerve-wracking.
- 85% admitted needing work experience before entering the workplace.
5: Share success stories with them
Nothing speaks louder than success. Share stories of how career coaching has transformed the job search for other graduates, leading to opportunities and career paths they might not have secured on their own. These real-life examples can inspire and motivate them to consider how a career coach might help them achieve their own career goals.
Here at Graduate Coach, we have helped over 5000 graduates land their dream jobs at companies including PwC, JP Morgan, Amazon, UBS, NHS, KPMG and more. Find out more about our successes.
Graduate Coach is here to help
Here at Graduate Coach, we are here to help. We’ve helped over 5000 students and graduates to land their dream jobs. If you are a parent of a graduate who has been struggling to get a graduate job, contact us today. We will happily call you at your convenience to discuss how we can help your son or daughter with our one-to-one career coaching and graduate interview preparation.
Summary
Graduates and their parents alike are so proud on graduation day and filled with the hope of an imminent job offer. However, this hope turns into despair with every passing month when graduate employment is not secured. Even though the lengthy job application process takes its toll on graduates over time, they rarely seek professional support and it is increasingly the role of parents to identify the need for a graduate career coach, convince their son or daughter to get coaching and initiate the first steps of getting a career coach.
Featured image by cottonbro studio from Pexels
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