Casual career exploration with your children and their friends

Starting a career conversation with your child and their friends can take a lot of pressure out of the situation. It gives you the opportunity to start asking their friends about their ideas for the future. Your child can listen and you can express your ideas to their friends without sounding patronising.

It’s quite surprising how much easier it is to engage with your child when it is not just the two of you. The situation seems less scary for them as they don’t feel like they’re being pressed into a corner.

Your approach should be subtle and not at all staged. But even if your child sees through your attempt to get them talking to you, their friends may not and you can use this situation to express your advice to them carefully.

Remember to ask your questions casually and if the conversation does not go where you would like it to go, stop and try another time without pressing the subject any further.

This is what you could say to start a career conversation:

• “How was school today?”
• “What are your favorite subjects? Why?”
• Ask your children’s friends: “What are your plans after you finish school?”
• Ask your children’s friends: “Have you guys tried work experience before? What do you think about the idea of getting a taste of a job you may be interested in?”
• Ask your child and their friends: “Have you met the career adviser at your school yet? What do you need to do to make an appointment with him/her?”

As a parent you may panic about your child’s future, but be aware that any discussion of careers is beneficial and will encourage their thinking process.

Common myths about careers
Role of the parent