Career Coaching Your Children:
Need Statement
Give a person a fish and they will eat for a night,
Teach a person to fish and they will eat for a lifetime.
View Full Need Statement
“Having an education and career plan in place can improve education, career satisfaction and success now and throughout one’s lifetime…[in addition] national polls tell us that parents are the primary influence on the career development of their children – their choices about education in and after high school and about their work,” states JoAnn Harris Bowlsbey, Ed.D. Numerous studies (Knowles, 1998; Marjoribanks, 1997; Mau and Bikos, 2000; Smith, 1991; Wilson and Wilson, 1992) have found that college students and young adults cite parents as an important influence on their choice of career (NACE, 2004).
The National Association of Colleges and Employers states that, “Families, parents and guardians in particular, play a significant role in the occupational aspirations and career goal development of their children. Without parental approval or support, students and young adults are often reluctant to pursue—or even explore—diverse career possibilities.” When speaking with students in both middle and high school, they cite parents, family and educators as the people they would most likely speak with about career planning; these students cited that one of the reasons they turn to parents and educators for career planning is due to the lack of adequate information available to them, or interest in current programming, in their school environment. Another reason sited for turning to the mentors listed above is comfort and trust level.