Is Gen Z bringing their parents to interviews now? The claims are hard to believe and the numbers are likely exaggerated, but a new report suggests that the young job seekers do indeed have parents joining their job interviews and even negotiating salaries on their behalf.
There are many reasons why employers treat Gen Z workers a little differently compared to the previous generations of employees, but a significant portion has to do with how they approach the workplace and conduct themselves in a professional setting. From their blank stares to their casual language in the workplace, many aspects of their workplace behavior draw criticism on a regular basis.
In the latest turn in the legacy of Gen Z’s presence in the workplace, we now have data to suggest that many of these Gen Zers bring their parents along for interviews with them. Is that odd and unusual? Certainly. But scoffing and dismissing this information doesn’t necessarily help with dealing with them any better. Why are Gen Z workers seeing such involvement from their parents in their careers?
Reports suggest that parents of Gen Z job seekers are attending interviews. This may appear unusual, but it’s important to dig into the data. (Image: Pexels)
Are Gen Z Workers Actually Bringing Their Parents Along for Interviews? Let’s Take a Quick Look at This Workplace Trend
Last year, a report from Resume Templates suggested that 77% of Gen Z respondents admitted to bringing their parents to job interviews. We remained skeptical about this data on release, as most HR professionals and recruiters could attest to the fact that parents weren’t actually showing up to interviews with their kids in such extreme numbers. With the latest data, however, the data starts to make more sense, highlighting where and how parents are joining job interviews with their children.
A new report from Zety suggests that one in five Gen Z job seekers has had a parent make contact with an employer or recruiter on their behalf, with 44% saying they received help from their parents to construct their resumes. Adding to this Gen Z job interview trend, some also admitted to having their parents around for interviews, with 5% stating that they have had their parents join in for the virtual interview, and 15% having brought their parents to in-person interviews.
About 28% of these parents have also helped Gen Z in negotiating salaries, suggesting a high degree of involvement in the lives of their children. Here, about 18% were merely involved in offering advice, whereas 10% directly negotiated with the employer. Is this involvement a bad thing? Not necessarily, but it does suggest that there are areas of improvement that could be essential for both Gen Z workers and their employers.
Parental Career Involvement Among Gen Z Workers Suggests the Presence of a “Confidence Gap”
On the surface of things, the reports of parents assisting Gen Z workers with their employment are quite wholesome. Most of these parents are likely millennials, many of whom have adopted a more hands-on caring approach to parenting that has them very involved in the lives of their children. With their own insights into the job market, helping with resume creation or interview training shows the presence of a support system that many of us might even be envious of.
Zety found that many Gen Z workers view job searching as a collaborative process rather than one meant to be pursued in isolation and purely for their own self-interests. Still, anything that is overdone or overindulgent can cause more harm than good. While it is great for parents to be involved and supportive in their children’s career search, their over-involvement to the point of negotiating salaries directly can leave Gen Z workers missing critical skills that are essential to thriving in the workplace. Helicopter parenting has its distinct downsides.
These intrusions could also suggest a lack of independent thinking to employers, leaving them to presume that these Gen Z workers will make inefficient employees. Not only can these parents of Gen Z workers cause harm during interviews, but they also actively stifle the development of confidence and skill among workers.
Many of these Gen Z workers who graduated during the pandemic years missed out on critical development as a result. While it is fair for parents to feel protective of their children, it is also important to showcase this support from a distance sometimes.
How Should Employers Respond to Parents Showing up to Gen Z Job Interviews?
Employers are free to determine how they feel about a Gen Z candidate involving their parents in the interview or hiring process. There are no explicit regulations forbidding such involvement, but recruiters and HR teams may have to be careful about how fairly they evaluate the candidate and reject their application if they do not look like a good fit for the role. More importantly, however, parents showcasing this degree of career involvement in Gen Z lives suggest that there is indeed a gap in their confidence and capabilities, many of which have occurred for no fault of their own.
Most Gen Z candidates seek employment with a substantial degree of qualifications and skills to make them perfect hires who can be developed into the talent that organizations need. Rather than rejecting them right off the bat, it can be considerably more useful to update onboarding practices to determine any gaps in their skills and experiences, allowing them to be more involved employees.
From resilience training to practicing professional poise, there are many ways to offer on-the-job training to address these minor gaps in their performance.
The Lack of Professional Mentorship Is Evident with Gen Z Workers
Parents have an obvious and essential role to play in the development of their children, and with the lack of professional mentorship seen today, it’s hard to blame them for their involvement in the careers of their Gen Z kids. Many Gen Z professionals have expressed frustration over the absence of a mentor in their careers, and while educational institutions could address this shortcoming, organizations can also help close the gap by assigning them a mentor.
There are easy and efficient ways to address this need for mentorship. Whether through an internship program to connect industry experts with college go-ers, or an onboarding program where new hires are assigned a mentor who can help them develop the professional confidence they need, mentorship doesn’t have to be complicated.
Ultimately, despite this collaborative approach to employment, most Gen Z workers are, in fact, independent thinkers and pragmatic workers who are willing to take a stand for their beliefs and determine their own approach to work. They are open to in-person work, enthusiastic about AI, and willing to adapt to workplaces when given a chance to do so. Rejecting these candidates may be a viable strategy in the short term, but with Gen Zers set to make up a significant chunk of the workforce in the coming years, the future of work depends on the training they receive today.
What do you think about Gen Z seeing parent involvement in their interviews? Share your thoughts in the comments with us. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.
