My son is graduating in June and he has no idea what he wants to do after school! I’ve asked him to leverage his school’s career center but he says it’s not helpful.
Is anyone going through the same thing with their kid? Any solutions? I’ve been thinking about getting him some private coaching to help him figure it out. God knows I love him too much for me to do it
This is not uncommon. And many 20 somethings wander a little until they find their path. He doesn’t have to find THE job right away. Have him look at Craigslist for starters to get him thinking.
Is he going to come home after graduation or does he have an apartment?
Thanks for you message. Our goal was to send him to college debt free so that he’d transition to adulthood. Of course he can come home, but we’re positioning it to him as he needs to progress and returning home is not a viable option. His dad and I both were very clear about our expectations post college. He’s a great kid and I know he’ll figure it out.
I’m working behind the scenes to see if there is other support we can give him to help ensure a successful transition.
How exactly has career services not been helpful? I think you need to get a handle on what he’s already done (for free) before you spend money on something else.
Has he done mock interviews? Had his resume revised by a professional? Spoken with a counselor there about different career options and what it takes to get a job in those fields? Pursued teaching English abroad (a pretty popular option for kids who don’t know what they want)? Spoken with professors in his major?
I counsel friends kids (seniors and “failed to launch” young adults) as a favor and am consistently amazed by the stories I hear. The parents say “Career Services is useless”. The kids say “I missed the deadline for the counseling appointments. I missed the drop date for my resume to participate in the career fair. I could have gone to the presentations/receptions where different organizations talk about career paths and how to apply but it conflicted with the day my sorority was planning our black tie event so I couldn’t go. One of my professors offered to help me find a job-- a recent alum had called to ask if there was anyone he could recommend, but the job was in St. Louis and I only want to work in Portland, Seattle or SF.”
I’ve heard it all.
Find out what your son has DONE before you assume that you need to augment. And if he’s done nothing- tick tock.
Has he done summer jobs? What did or did not like about them.
Unfortunately career services at the colleges aren’t always as useful as they could be - my son graduated in IR from Tufts - all the jobs they had listed required a heavy economics background. But he did talk to them about his resume and practice interviewing - and he checked their listings often.
He networked like mad using both his Tufts friends and his girlfriend’s Wellesley network. He ended up getting a pretty prestigious unpaid internship in the late summer after college and low paid one in the fall that ended up with a job offer. He worked the job for a while, but then did some soul searching and is now a Naval Officer. I think it’s a good fit for his skills. And he’s stuck with it for at least four years.
Degree? Work experience?
S finished up in August of 16 (took one extra class to finish his Neuroscience degree and had a good on campus job) and moved home. He was in the “only want to live in Seattle group” that @blossom referenced. Fortunately we live here and were happy to have him home. He applied for some base level/lab type jobs but didn’t throw himself into it.
Then his loans came due. He immediately became a very happy and well paid barista. Months later, he is getting tired of not using his education and is interviewing for positions that will use his degree. He is looking for something that will give him clinical experience that will help him decide about (and pay for) grad school. I am referring to it as his “reverse gap year!”
He also said that Career Services was “useless.” Which was sort of true because he really didn’t want to move to St. Louis or wherever and was willing to be super frugal in order to live where he wanted.