Some Gen Z job seekers are bringing their parents to their interviews in new bizzare trend

Interviews can be scary and cause a mix of emotions, especially in tedious or new settings. Undoubtedly, candidates prepare to the best of their abilities, but they would love to have support and someone to calm them down. However, every candidate who has faced an interview before knows this is a call to test one’s confidence and skills. Anna Paplia, a career expert–who goes on TikTok by @anna..papalia–shared that 20% of GenZs bring their parents over for interviews. As bizarre as it seems, she also explained why it is as shocking as discouraged. The woman shared a news clip on her video where the anchors spoke about GenZs who ridiculously brought their mom or dad with them for a job interview.

Going straight to the root reason for such a mind-boggling problem, Paplia said, “I’m going to make this make sense. Colleges and universities charge exorbitant tuition, but they don’t prepare students for how to get jobs after graduation.” Paplia then mentioned how frustrating it is for parents to have a graduated child in the house, unable to find a job after spending millions on their tuition and education. The career expert also mentioned that parents feel the need to “micromanage” their children and take things into control.“They think the best way to do that is to call up an organization and say, ‘You need to hire my son’ or go to the interview with him,” Paplia mentioned.

The career expert then revealed the absurdity of the situation. “In the interview, when the interviewer looks at your son and says, ‘Why should we hire you?’ does he look at you and say, ‘Hey dad, why should they hire me?’” Paplia added that even under any circumstances if such odd behavior works, it can’t go on for long. “Are you going to work with them in their cubicle for the rest of their lives?” she asked. Paplia then shared that as a parent and an expert who has taught college students how to prepare for interviews, parents need to understand that they are the wrong ones in this case. “To teach someone how to interview, you have to empower them. You have to let them go,” she highlighted.

She pointed out that students need to become “vulnerable,” make mistakes and even fall flat on their faces so they can learn through experience. “They’re not gonna get the jobs, but that’s how you learn,” she added. Paplia further mentioned that this parenting strategy is backfiring as it has deemed younger people unprepared and is giving more preference to older candidates. “This is the result of a dysfunctional society and a dysfunctional university system. I don’t blame these students, I blame the parents, I blame the colleges,” Paplia concluded. 

Many people could not believe that parents were being brought into job interviews. @ben.w.martin said, “I’ve had 3 people bring parents into interviews and I’ve rejected them immediately.” @patsystone15 said, “If a parent walked into an interview with their adult child, I’d turn them away at the door. Unacceptable.”