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Question of the Day – Parenting
By JLP | January 25, 2012
My oldest son is 16 and is about to inherit our old car as soon as we get his mom something else to drive. Since he will have transportation, we have decided to let him get an after school job to help pay for his insurance, save for another vehicle, as well as get some experience. I know several people from my grocery store days back when I was in college. So, here is my question…
Is it a bad (or good) idea for me to help him get a job by making a couple of phone calls?
I’m leaning towards helping him. Why? Because he’s a good kid and I know he’ll do a good job when given a chance. Also, from a store manager’s point of view, it might be nice to hire the kid of someone you know well because you know that the parent is going to hold their kid to a higher standard.
I’d like to know your thoughts.
Topics: Kids and Money | 13 Comments »
January 25th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Nothing wrong with it. Some of my after-school jobs were found by my parents, and the rest by me. BTW: the ones found by my parents weren’t the best jobs (but it was when I was really young and couldn’t legally work for a corp).
January 25th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
I’m with BG on this one.
January 25th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
I say nothign wrong with it, too, but I would suggest using it as an opportunity to teach him how to network later in life as well.
For example, have him identify some places he would like to work and see whether you have connections. Or get a little info from him about his interests and discuss the connections you might be able to make and ask which ones he wants you to call.
I think that exercise could serve him well for a long time. Networking skills and learning to leverage your contacts are probably the most valuable career skills these days. Plus, you’re just one of many people in his network so maybe he can also look beyond your contacts now or in the future.
It would be great to walk him through how to effectively network with this simple example.
January 25th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
If you know some supervisors/owners of various places that may be interested, sure ask them if they could use your son. I wouldn’t make any cold calls to places you don’t know anyone at.
January 25th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Its competitive enough these days I’d say go for it. Just make sure that he won’t embarrass you or anything.
I got my first job at a library partly because my parents had worked at the same library as teenagers and someone remembered them. Being an Eagle Scout and interviewing well helped too of course. I suggest even if you can ensure your kid is 99-100% sure to get the job, that you don’t tell him that. Make him prepare for the interview as if its blind for the practice.
January 25th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
I got my first job through “connections.” I think it’s a good idea because the job market is so difficult to get into right now (especially with no experience) that it makes sense to use any advantage you can get.
January 25th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
It is normal to get jobs through connections. As a teenager, your best connection is probably a parent.
January 25th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
I used my mother’s connections to get my first job–it was as a telephone operator in a town that still didn’t have direct dial. [If you got connected to the wrong party in 1966, yeah, that was probably moi!] I didn’t feel guilty about that then, and later as a parent to my own five kids, I had no qualms about connecting my kids up with jobs I thought (and prayed!) they could do.
January 25th, 2012 at 6:56 pm
You should help your son. He will still have to prove himself every day. There is nothing wrong with networking.
January 25th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
Most jobs are gotten from connections. Better learn it now than later! That said, I was totally embarrassed when my grandfather got me my first job, at 16. I would spin it, ideally, as you getting him interviews…because that is secretly what really happens, and then you can spin it as him having to learn interview skills (crucial!) rather than just the dead-end roulette of cold-call resume drops. Having other people get that toe in the door so you can actually meet people to talk to them. I hire 1-2 people a week currently for part-time positions, and we’ve gone from about twenty people to over 100 people all through friends of friends, friends of family, friends of family of friends, and so on.
January 25th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
My first job (Christmas Break job) was through connections. I’m still working for the same company 15 years later. Make the call. If your son is a good employee, it’s a great start for him and the company. If he’s a lousy employee, he’ll get fired regardless (and you can go one up and make it clear that the company shouldn’t keep him on just for your sake).
That foot in the door is valuable for both employee and employer. Why else would employers still pay referral bonuses even when they’re got hundreds (thousands?) of resumes for every open position.
January 25th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
As a 23 year old recent finance major, I am all for networking. To me this is extreme though. Why don’t you give your son the chance to prove himself before having you jump in? Give him two weeks on his own.
By just handing him a job, especially his first one, without him having the chance to take ownership is stripping him of an important life experience.
Networking to me is important when you’re looking for THE Job, or in hard economic times A Job. There is something to be learned from having to go to 10+ companies and asking about the hiring process. He might just surprise you what he could find on his own, beyond bagging groceries.
January 25th, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Thanks for the input, everyone. I will help him on this job but he will know that it’s his responsibility to do the job the right way. Of course, I will give him pointers.